ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (WASSCE)

ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (WASSCE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

There is no denying that education is critical to a country’s social, political, and economic development. This is why most countries strive to devote a significant portion of their GDP to educational development. Education in Nigeria accounts for between 7.6% and 9.9% of total annual expenditure (Durosaro, 2003). The allocation in the approved national budget is intended to finance construction and ongoing school expenses. The majority of the cost is accounted for by the physical structures, which are capital intensive, and the physical environment of a school adds a great deal of value to the school (Obong, 2007).

Egim (2003) discovered in her study that the physical environment has an impact on the administrator’s role performance in the school, either positively or negatively. Buildings,

The physical environment of a school includes classrooms, furniture, equipment, instructional materials, laboratories, libraries, and play fields. Among the others are walls, machines, decorative objects, play fields, ice rinks, swimming pools, and audio-visual equipment (Mckay, 1964 in Egim, 2003). According to Egim (2003), educational planners are more concerned with concerns such as the number of schools, teachers, and students’ infrastructural facilities such as classrooms and school buildings in order to expand the educational enterprise. The quality of the environment receives little attention (Obong. 2010).

The physical appearance of the educational environment is important in encouraging healthy academic exercise. It serves as the center of gravity for all other activities. This is due to the fact that it creates a mental environment that is conducive to learning. The difficulty in establishing and administering

A school environment is enormous when certain parameters are taken into account; one of these parameters is the school location. The location of a school can have a significant impact on a student’s mental stability for academic preparation.

A school located along an air traffic path, on the side of a road (especially without a barrier), near industrial activity, marketplaces, and other similar locations will be an annoyance and interfere with the children’s learning process. It will produce enough noise to detract from the learning experience. According to the National Teachers’ Institute, school supervision and sanitation are essential (NTI, 2008; Mckay, 1964 in Egim, 2003). These have the potential to have an impact on the learning environment’s quality. This term refers to all of the waste management measures implemented by a school district.

drainage patterns, and school infrastructure). It is also critical to green the educational environment. According to Sanitation Connection (2001/2002), a school administration that provides sanitation and the planting of flowers and trees, as well as the maintenance of lawns and well-kept grasses, among other things, improves the quality of life and study environment. The aesthetics of the school environment are another aspect of school management. Regular painting and building quality maintenance, sewage channeling, well-planned landscape and flower trimming, grass removal, proper garbage disposal, sweeping and eliminating insect webs, and other activities provide a relaxing environment for mind molding. All of the above challenges are examples of school environmental management solutions that could transform a school into a place where students want to stay.

Regardless of this,

Despite being a critical top-of-mind issue, little has been done to manage school environments for beneficial academic endeavor. It is critical to conduct research on the strategies used to manage the school environment in Nigerian secondary schools.

1.2 Problem Description

There has been much discussion about Nigerian secondary school students’ academic performance. Students’ poor performance, particularly in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, lends credence to this study. Academic performance and student success in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination is thus a recurring topic that is widely discussed both within and outside of academic circles. This study investigates the concept of academic performance in relation to students’ backgrounds, learning resources, and academic achievement based on the preceding. The majority of secondary schools have a

Due to students’ disinterest in education, a lack of professional teachers, lazy teachers, and a lack of teaching and learning facilities and equipment, a significant percentage of students perform very poorly in WAEC and NECO. Each level of education, as well as the subject being taught, has its own set of goals and objectives. If educational goals and objectives are to be met, especially those of teaching and learning in senior secondary schools, the school environment and learning facilities must be improved.

1.3 The Study’s Goal

The goal of this research is to determine the effect of the school environment on students’ academic achievement in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in selected senior secondary schools.

Surulere in Lagos State. This research will specifically;

1. Investigate the learning resources available in Senior Secondary Schools.

2. Determine the impact of available facilities on students’ academic performance in the WASSCE.

3. Evaluate the impact of the physical environment of the school on students’ academic performance in senior secondary school.

4. Determine whether secondary school facilities are effectively used to aid teaching and learning.

1.4 Hypotheses for Research

In this study, the following hypotheses are tested:

i. H0: The availability of school facilities has no significant impact on secondary school students’ attitudes toward learning.

ii. H0: School facilities will have no significant impact on students’ performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

iii. H0: School environment facilities will have no significant impact on secondary school academic achievement.

iv. H0: School facilities are available

Secondary schools do not use teaching and learning aids effectively.

1.5 Importance of the Research

The goal of this study is to investigate and determine the impact of the school environment and facilities on secondary school students’ academic performance. The findings of the study will help teachers understand the significance of improving teaching and learning aids. The study’s findings will also help educators and policymakers develop policies that will help school administrators create conducive and enabling environments capable of developing, promoting, and enhancing positive and effective teaching and learning for secondary school students.

1.6 Field of Study

Because no single study can cover all aspects of the subject, the researcher intends to focus on the relationship between school facilities, school atmosphere, and student achievement.

performance on the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The study focuses primarily on secondary schools in Ebonyi state’s Ikwo Local Government Area.

1.7 Operational Terminology Definition

Academic Performance:- Test scores indicate knowledge gained or skills developed in school.

Secondary school: (Also known as a ‘high school’) is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling known as secondary education takes place, which is usually compulsory up to a certain age. It comes after primary school and may be followed by university (tertiary education).

Environment: The physical and social characteristics of a child’s home, neighborhood, and larger world.

School environment: These are objects and patterns of relationships that exist outside and within the school system and have a significant influence or impact on students.are influenced by teaching and learning situations such as teaching and learning materials, classroom size, social groups, and so on that are present within and outside the school, as well as the school’s location.