THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL FACILITIES AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN BUSINESS STUDIES

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL FACILITIES AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN BUSINESS STUDIES

ABSTRACT

School facilities are a key base for effective teaching and learning in schools. The goal of school facilities in secondary school education is to increase school attendance of students, enhance staff motivation, and improve academic achievements of students. School facilities include classrooms, laboratories, halls, open fields, games equipment, dormitories, and sanitation facilities. It is in the classrooms that the day to day formal teaching and learning take place. In the libraries, learners get the opportunity to conduct their own personal studies and carry out research. It is in the field that co-curriculum  activities take place. Learners and teachers need to be housed in the school and at the same time need sanitation facilities like toilets, waste disposal services and clean water. School facilities is therefore a very important component in ensuring successful education. On this backdrop, that this study seeks to examine the relationship between school facilities and students performance in business studies. The study was guided three objectives; To examine the impact of school facilities on the academic performance of  students  in Business studies; To explore factors such as class size that have been perceived to promote or inhibit students learning and overall students academic achievement in business studies and; To investigate the extent to which school location affects the academic achievement of students in business studies. Descriptive survey was appropriate for the study because it seeks to describe aspects of a study as they are during the time of conducting a study. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative data. Tables were used to present the findings of the analysis and there after the findings of the analysis was presented in a report. The data was analysed with utilizing Chi-Square. The study found that that there is significant relationship between school facilities and students academic performance in the business studies. Thus improved academic achievement is associated with more adequate and well spaced classrooms, adequate and ample spacing in the libraries, adequate science laboratories, adequate water and sanitation facilities and adequate participation in co-curricular activities.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       Introduction

1.1       Background Of The Study

The school facilities, which include the classrooms, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers’ quality, school management, teaching methods, peers, etc are variables that affect students’ academic achievement (Ajayi, 2001 and Oluchukwu, 2000). Hence, the school environment remains an important area that should be studied and well managed to enhance students’ academic performance.

The importance of school facilities can never be over-emphasized. It is the talk of the day in our national dailies. The availability of human resources and physical facilities ensures effective teaching and learning and is closely correlated with the students’ performance. Ike (1977.16) attributes students’ low performance in English language to the lack of qualified staff. According to him, there has been an unprecedented expansion at all levels of education, which has not been matched with a corresponding increase in the number of qualified teachers. Nworgu (1985) on the other hand, asserted that no matter the strength of manpower resources in the system, educational process must require conducive physical accommodation, libraries, furniture, and play ground. Adesina and Ogunsaju (1984) in support noted that for effective teaching and learning situations, physical facilities and educational goals should be viewed as being closely interwoven and interdependent.

The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to the government, parents, teachers and even students themselves. The quality of education not only depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties, but also in the effective coordination of the school facilities (Ajao 2001). It has also been observed that adequate attention is now being paid to school plant planning throughout the world’s educational systems including Nigeria. Educational facilities such as school plant have been repeatedly found to have positive relationship with standard and quality of educational system (Ojedele, 2000).

Nigeria as a nation strives to experience real growth and development. This requires a clearly defined development strategy that allows intensive utilization of resources which is endowed. These resources are the various school physical facilities that are indispensable in the educational process. They include the sitting, the building and physical equipment, recreation places for the achievement of educational objectives (Oluchuckwu, 2000).

School facilities which include instructional spaces planning, administrative places planning, circulation spaces planning, spaces for conveniences planning, accessories planning, the teachers as well as the students themselves are essential in teaching-learning process. The extent to which student learning could be enhanced depends on their location within the school compound, the structure of their classroom, availability of instructional facilities and accessories. It is believed that a well planned school will gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social, political and economic emancipation, effective teaching and learning process and academic performance of the students.

Relating this study to international occurrences are the assertions of Williams, Persaud & Turner (2008), quoting Marsden (2005), which reported that safe and orderly classroom environment (aspect of instructional space), School facilities (accessories) were significantly related to students’ academic performance in elementary schools. The three researchers, also quoted Glassman (1994), asserting that a comfortable and caring environment among other treatments helped to contribute to students` academic performance.

The physical characteristics of the school have a variety of effects on teachers, students, and the learning process. Poor lighting, noise, high levels of carbon dioxide in classrooms, and inconsistent temperatures make teaching and learning difficult. Poor maintenance and ineffective ventilation systems lead to poor health among students as well as teachers, which leads to poor performance and higher absentee rates (Frazier, 2002 Lyons, 2001; and Ostendorf, 2001). These factors can adversely affect student behavior and lead to higher levels of frustration among teachers, and poor learning attitude among student.

Beyond the direct effects that poor facilities have on students’ ability to learn, the combination of poor facilities, which create an uncomfortable and uninviting workplace for teachers, combined with frustrating behavior by students including poor concentration and hyperactivity, lethargy, or apathy, creates a stressful set of working conditions for teachers. Because stress and job dissatisfaction are common pre-cursors to lowered teacher enthusiasm, it is possible that the aforementioned characteristics of school facilities have an effect upon the academic performance of students in economics.

Previous studies have investigated the relationship of poor school environment including problems with student-teacher ratio, school location, school population, classroom ventilation, poor lighting in classrooms, and inconsistent temperatures in the classroom with student health problems, student behaviour, and student achievement (Crandell & Smaldino, 2000; Davis, 2001; Johnson, 2001; Lyons, 2001;Moore, 2002; Stricherz, 2000; Tanner, 2000). To complement these studies, the present research will examine the aforementioned areas of school facilities as it affect students performance in economics.

1.2       Statement Of The Problem

Emphasizing the importance of school facilities to students academic performance economics, Oluchukwu, (2000) asserted school environment is an essential aspect of educational planning, he went further to explain that “unless schools are well suited, buildings adequately constructed and equipment adequately utilized and maintained, much teaching and learning may not take place. Corroborating these, Mark (2002) and Ajayi (2007), maintained that high levels of students’ academic performance may not be guaranteed where instructional space such as classrooms, libraries, technical workshops and laboratories are structurally defective. They also emphasized that structural effectiveness, proper ventilation and well sited instructional space lead to successful teaching and learning process of students in economics.

1.3       Aim And Objectives Of The Study

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between school facilities and the students’ performance in business studies, a case study of secondary schools in Bauchi metropolis. The following are the specific objectives:

1. To examine the impact of school facilities on the academic performance of  students  in Business studies
2. To explore factors such as class size that have been perceived to promote or inhibit students learning and overall students academic achievement in business studies and
3. To investigate the extent to which school location affects the academic achievement of students in business studies.

1.4       Research Questions

1. Is there any relationship between school environment and the student academic achievement in business studies?
2. To what extent do school facilities affect student performance in business studies?
3. What effect does class size has on the academic performance of students in business?
4. To what extent does school location has on the achievement of students in business studies?

1.5       Research Hypothesis

H0: There is no significant relationship between school facilities and students academic performance in the business studies.

H1: There is significant relationship between school facilities and students academic performance in the business studies  

1.6       Significance Of The Study

It is hoped that this study will provide information for parents, educators and school administrators to reflect upon various factors that help students in achieving its academics goals in economics. In so doing, they can investigate the possibility of introducing those factors to their school, which may consequently lead to enhancing students’ academic performance in economics. In addition, the fact that this study is conducted in public schools, it shares quite a lot of similarities with many other counterparts. In this connection, this study provides a valuable reference for other schools to reflect upon the school environment as it affect the academic performance of student in economics.

1.7       Scope Of The Study

This research work focuses on the relationship between school facilities and students performance in business studies in several secondary schools in Bauchi metropolis. This research work covers the impact of the learning environment on students’ academic achievement in business studies in several secondary schools in Bauchi metropolis.    

1.8       Limitation Of The Study

Apart  from  time-frame  and  shortage  of  finance,  the  major  limitation to  this  research  is  the  inability  of  the  researcher  to  cover  the whole secondary school in Bauchi metropolis.

1.9       Definition Of Terms

School: A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or “pupils”) under the direction of teachers          

Facilities: Facilities are buildings, pieces of equipment, or services that are provided for a particular purpose.

Students: A person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; pupil: Any person who studies, investigates, or examines thoughtfully.

Performance: Performance planning is a systematic and structured approach to successfully achieve the desired goals of an individual or team throughout the assessment year.

School Environment: A school’s physical environment includes the school building and the surrounding.

Academic Achievement – Knowledge attained or skills developed in school subjects by test scores.

Secondary school (also “high school”) is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place.