School Plant Organization, Instructional Efficiency and Academic Performance of Senior Secondary School Students In Osun State, Nigeria.
Abstract
One of the considerations for granting permit for public schools location is abundant space and land availability. Where these are met, efforts are geared towards maximum use of school space when plants and facilities are located distances away from each other. Good as the intentions were (adequate use of school space and promoting aesthetic values of schools), recent experiences have shown that, such arrangement gave room for lapses in efficient delivery of instruction and subsequent low school achievement in academics. This study observed the effects of school plant organization on instructional efficiency and performance of students in Osun State pubic secondary schools.
The study sampled 100 (about 31.5%) public secondary schools in the three senatorial districts of the state using systematic random sampling method. A researcher- designed questionnaire titled ‘School Plant Organization and Instructional Efficiency Questionnaireâ€(SPOIEQ) was used to collect data on relative location of school plant facilities in the schools. The distance of each school plant facilities was measured and transformed to mean time covered when moving from them to classes where normal lessons hold. The study found out that most specialized school plant facilities (laboratories, libraries ,playgrounds, workshops, hostels and staff offices) were located considerable distance from the classrooms thus requiring longer mean time for teachers and students to move into or from them for teaching and learning. Also a significant relationship was established between location of the school plant facilities and effective delivery of lessons.
The study concluded that school plant location have a role to play on the effectiveness of instruction and the ultimate performance of students in their examinations. It thus recommended the construction of ‘Integrated Classrooms’ that can house almost all teaching activities under one big roof.
Keywords: School Plant, Instructional Efficiency, Specialized School Rooms, Integrated Classroom.
