ABSTRACT
This study explored school environmental factors as correlate of students’ learning outcomes in private secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. Five research questions and five null hypothesis provided direction to this study. The study adopted a Correlational Research Design. The population of the study comprised all the 14525 (fourteen thousand five hundred and twenty five) Senior Secondary Two School Students in all the private senior secondary schools in Abia State. A sample size of 960 senior secondary school class two (SS2) students was drawn from twelve private secondary schools. Multi-stage sampling technique was use to draw the sample. Instruments for data collection were two questionnaires, School Environmental Factors (SEFQ) and Students Learning Outcome Questionnaire (SLOQ). Two experts in the area of Educational Management and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation in the department of science education validated the instruments. The reliability of the instruments was determined using the test-retest reliability method and it yielded an overall reliability indices of 0.77 and 0.71 respectively. The data collected from the respondents was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson’s r, R2 (coefficient of determination) was used to analyse the research questions while Linear regression analysis was used to test the null hypotheses. The study revealed that there exist a high positive correlation between school buildings and students’ learning outcome. It also revealed a moderate positive correlation between school location and students’ learning outcome. Analysis of the study also showed that there exist a positive correlation between school facilities and students’ learning outcome and a positive correlation between classroom environment and students’ learning outcomes. The result of the study, showed that there exist a moderate positive correlation between school population and students’ learning outcomes and a perfect positive correlation between teachers’ factor and students’ learning outcomes. Based on the findings of the study the researcher recommended among others that Schools should be properly supervised by the agencies before they can be allowed to start functioning. There should be proper authorization by the government before any school can be approved. Schools operating in environmentally unfriendly areas should be made to relocate to environmentally friendly areas among others.
Table of contentS
Title
Page i
Declaration ii
Certification
iii
Dedication
iv
Acknowledgement
v
Table
of Contents vi
List
of Table viii
Abstracts
ix
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 14
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 15
1.4 Research
Questions 16
1.5 Hypotheses 16
1.6 Significance
of the Study 17
1.7 Scope
of the Study 18
chapter 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 19
2.1.1 environment 19
2.1.2 School environment 20
2.1.3 school building 25
2.1.4 School location 29
2.1.5 school
facilities 33
2.1.6 Classroom environment 40
2.1.7 School population 43
2.1.8 Teachers’ factor 44
2.1.9 Learning 50
2.1.10 Learning outcomes 51
2.1.11 Conditions affecting learning 52
2.2 Theoretical
Studies 53
2.2.1 Ludwig Von Bertalanffy system theory (1950) 53
2.2.2 Albert Bandura’s social learning theory (1977) 54
2.3 Empirical Studies 56
2.4 Summary of Literature Review 61
CHAPTER 3:
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design
of the Study 63
3.2 Area of
the Study 63
3.3 Population
of Study 64
3.4 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 65
3.5 Instrument
for Data Collection 65
3.6 Validation
of the Instrument 66
3.7 Reliability
of the Instrument 66
3.8 Method
of Data Collection 67
3.9 Method
of Data Analysis 67
Chapter 4: Results AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results
69
4.2 Summary
of Major Findings of the Study 80
4.3 Discussion
of Findings 81
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion, Recommendations
5.1. Summary
85
5.2. Conclusion
86
5.3 Educational
Implications of the Findings 87
5.4 Limitations of the Study 88
5.5 Recommendations 88
5.6 Suggestions for Futher Studies 89
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
List of
tables
4.1:
Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of school buildings 69
and students’
learning outcomes
4.2: Regression analysis of school building and
students’ learning 70
outcomes
4.3:
Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of school location 71
and students’
learning outcomes
4.4: Regression analysis of school location and
students’ learning 72
outcomes
4.5:
Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of school facilities 73
and students’
learning outcomes
4.6: Regression analysis of school facilities
and students’ learning 74
outcomes
4.7:
Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of classroom 75
environment and
students’ learning outcomes
4.8: Regression analysis of classroom
environment and students’ 76
learning outcomes
4.9: Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of school 77
population and
students’ learning outcomes
4.10: Regression analysis of school population and
students’ learning 78
outcomes
4.11: Pearson’s product moment correlation
analysis of teachers’ factor 79
and students’ learning
outcomes
4.12: Regression analysis of teachers’ factor and
students’ learning 80
outcomes.
chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
To the Study
One of the greatest challenges before
educationists and policy makers in Nigeria has been how one can reach the
optimal goals of establishing secondary school education and how teachers can
optimize their teaching ability considering the high state of insecurity of
school environments. Also, of great concern to them are out-dated teaching
methods, and poorly made instructional materials which an average student seems
to interact with on daily basis. Osaat (2012) in his reaction posits that
education transforms the human mind from a raw material state into a finished
product whereby an individual can function effectively and efficiently-
physically, socially, mentally, emotionally, culturally and technologically.
Hence, Ogweno (2015) and Aliyu (2013) in their opinions noted that the success
of any educational endeavour, whether science or arts must rest solely on the
conduciveness of the school environment.
Different people at several times have perceived the
concept of school environment depending on their school of thoughts. School environment according to Nsa, Offiong,
Udoh and Ikot (2014) can be defined as all variables that can affect the
teaching and learning which include: science and computer laboratories, library
facilities, classroom facilities, workshop facilities, farm buildings and
structures. Others include play grounds, teaching methods, instructional
materials and the inter-personal relationship which exist between the student
and staff. Edem (2014) argues that school environment is a relatively enduring
character of a school that is experienced by its participants, of which may
affect their actions, and is based on the collective perceptions of behaviour
in the school. To Bua (2013), it is an orderly environment in which the school
family feels valued and able to pursue the mission of the school from a free
point of safety and disruptions.
According to a report cited by Bua (2013), positive school environment
exists when all students feel comfortable, wanted, valued, accepted secured and
can interact with caring people that they trust. It is however obvious that the
positive interaction of these variables have the capability of influencing teaching
and learning. Borode, (2010) view that the school itself being a social and
learning agent is expected to provide the enabling environment upon which a
learner may be formally converted from a raw material state to a finished
product of attaining its educational goals. Environment connotes all the entire
physical objects, social interactions, and social rules of conduct and academic
master plan of a school.
The issue of school environment is multi-dimensional. Environment
also refers to as facilities that are available in and around the school of which
through adequate interaction can promote effective learning outcomes. The
facets of the school environment involve the physical, social and academic
dimensions. The physical dimension include: the appearance of school buildings
and classrooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels, sporting/games facilities.
Others are instructional materials, school size and ratio of student- teacher
in the classroom. Also included are the order and organization of classrooms in
the school, the position of chalk or whiteboard and the availability of
resources to afford safety and comfort (Olutola, 2012; Obi, Johnson and Lawani,
2014). The social dimension include: the
quality of inter-personal relationship between and amongst students, teachers
and administrators, equitable and fair treatment of students by teachers and
other staff and the extent to which students and staff alike contribute to the
decision making process of the school. The academic dimension include: the quality
of instruction given to students and the teacher expectations for good
achievement from students. In summary, school environment connotes all
interacting human and material resources available in the school which a child
can see, hear, touch, feel and respond to during and after learning experience
(Obi, Johnson and Lawani, 2014). The specific interacting school environmental
factors which are capable of influencing positively or negatively on students’ learning
outcomes as examined in this study include: School building, school location,
school facilities, classroom environment and school population.
School
buildings are civic landmarks that reflect a community or school values. People
usually attach importance to school buildings which their interpretation and
meaning of such building could give them either negative or positive impression
about the school system. Just as every person is unique, every school building
is also unique as well. Asiyai, (2010) opined that each school building has a
character with its unique physical features, which comprise a variety of formal
characteristics and physical expression reflecting users’ values. school building for the benefit of this
study, means any structure for use as a classroom including a school facility such
as laboratory, library, school eating facility or facility used for the
preparation of food in the school. Some of the challenges of school building in
Nigeria that can affect students learning include; deposits on school building roofs as a result
of gas flaring and excessive global heat warming and is responsible for the
rusting and dilapidation of school infrastructural facilities in oil producing
areas. Erosion menace in the Eastern part of the country and other parts
including Abia State has affected facilities in schools such that many of the
school buildings have caved in; schools in flood prone areas have also resulted
in a situation where lots of school facilities are lost to the flood, access
road blocked, roof blown off and children made to learn under despicable
conditions.
School
location refers to the particular place in relation to other areas in the
physical environment (rural or urban), where the school is sited. Quirk, (2008) opined that location is a
particular place in relation to other areas. It could be an urban or a rural
area. In Nigeria, rural life is uniform, homogenous and less complex than that
of urban centers, with cultural diversity, which often is suspected to affect
students’ learning outcomes. This is because urban centers are better favored
with respect to distribution of social amenities such as pipe borne water,
electricity, healthcare facilities while the rural areas are less favored. This
is also true in the distribution of educational facilities and teachers. These
prevailing conditions imply that learning opportunities in Nigerian schools
differ from school to school. It would appear therefore that students in
Nigerian urban schools have more educational opportunities than their
counterparts in rural schools have. Ezike, (2011) stated that urban areas are
those with high population density, high variety and beauty while rural areas
are those with low population and subsistence mode of life.
Similarly,
Akpan (2008) indicated that schools in urban areas have electricity, water
supply, more teachers, more learning facilities and infrastructure. In the same
way, Adebule and Aborisade (2013) in their studies on the influence of study
interest and school location on the attitude of secondary school students
towards Mathematics in Abia State, Nigeria concluded that students that resided
in urban centres especially where there are higher institutions like
polytechnics or universities are likely to have inclination for higher
education than those in the rural setting. Moreover, students in urban setting
could have more access to libraries, laboratories, etc. than those in rural
setting.
While
some studies have shown positive influence, others have shown negative
influence of school location on the students’ learning outcomes or achievement.
Nwogu (2010) found that location was significant in learning aspects of
mathematics and basic science that involve angles, with rural students
exhibiting more learning difficulties than their urban counterparts do. Agbaje, and Awodun, (2014) investigated
the influence of school location on the performance of mathematics and basic
science students in rural and urban schools at the SSC examination and found
that mathematics and basic science students in urban schools performed better
with superior grades, than their rural counterparts while failure rate was
higher in the rural schools. Some studies showed no difference in academic
achievement of students because of location. Others showed that rural students
performed better on practical skills in mathematics and basic science than
their urban counterparts did. Studies showed that there is no difference in
performance of students because of location. Location here is in terms of
whether the place of study or school is sited in rural or urban community.
School facilities are permanent and semi-permanent
structures, such as machinery, laboratory equipment, the blackboard, teachers’
tools and other equipment as well as consumables. School facilities refer, to
all provision, which include physical materials or equipment within the
environment of the school, which help to facilitate effective teaching
–learning process and educational goals. One can also see school facilities as
non-human and non-financial resources, which include all movable and immovable materials,
which are used for teaching, learning and other school activities. Hence,
Mcgowen (2007) opined that school facilities are instruments that rate facility
conditions on such factors as educational adequacy, environment for education,
space flexibility, and cosmetic condition. According to Asiyai (2012), school
facilities include the entire school plant which school administrators,
teachers and students harness, allocate, and utilize for the smooth and
efficient management of any educational institution. When combined with other
resources in adequate quality and quantities, school facilities constitutes
vital inputs for achieving desired educational goals.
Classroom
environment encompasses a broad range of educational concepts, including the physical
setting, the psychological environment created through social contexts, and
numerous instructional components related to teacher characteristics and
behaviors. Classroom environment is the environment the teacher creates in the
classroom that will maximize instructional time, help students feel secured and
supported and motivate them to learn and succeed. It includes the choice of the
teacher on rules and expectations, reward and discipline system, class
procedure, seating arrangement. It is how consistent students are held
accountable for what the teacher is able to achieve. Classroom learning environment
according to Malik and Rizvi, (2018) is a dynamical social system which
includes not only teachers' behaviour and teacher - student interaction but
student - student as well.
Classroom
learning environment carries a variety of meanings; it generally refers to the
total climate, structures, processes, ethos within class-rooms which are
integral elements affecting student's learning. A classroom setting has two
major components, namely, physical component and human component. Physical
component comprises all the physical objects present in the classroom e.g.
black board, furniture, lightings, projector, books, computers etc., whereas
the human component comprises of individuals i.e., teachers and students in the
classroom. It generally involves the nature of interaction of teachers with
students and student-student as well. This pattern of interaction generates a
particular atmosphere which may be called as learning
condition/situation/environment. This aspect is also called the psycho-social
environment of the classroom.
Generally, population
refers to the total number of people inhabiting in a specified geographical
area, be it a village, town, district, country or the world as a whole; or
belonging to any particular race, religion, sex, class, caste, group,
community, and so on. School population therefore is the total number of people
especially students found in the school. School population is referred to as
the number of students in the school in relation to the student-teacher
ratio. School population for the purpose
of this study can also be referred to as the caliber of students found in such
school. That is whether the school is a mixed school (boys and girls) or single
school (boys only or girls only) or special school (inclusive school or special
need school). Inclusive school here can be defined as the education of children
or learners of diverse groups, including the differently challenged, physically
and mentally disadvantaged/ disabled, learning together in the same classroom
while special need school is the term most commonly used to describe the
methodology and practice of school who admits students with special needs, such
as learning difficulties, mental health issues, specific disabilities (physical
or developmental).
The primary purpose of the teaching/learning process
is to bring about in the learner desirable change in behavior through critical
thinking. This process does not take place in a vacuum but rather in an
environment structured to facilitate learning. Learning is a product of
experience. An individual may learn by teaching himself through the method of
trial and error, he may also learn by being taught by another person. Nnachi in
Kenkwo (2014) defines learning as a relatively permanent change in behavioural
potentiality which occurs as a result of reinforced practice. Learning
therefore becomes a continuous process which can take place through
observation. Kenkwo (2014) rightly viewed learning to occur as a result of
interaction between two organisms and the environment. From the above view of
Nnachi, it seems that any interaction at the process of learning must take
place in a given environment, as such, one therefore wonders if there is any
correlation between the environment and students’ learning outcomes.
Learning outcomes are statements of what students will
learn in a class or in a class session. The statements are focused on student
learning (what will students learn today). Learning outcomes are statements of
what a learner is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate
after completion of a process of learning. It is a formal statement of what
students are expected to learn in a course. Expected learning outcomes refer to
specific knowledge, practical skills, areas of professional development,
attitudes, and higher-order thinking skills among others. Learning outcomes
could be manifested in different ways.
Learning could be of psycho-motor type, affective type
or cognitive type. These types of learning are interrelated and overlap each
other. However, they have their differences. This is why an individual maybe
good in arts and the other in science. While yet the other may be good in
technical works and so on. Students’ learning outcomes in the context of this
study refers to the achievement of students after completion of secondary
school system in cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. It appears that
the secondary school where students’ learning outcomes are poor, appears to
manifest a poor students learning outcomes in both internal and external
examinations.
A number of studies have been carried out on factors
that could affect students learning outcomes. For instance, Nnachi in Kenkwo,
(2014) argued that the conditions affecting learning outcomes of students
include availability of nutritive materials, good health, atmospheric
condition, economic level of the individual, degree of exposure, nature of
home, availability of learning resources, the type of teacher, the nature of
the environment, people’s attitude towards learning, the nature of the nervous
system among others. Similarly, a study conducted by Obi (2010) revealed that there
is a significant relationship between the use of school library and students’ learning
outcomes and poor student’s achievement is correlated with shabby school
buildings, poor or absence of science laboratory, library, technical workshop,
inadequate ventilation etc. Kennedy in Ajayi and Yusuf (2010) argued that school
buildings and classroom design affect learning outcomes and advocated that
planners should look at students’ developmental needs and curriculum in order
to make proper planning and re-designing and expanding classroom to fit those
needs and requirements. Bankole in Ajayi and Yusuf (2010) stated that it is the
duty of not only the government but also the immediate catchment area of the
school to provide good, adequate and effective school plants.
the
translation and implementation of educational policies, curriculum content and
the instructional material package lies solely in the hands of a good teacher
and lack of experience in handling equipment/ implements or with the procedure
of conducting practical in developing countries was among the constraining
factors in the conduct of teachers’ activities. Aliyu, (2013) observed that the quality teacher
therefore, is one of the most crucial variables in the teaching and learning
process as he or she determines the kind of experience students are exposed to
in the classroom. It is on this premise that teacher qualification, teacher
experience and the type of training given to a teacher during his or her
training experience, is constantly discussed to know how it can help to
effectively determine the success of a student learning outcomes.
In another related development, Government observed
that the use of out-dated teaching methods in education seems to account for
the low interest and learning outcomes of students. Teaching method according
to Isukpa (2014) and Kabugi (2013) refers to the overall plan designed by the
teacher for the orderly presentation of a subject matter during a learning
experience. Therefore, the ability of a teacher to use effective method of
teaching will not only stimulate interest of students but greatly motivate
students’ high academic achievement level.
Western education was introduced in
Nigeria by private agencies. Adebowale in Donald and Odeleye (2018) pointed out that
Its
first introduction was in the south coast of Nigeria when the Portuguese
merchants who established trading posts at Lagos, Benin, and Brass invited
their Catholic home mission to establish schools for the sons of Obas,
chiefs and influential citizens in the palaces of the Obas of the
above-mentioned towns. This first attempt at introducing western education in
Nigeria did not reach the interior and it was later abandoned because of
inter-tribal wars and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The period of this first
attempt was between 1515 and 1552. The second attempt and successful
introduction of western education was in September 1842.
According to Olawuyi in Donald and Odeleye (2018), the Wesleyan Methodist Society was the
first Christian mission to arrive in Badagry, Lagos, followed by the Church
Missionary Society (CMS), the Baptist and then, the Roman Catholic. No sooner
they (the missions) arrived than they embarked upon the opening of primary
schools for general education of the converts. Thus, from this humble
beginning, the Christian missions pioneered the establishment of schools which
gradually spread from the coasts in Lagos, Badagry and Calabar to the interior.
Ownership of educational institutions in
Nigeria is between the public and private sectors. The
ownership of schools in Nigeria, which could be viewed as the controlling force
in terms of the administration of the school, could be divided into two broad
ownership structures, which are public ownership and private ownership. Schools
that are established and run by governments are called public schools. The public schools here refer to schools controlled by the
government at the three tiers-federal, state and local government. private schools on the other hand are
individual, or group of persons, organizations or mission bodies coming
together to establish and run an educational institution at any level of the
educational system namely, nursery, primary, secondary, universities, colleges
of education and polytechnics among others.
Schools that are established and run by
governments are called public schools while those established by individuals,
organizations and mission bodies are referred to as private schools. Consequently,
private schools are those schools that are supported by private organization or
individuals rather than by the state. They are independent schools that are
supported wholly by the payment of fees and are not administered by local,
state or federal governments. These schools have the right to select their
students and they do not rely on mandatory taxation through public or government
for funding. Private participation in education could be substantiated as a
result of breakdown of the public school ownership structure and void in the
educational sector due to falling level of infrastructure and facilities, the
neglect of government of the missionaries’ schools after independence and the
low morale of public schools teachers caused by lack of structural welfare from
the government with non-payment of salaries.
The history of
private ownership in educational administration in Nigeria could be traced to
the period when western education was introduced to the country in the 19th century
(Odeleye and Oyelami, 2012). The reasons for private participation in the
establishment of school at whatever levels of the educational system in Nigeria
are not farfetched. Initially, private schools were established as part of the
missionary society’s plan to develop locally educated elites that could help
promote the Christian faith. The intention was to use education as a basis for
facilitating the proselytization of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However it is
no longer the case in this era. In fact, not even some of the missions’ schools
have this again as a driving force, talk less of some private individuals and
organizations. Most mission schools around us today have become so expensive,
financially discriminatory and far from seeing provisions of education as a
social service that it ought to be to the people. Today, to own a private school in Nigeria is a very lucrative
business (Toscany Academy, 2012). This is a trend that runs through almost all
the private institutions particularly in Abia state and other private bodies that establish schools in
Nigeria may be to memorialize their departed loved ones or immortalize their
names, or as service to humanity, or as investment, social security against
retirement and as means to provide employment to job seekers among others. No
matter what the driving force may be, if the federal, states and local
governments had not failed in their primary responsibility of providing
qualitative education to the citizenry, the private sector wouldn’t have taken
the advantage.
Qualitative
education is too important to be compromised. Issues that affect the
performance of education are issues of concern to families, communities, local,
state and federal governments. Governments at all the levels in Nigeria are
seen to be helplessly watching public structures and institutions collapsing
and some in a dangerous state of coma with little or no hope of being revived.
The public are fast losing confidence in government. Nothing seems to be
working or moving forward. Security is fast running out of the control of
government, poor, epileptic and very low voltage supply of electricity even now
that is privatized, government hospitals are glorified monuments, health
centers are without drugs leaving the health officers that are managing such
centers and who are on government pay roll to use the centers as private
clinics for commercialization of drugs. Pipe-borne water in most local government
headquarters have now become stories of the past. The remains of rusted and
broken pipes now only serve as reminders of those good old days. Many
roads-intra and inter local governments, states and other countries-have become
death traps to users. Nothing, absolutely nothing of public statuses seems to
work again in Nigeria.
The educational
institutions seem to be the worst hit. The standards and qualities of education
seem to have fallen so dangerously that remaining indifference to government’s
ineptitude to revitalization of this sector would mean waiting endlessly.
Because of the prominence, education occupies in the development of individual,
families and nation as a whole, it became very important to seek for
alternative means of educating and training the children who are the future
hope of the society. This is where private education came in. however, the genuine intention of
establishing private schools in Nigeria as well as in Abia state has not been
met. The original intention of genuine private practitioners in education
was to intervene and redeem the collapsing public institutions however, today;
the revise seems to be the case (Omede, 2015). In fact, one of the driving
forces of most private schools today is for economic benefit and this has
continually undermined quality and infrastructural provisions in the
educational sectors in Nigeria generally and Abia state in particular.
The entrance of
private practitioners in education in Nigeria is a good one. They rejuvenated
confidence of Nigerians about the decadence that is prevalent with the public
institutions particularly, the public educational sector that had suffered
protracted industrial actions and dearth of infrastructures. The private owners
of schools have helped tremendously by running stable academic calendars,
monitor and supervise academic proceedings for quality delivery and so on.
However, as
commendable as are the emergence of private education in Nigeria as well as in
Abia state and the roles that private educational institutions play, they are
surrounded with some unhealthy practices such as charging of exorbitant fees,
proliferations of schools, illegal and
substandard schools and employment of unqualified and inadequate personnel
among others. These unhealthy practices and many more practised in the private
schools of today especially in Abia state where one can easily rent a two
bedroom apartment and start using it as school has deterred many parents from
sending their children to most of these private schools.
From the
observation of the researcher who has been a teacher in some of the private
schools in Abia State and also has colleagues working in most private schools
in Abia state, most private school in Abia state now compromise a lot of things
to stay in business. Hence, private school practice, which emerged as a
corrective measure to the public school, has now become a business enterprise
and so, they do anything to stay in business. For instance, most private
schools will rather employ unqualified personnel as long as the person is
willing to accept anything that was giving to him/her as salary. Also as
mentioned earlier, most private schools do not take into consideration the
stipulated environmental or structural requirement before starting their
private school. In fact a tour on most private schools in Abia state will leave
one with little doubt to the fact that many of these schools need to be closed
down.
Students’ learning
outcomes is an important issue that occupies the centrality of educational
endeavour. However, with a lot of challenges and compromise going on in the
private secondary schools in Abia state, one wonders if the students’ learning
outcomes will not also be affected. Hence this study seeks to determine the
correlation between school environmental factors and students learning outcomes
in private secondary schools in Abia State Nigeria.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
A positive
school environment is a learning environment in which the students feel safe,
engaged, connected and supported in their classrooms and schools. It is the
environment whereby students are greatly impacted by the learning environment
and teachers play and important role in controlling the setting. Positive
school environment is important for students and for teachers because
everything in the school settings sends impressions to the students and can
affect the way students learn and how well students receive instruction. Hence
students tend to learn better when they view their environment to be positive
and supportive. Positive students learning outcomes is at the center of
educational goals and objectives at any levels.
The problems
of poor student learning outcomes which is exhibited in poor academic
performance of students, examination malpractices, poor performance of students
in internal and external examination, unemployable secondary school leavers
among others, have been consistent in the Nigerian secondary school system. The
source of these problems has generated a whole lot of controversy over the
years among educational stakeholders and researchers.
since private
schools are now more focused on making money instead of providing quality
education, issues like indiscipline, substandard and dilapidated buildings,
poor attitude of teachers to teaching, examination malpractices, poor teachers’
job performance, poor academic performance and lack of dedication among
teachers, substandard building and dilapidated infrastructures, half-baked and
unqualified teachers and other problems spring up. Hence, private Schools in Abia State do not
attract much patronage like it used to.
In fact,
recently, the Abia state governor has ordered the immediate shutdown of all
private primary and secondary schools that operate in residential building,
warehouses, church halls, village or town halls. The order was announced
through the honorable commissioner for education in the state, it’s stated that
the decision was taken as an attempt to ensure that the Abia child is properly
educated in the right environment and by the right teachers and to achieve the
right academic outcome. Hence, with the emphasis placed on school environment
by the Abia State government and the premium placed on the importance of
students’ learning outcomes, one wonder if school environmental factors have
any correlation with students learning outcomes. The problem of this study put
in a question form is: what is the correlation between school environmental
factors and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State private secondary
schools.
1.3 Purpose
of the Study
The purpose of this study is to
determine the correlation between school environmental factors and students’ learning
outcomes in Abia State private secondary schools. Specifically, the study sought
to:
1.
Determine the
relationship between school buildings and students’ learning outcomes in Abia
State private secondary schools.
2.
determine the
relationship between school location and students’ learning outcomes.
3.
ascertain the
relationship between school facilities and students learning outcomes.
4.
find the relationship
between classroom environment and students’ learning outcomes.
5.
determine the
relationship between school population and students’ learning outcomes.
6.
Ascertain the
relationship between teachers’ factor and students’ learning outcomes.
1.4 Research
Questions
The following research questions guided the study:
1.
What is the relationship
between school buildings and students’ learning outcomes?
2.
What is the relationship
between school location and students’ learning outcomes?
3.
What is the relationship
between school facilities and students learning outcomes?
4.
What is the relationship
between classroom environment and students’ learning outcomes?
5.
What is the relationship
between school population and students’ learning outcomes?
6.
What is the relationship
between teachers’ factor and students’ learning outcomes.
1.5 Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05
levels of significance to guide the study:
Ho1:
There is no significant relationship
between School building and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State private
secondary schools.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship
between school location and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State private
secondary schools.
Ho3: There is no significant relationship
between school facilities and students learning outcomes in Abia State private
secondary schools.
Ho4: There is no significant relationship
between classroom environment and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State
private secondary schools.
Ho5:
There is no significant relationship
between school population and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State private
secondary schools.
Ho6: There is no significant relationship
between teachers’ factor and students’ learning outcomes in Abia State private
secondary schools.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
The study may be beneficial to students, teachers,
curriculum planners, administrators, researchers and textbook authors when
published. To students, the study could help to improve their understanding of
Education, and thus, adjust adequately to learning in the midst of school
environmental factors. It would be helpful in developing their affective domain
of knowledge in secondary school; which in turn would enable them to perform
better in both internal and external examinations.
The findings of the study could help teachers in
having greater insight into the meaning of teaching, application and its
problems in the face of school environmental factors and as such develop steps
on improving students’ learning outcomes.
The study would assist the teachers in implementing the full objectives
of Education as stated in the curriculum by Federal Government, as it would
help produce experts who will boost the nation’s economic growth.
Curriculum planners or designers could find the study
useful as they would understand specific problems that affect the
implementation of educational objectives in private secondary schools in Abia
State. More still, several individuals occupying administrative positions in
schools lack knowledge of management processes and some who possess the
knowledge fail to put them into practical use in the management of the schools.
Hence the findings could expose the educational administrators to the
importance of safe environment in teaching and learning.
The findings of the study and research design used
could form reference sources and materials for researchers; especially those
who specialize in all areas of education. It will serve as literature source
for researchers on school environment factors and students learning outcomes. Finally,
textbook authors and the larger society would benefit from the study as they
would update their knowledge on the techniques of adjustments to teaching and
learning by proffering ways of maintaining and sustaining standard school
environment that is fit for learning.
1.7 Scope
of the Study
This research is focused on school
environmental factors as correlates of students learning outcomes in private
secondary schools in Abia State Nigeria.
The study is delimited to all Senior Secondary Class
Two (SS2) students in private owned secondary schools in Abia State made up of
17 local governments. The study specifically examined school environmental
factors such as: school buildings, school location, school facilities,
classroom environment, school population and teachers factors as correlate of
students’ learning outcomes.
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