ABSTRACT
The study investigated school plant management as correlate of boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. The study used a correlational design. Ten research questions and ten hypotheses guided the study. A sample size of 538 respondents consisting of 456 boarding students, 64 Principals and 18 porters were randomly selected using multi-stage sampling procedure. Two sets of research develpoed questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. The first questionnaire titled: School Plant Management Questionnaire (SPMQ) with 79 items was designed to collect information on school plant management while the second questionnaire titled: Secondary School Boarding Students’ Adjustment Questionnaire (SSBSAQ) with 25 items was designed to collect information on adjustment indices for boarding students. The data generated through the pilot testing of the instrument were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha reliability test to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items. Reliability coefficients of .77 and .82 were obtained for school plant management and boarding students’ adjustment questionnaires respectively which indicated that the instrument is highly reliable for the study. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to answer research questions and linear regression to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that provision of administrative facilities to a non-significant positive low extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, utilization of administrative facilities to a non-significant negative low extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, maintenance of administrative facilities to a non-significant negative moderate extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, provision of instructional facilities to a non-significant positive low extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, utilization of instructional facilities to a non-significant negative high extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, maintenance of instructional facilities to a non-significant negative moderate extent correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, provision of boarding facilities to non-significant positive high extent correlates to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools, utilization of boarding facilities to a non-significant negative very low extent correlate to students’ adjustment in secondary schools. Some of the recommendations made include; school administrators should strengthen their effort in providing, utilizing and maintaining especially the administrative and instructional facilities to boost boarding students’ adjustment and enhance academic performance in secondary schools, teachers and porters should be encouraged to adequately utilize and maintain the provided instructional and boarding facilities to improve boarding students’ adjustment and academic performance in secondary schools.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables xi
Abstract xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1
Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 11
1.3 Purpose of the Study 13
1.4 Research Questions 14
1.5 Hypotheses 15
1.6 Significance of the Study 15
1.7 Scope of the Study 18
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 19
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 19
2.1.1 Concept of school plant 19
2.1.2 Administrative
facilities 22
2.1.3 Instructional
facilities 23
2.1.4 Boarding facilities 25
2.1.5 School
Plant management 28
2.1.6 Provision of
school plant 31
2.1.7 Utilization
of school plant 36
2.1.8 Maintenance
of school plant 37
2.1.9 Constraints to school plant
maintenance 42
2.1.10 Concept of adjustment 47
2.1.11 Concept of student adjustment 48
2.1.12 Aspects of student adjustment 50
2.1.13 Secondary education 50
2.2
Theoretical Framework 52
2.2.1 Implicit
theories of peer relationships and adjustments
by Dweckand Leggett (1988) 52
2.2.2 System theory by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1956) 54
2.2.3 Theory
of reasoned action by Ajzen (1985) 55
2.2.4 The
chaos theory by Tom Peters (1942) 56
2.3
Empirical Studies 56
2.4 Summary
of Reviewed Related Literature 64
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 66
3.1 Design of
the Study 66
3.2 Area
of the Study 66
3.3 Population
of the Study 67
3.4 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 68
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection 69
3.6 Validation of the Instrument 70
3.7 Reliability of the Instrument 71
3.8 Method
of Data Collection 71
3.9 Method
of Data Analysis 72
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 73
4.1 Results 73
4.2 Major Findings of the Study 85
4.3 Discussion
of Findings of the Study 88
CHAPTER
5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 95
5.1 Summary
of the Procedure used for the Study 95
5.2 Conclusion 98
5.3 Educational
Implications of the Study 99
5.4 Recommendations 102
5.5 Limitations
of the Study 104
5.6 Suggestions for further Study 104
References
Appendices
LIST OF TABLES
Pages
1: Correlation
matrix of provision
of administrative
facilities andboarding students’ adjustment
in secondary schools 73
2: Correlation
matrix of utilization of
administrative
facilities and boarding students’ adjustment in
secondary schools 75
3: Correlation
matrix of correlation matrix of maintenance
of administrative facilities and boarding students’
adjustmentin secondary schools 76
4: Correlation
matrix of provision
of instructional
facilities and boarding students’
adjustment in
secondary schools 77
5: Correlation
matrix of utilization
of instructional
facilities and boarding students’ adjustment in
secondary schools 79
6: Correlation
matrix of maintenance of instructional
facilities andboarding students’ adjustment in
secondary schools 80
7: Correlation
Matrix of provision
of boarding facilities
and boarding students’
adjustment in secondary
schools 81
8: Correlation
matrix of utilization of boarding facilities
and boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools 82
9: Correlation
matrix of maintenance
of boarding facilities
and boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools 83
10: Correlation
Matrix of school
plant management and
boarding students’
adjustment in secondary schools 84
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The achievement of educational
goals lies on the adequacy of some vital factors such as school plant, school
organizational culture and climate, teachers service conditions, student
adjustment, teaching aids, teaching methods, teachers' relationships, school boarding and teachers job
description. These factors are expected to be
adequately provided and utilized by the educational management staff,
principals and teachers in order to promote students' academic performance. In
particular, school plant, boarding and students adjustment deserve attention
for expected better students academic performance in secondary schools.
School plant in this discourse
can be defined as the school building including hostel blocks, work way and other vital materials in school
compound. It can also be described as teaching and learning environment of
secondary schools. Nwokike (2012) defined school plant as the totality of all
the educational facilities and equipment within the school environment for the
purpose of achieving good quality teaching and learning in the school.
Similarly, Nwankwo (2014) defined the school plant as all structures and
facilities put on the school ground. It includes the fixed and mobile
structures and materials in the school such as the classroom building,
laboratories, library and their equipment, recreational facilities, machines
and tools. Asiabaka (2008) described school plant as all types of
buildings, areas for sports and games, landscape, boarding house, farms and
gardens including trees and paths that make up a particular school.
To this end, school plant can
be described as an envelope housing the school programme, the physical and
infrastructural facilities including trees and pathways created to beautify the
school for effective teaching and desired learning.
From the foregoing, school
plant can be grouped according to their usage and need in the school thus:
instructional spaces, administrative spaces and boarding spaces. These
components of school plant will be discussed in line with its provision,
utilization and maintenance in secondary schools in South East, Nigeria.
Instructional spaces simply
mean spaces where teaching activities are carried out. Ajayi and Yusuf in
Abdulkareem (2017) defined instructional space as areas or buildings in the
school mapped out for teaching and learning activities. Odufowokan (2008) submits
that such spaces "are mainly for instructional activities such as
teaching, moral instructions, experimental classes, seminars and workshops.
Nwagwu (2008) maintained that such spaces in school plant are mainly for
teaching and they include; classrooms, auditorium, gymnasium, library,
workshops, laboratory, arts room, home economics rooms, multipurpose
rooms/halls, music area and any other space where students receive instruction.
He further opined that most of the instructional spaces in secondary schools in
South East are not in good condition. Majority of the halls in secondary
schools in Nigeria are in dilapidated nature ranging from leaking roof, cracked
walls, potholes and
unprotected doors and window
frames (Anih, 2016). Odufowokan (2008) argued that some public secondary
schools in Nigeria do not have laboratory, studio, and auditorium for moral
instructions and other essential gatherings.
This implies that school plant
in secondary schools in Nigeria face inadequate provision and lack maintenance
culture which in turn affect its utilization. It is pertinent to note that
administrative space is another important aspect of school plant that requires
eminent attention in terms of management.
Administrative spaces in this context refers to spaces occupied by
principals, teachers and other non-teaching staff. Nnadi citing Ehiametalor
(2017) defined administrative spaces as the offices in secondary schools that
are occupied by Principals, Vice principals, Dean of studies, Subject Masters,
Bursars, Counsellors, Health clinics and Non-teaching staff. Onwurah as cited
in Bamidele (2014) revealed that most secondary school staffrooms in Nigeria
are in poor state of inadequate facilities for effective teaching and learning
that will enhance students' academic performance. In a contrary view, Ogene
(2015) argued that secondary school principals in Nigeria have conducive
offices that are well equipped. The actualization of the goals and objectives
of school plant require planned provision, maximum utilization and appropriate
management of the facilities in order to improve the quality of the product of
the school. Another vital school plant aspect that requires effective
management is boarding houses.
Boarding houses in this
context can be described as buildings in a school where students live and
sleep. Luc, Clement and Marc (2017) defined boarding school as an intensive
form of education in which students live at school and only visit home during
mid-term break or holidays. Inyang (2002) described boarding school as a school
which some or all of the students live in, during the school term. A person who
stays at a boarding school is called a "boarder". Boarding students
therefore refer to the set of students who stay at the school for the length of
the term except on emergency cases where they travel home with permission or
during public holidays (Ogene, 2014). In his own view Okorodudu (2010)
enunciated the importance of boarding school to include; developing of child
behaviour, learning continuing beyond the classroom, discovering self-reliance,
boarding graduates lead exceptional lives, learn how to tolerate and it is a
once in a lifetime opportunity.
Boarding students in secondary
schools as stated by Omengboji (2015) can be characterized with: regulated time
for activities, proximity to source of information, proximity to classes,
relatively secure, adequate supply of food as at when due, stable water and
power supply.
In support of the above
view, Cookson and Persel (2008) opined that boarding school provides for the
students a sense of discipline and thus, prepare them for leadership positions.
They maintained that boarders benefit from smaller classes, spend longer hours
in study room, report much lower level of classroom disruption, and praise the
engagement of their teachers. Boarding houses are also called hostels and
dormitories. In the most basic terms, a boarding school is an accommodation
provided by the school where students reside. The students actually live on
campus in dormitories or resident houses with adults from the school who serve
as
caretakers (dormitory
parents/ porters as they are typically called). The dormitories are supervised
by these members of the school's staff, who are usually teachers or coaches, in
addition to being dormitory parents. Students at a boarding school take their
meals in a dining hall. Room and board are included in boarding school tuition.
Hostels as school plant
are very vital for the success of educational endeavour and students'
adjustment in school. When available and skillfully used, they make learning
more meaningful and also regulate students' behaviour. School plant provides
experiences which stimulate self-activities on the part of the learner and
these help to concretize the ideas and save the teacher from talk and chalk
method. It is also essential for effective teaching and learning of every
subject.
It should be noted that, for school plant to be functional, they
require proper planning, usage and maintenance for greater efficiency by the
school administrators and the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB). For
this reason, there has been a global concern for management of school plant in
secondary schools by school administrators, parents and teachers. Bamidele
(2014) pointed out that one of the most important functions of secondary school
administration in Nigeria is efficient management of school plant. In other
-words, the achievement of set goals and objectives depends on the ability of
the school manager to make use of and maintain the physical facilities in the
school. The attainment of an effective teaching and learning is closely related
to the management of school plants (Allen 2015). In agreement, Ajayi and Yusuf
in Abdulkareem (2017) asserted that the observed poor academic performance and
student' adjustment in secondary schools in South East, Nigeria may not be
unconnected with seemingly poor school plant management in the schools.
Management as defined by Okafor
(2013) is the interactional process involving planning.-organizing,
coordinating and controlling or leading in order to use available resources to
achieve a desired outcome in the fastest and most efficient way. Modebelu and
Duvie (2013) also viewed management as the process and the art of getting
things done with and through people in an organization. Management can be
described as the process of providing, utilizing and maintaining both manpower
and facilities in an organization. But the management in question here is
school plant management.
School plant management in
particular as defined by Anih (2016) is the provision, utilization and
maintenance of all facilities in the school required for effective teaching and
learning. Also, Chinweuba (2018) defined school plant management as the process
of providing, utilizing and maintaining facilities, buildings and work ways in
a particular school for the excellent performance of both the teachers and
students. School plant management entails the making and carrying out a series
of decisions by individuals and groups in building school plant according to
the school need. For effective management of school plant in secondary schools,
the school administrator needs to ensure that the school plant is adequately
provided, utilized and maintained for the actualization of the educational
goals. Indeed, some vital indices of management include provision, utilization
and maintenance.
Provision of school plant deals with availability and adequacy of
administrative, instructional and boarding facilities. Adeboyeje (2007)
described provision of school plant as the procurement and purchase of the
necessary facilities required in school. Ogazi (2014) explained provision of
school plant to mean the process of ensuring that all the facilities and
materials needed for the achievement of educational objectives are put in place
for efficiency and effectiveness. Unachukwu and Okorji (2014) opined that
provision of school plant entails procurement planning, estimation or market
survey, purchase and installation of the facilities. Supporting the above view,
Abubakar (2017) said that provision can be described alternatively as
improvisation of facilities that are costly for the school to purchase. Ogene
(2015) submitted that provision of school plant are mostly done by government,
community, donors and grants from agencies. He maintained that most school
buildings in South South, Nigeria were built by non-governmental agencies.
Nnadi (2017) averred that poor provision of school plant is as a result of
political interest and bad leadership. If all the facilities required in school
are provided, the next step in managing it is proper utilization.
Utilization of school plant is the means by which school plant
ranging from administrative, instructional and boarding facilities are used for
the achievement of educational goals and good student adjustment. Odor (2015)
defined utilization of school plant as proper and constant use of school
facilities in teaching and learning activities. Ololube (2015) described
utilization of school plant as proper usage of all the facilities in school for
knowledge and skill acquisition and for the development of the society. He
further added that utilization of school plant includes drawing of time-table for
classes on how to use the materials, appointment of prefects that monitor the
usages, appointing a professional with adequate technical knowledge of the
facility. To this end, provision and utilization of school plant call for
carefulness in ensuring that quality facilities are provided for maximum
utilization so that maintenance of the plant will be easy.
Maintenance of school plant is
one of the vital management components that deals with the safety of the
facilities used in teaching and learning. Obisike (2015) described maintenance
of school plant as ensuring that all facilities used in school are kept in good
condition for the next usage. Ajayi (2009) described school plant maintenance
as all the activities embarked upon with a view to sustaining initial use value
of the school plant. Also, Oluchukwu (2010) described
maintenance of school plant as the
process of cleaning, repairing
and storage of facilities used in teaching and learning activities. He also opined that
school plant maintenance include; corrective, regular, emergency, shut-down,
preventive and periodic maintenance. These definitions portray school plant
management as the hallmark of effective and efficient output in school
activities. The importance of school plant management cannot be underscored
especially in secondary schools in South East.
*
Relating school plant
management to secondary schools in south East, Nigeria, provision of school
facilities especially instructional and boarding facilities seem not to be
adequate. Again, most of the administrative, instructional and boarding
facilities are in a state of disrepair and deplorable conditions which however seem to affect
student adjustment.
Adjustment simply means modification of things or events. Nnachi
(2010) defined adjustment as changing from one bad opinion or behaviour to a
good one. Also, Yoloye (2007) defined adjustment as adaptation to new and good
changes in an organization. The term adjustment refers to a continual process
by which a person varies his behaviour to produce a more harmonious
relationship between himself and the environment. Yoloye maintained that
adjustment in a very
strict sense denotes the result of
equilibrium, which may be affected by either accommodation or adaptation.
Adjustment play a vital role in the life of the child since how he gets along
in his /her physical or social environment depends on adjustment. In the
context of this study, adjustment is regarded as desired behaviour expected of
students to exhibit in school. It is the life style students exhibit during
teaching, learning and boarding life.
The term student adjustment
according to this study relates directly to personality formation of a student
at school. Student adjustment therefore "is a behavioural
pattern that enables a student to get along with
his/her personal, academic, social and emotional demands of the school setting.
Adeyemo (2015) defined student adjustment as a person's interaction with his or
her environment and covers academic achievement, personal growth and accomplishments
outside the classroom such as in art, music, creativity and leadership.
According to him an adjusted student is one who obtains adequate grades, passes
his or her courses and eventually graduates.
Different researchers
have defined student' adjustment in several ways. In a study on the
relationship between student and psychological adjustment, Yoloye (2007)
defined student adjustment as scores on academic achievement, distinguished
studentship and self-perceptions and teacher rated learning problems. Student
adjustment has also been envisaged as social-emotional development on
attention, activity level, anxiety, conduct problems and learning (Mangal,
2018). Students that cannot meet or cope with the expected school demands or
norms may become maladjusted. Students" adjustment is a phenomenon that is
of great concern to educationists as well as health practitioners.
Educationists need to know what they can do to help their students
adjust and benefit from school (Adeyemo, 2015). Student adjustment as a
construct affects many different aspects of students' life
such as
academic achievement, school satisfaction, school engagement and pro social
behaviour. Well-adjusted students usually value what they are learning, are
positively involved in classroom activities and receive high grades. Poor
student adjustment may lead to low academic achievement, behavioural problems,
low educational aspirations and even school dropout (Vasalampi, 2009; Raju and
Rahamtula, 2017).
In
another view, boarding student’ adjustment can be described as behaviour or
life style students exhibit in boarding houses. Ogazi (2007) described boarding
students’ adjustment as the behaviour of students during some interactions in
the boarding room ranging from reading, eating, washing of clothes and playing.
For this reason the current study would conceptualize student’ adjustment as an
engagement, satisfaction with school and academic achievement.
In our
secondary schools today, there are cases of students running away from school
due to the harsh treatment they receive from their senior colleagues. In other
cases, new students run back to their houses after spending few days in the
hostel; some jump the fence in an attempt to escape from the school environment
while others rent houses outside the school compound without the consent of
their parents. All these implied that they are not well-adjusted in the school
environment irrespective of the available facilities provided by the school
management. One therefore, wonders if the problem of their maladjustment is as
a result of inadequate provision of facilities or poor management of those
facilities in the school. It is against this background that this study is set
out to examine school plant management and boarding students adjustment in
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria.
Previous
empirical studies carried out such as Nnachi (2010) investigated
the psychosocial predictors of secondary school students’ adjustment to school
in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State Nigeria. He revealed that
self-concept and school plant significantly predicted secondary school
students’ adjustment to school while emotional intelligence and peer group do
not. Also, Ninikanwa (2014) carried out a study to find out the
effective practices in the management of school plant in secondary schools in
the South East, Nigeria. The study reveals that the levels of school plant
planning and students’ academic performance were relatively close. Uchendu (2012) carried out a study on evaluation of
the provision and utilization of educational facilities in public secondary
schools in Enugu North Local government Area of Enugu State. He revealed that
students’ academic performance was significantly related to instructional space
planning, planning for accessories and space for convenience planning. To the
knowledge of the researcher based on the review of previous empirical studies,
series of research works have been conducted on students’ adjustment with
different variables that are not related to school plant in South East, Nigeria
thereby creating a gap. It
is based on this premise that the present study therefore, intends to fill the gap in knowledge of investigating
school plant management as correlates of boarding students’ adjustment in
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The importance of school plant management in the
administration of education cannot be over emphasized. The ideal situation
of school plant management should constitute conducive classrooms,
comfortable staff rooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels and workshop with levity
that enhance effective and efficient teaching and learning which in turn
promotes boarding students’ adjustment and academic performance. It is
important to note that boarding student adjustment entails good habit of
eating, reading, playing and relationship with other students in the boarding
house. On the contrary, the present situation of school plant appears to be in form of washed off
paints, falling ceiling and roof tops that have suffered from heavy rainfall.
Noticeable also are cracked dilapidated decaying walls, sagging roofs, broken doors, windows and bushy
surroundings as common phenomena in secondary schools in South East states.
Most schools have no doors or window shutters to protect students against hash
weather conditions. The classrooms are overcrowded which do not allow for personal attention of
students by the teachers. Some secondary schools have no laboratories while the schools that
are fortunate to have are not provided with the relevant materials and
equipment for learning activities that the students can explore to
equip themselves and for the implementation of educational programmes in Nigeria.
Also, most of the boarding houses seem to have inadequate facilities, house
masters and insufficient manpower to secure the students and facilities. These
ugly situation has led to low productive academic achievement, poor health
conditions and some female boarding students being rapped.
Though, many studies have been carried out in the past on
provision of school plant and academic performance, yet no study focused on the
correlation between school plant and students’ adjustment. If so, the
relationship between school plant and boarding students’ adjustment may be
considered necessary as other studies have shown that school environment
positively relate to students’ academic achievement. To this end, the
problem of the study put in question form is: to what extent does school plant
management relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools in South
East, Nigeria?
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to
which school plant management correlates boarding students’ adjustment in public
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought
to determine the extent to which:
1. provision of administrative facilities relate
to boarding
students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
2. utilization of
administrative facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
3. maintenance of
administrative facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
4. provision of
instructional facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
5. utilization of
instructional facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
6. maintenance of
instructional facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
7. provision of boarding
facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
8. utilization of boarding
facilities relate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
9. maintenance of boarding
facilities relate to students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
10. School plant management relate
to students’ boarding adjustment in secondary schools.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were asked.
1.
To what extent does provision of administrative
facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
2.
To what extent does utilization of administrative
facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
3.
To what extent does maintenance of administrative
facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
4.
To what extent does provision of
instructional facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
5.
To what extent does utilization of
instructional facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
6.
To what extent does maintenance of instructional
facilities correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
7.
To what extent does provision of boarding
facilities correlate students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
8.
To what extent does utilization of boarding facilities
correlate students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
9.
To what extent does maintenance of boarding
facilities correlate students’ adjustment in secondary schools?
10. To what extent does
school plant management correlate boarding students’ adjustment in secondary
schools?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following null
hypotheses will be tested at .05 levels of significance to guide the study:
H01: There is no significant correlation between
provision of administrative facilities and boarding students’ adjustment in
secondary schools.
H02: There is no significant correlation between
utilization of administrative facilities
and boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H03: There is no significant correlation between
maintenance of administrative facilities
and boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H04: Provision of instructional facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H05: Utilization of instructional
facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment
in secondary schools.
H06: Maintenance of instructional
facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment
in secondary schools.
H07: Provision of boarding facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H08: Utilization of boarding facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H09: Maintenance of boarding facilities does not significantly correlate to boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
H010:There is no significant correlation between school plant
management and boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is hoped that the findings of this study will be
useful to government, school administrators, teachers, students and future researchers
if published.
The study has both theoretical and practical
significance. Theoretically, the findings of the study provides evidence to
theory of reasoned action. Theory of reasoned action propounded by Ajzen (1985)
was based on the assumption that a person’s behaviour is determined by his
intention to perform the behaviour and this behaviour is dependent on the
person’s attitude towards the behaviour and his/her subjective norms. He
further explained that personal attitude and social pressure shape the
intention behind the performance of a particular behaviour. Ajzen’s theory has
been considered significant as it made the school principals and the teachers
understand the peer group influences such as interpersonal relationship and
other organizational culture and climate that affect students’ behaviour. The
theory is also considered important as it portrays the likely influence of
school plant on the students’ behaviour that may be adjusted in order to
maximize effectiveness and high productivity. This is possible if the actions
of secondary students in South East, Nigeria are guided in a well managed
school plant.
The findings will give a detailed picture of the
provision, utilization and maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria and this will assist the Government to identify the
exact management components that has not been adequately implemented. It will
also guide the government on some important factors to consider while approving
request letters for establishment of schools.
The findings of this study may expose to school administrators
the level of maintenance boarding facilities in South East secondary schools
recieves and also suggest possible ways of adequate maintenance in order
enhance students’ adjustement in the boarding houses. This however will
enable them to ascertain the need to procure more accessories and
provide circulation spaces to facilitate learning and students stay in hostel.
The findings will also reveal to teachers the level of
provision, utilization and maintenance of instructional facilities that enhance
teaching and learning. Here the findings will motivate them to use improvised
instructional materials that will improve the quality and quantity of teaching
and learning in order to ensure that student adjustment are maitained.
To the students,
the findings will be of great benefit to them if all the instructional and boarding facilities
are adequately provided, utilized and maintained. In this case the result will
be increase in students population , conducive learning environment and proper students’ adjustment.
The findings of this study will be beneficial to the
parents since the academic achievement and moral upbringing of their children
is their ultimate target. When school plants are adequately provided,
effectively utilized and maintained, it boosts students performance and
increases the level of relationship between the parents and the school. It will
more importantly, guide parents in choosing secondary schools for their
children in terms of productive academic environment for a functional and
responsible members of the society who will contribute immensely to the
development of the society.
The findings will serve as spring board for any researcher
who may wish to carry out research work on the variables or related variables.
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
study is delimited to boarding students, principals and house masters in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria. The specific states in South East, Nigeria to be covered by the study
are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The study also focused on school plant management
as correlates of boarding students’ adjustment in secondary schools in south East,
Nigeria. It specifically covered school plant as independent variable
with these sub-variables; provision of administrative facilities, utilization
of administrative facilities, maintenance of administrative facilities,
provision of instructional facilities, utilization of instructional facilities,
maintenance of instructional facilities, provision of boarding facilities,
utilization of boarding facilities and maintetnance of boarding facilities
which form the objectives of the study. It also covered student adjustment as
the dependent variable with sub-variables such as the individual level of
school bonding, friends’ school bonds and avoidance of school related misbehaviours.
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