ABSTRACT
Amongst the predictors of students’ academic performance and self-esteem is the degree of comfortability and conduciveness of school environment. The study examined the impact of school environment on students’ academic performance and self-esteem of secondary school students in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State. The survey design in collaboration with the purposive sampling technique and simple random sampling technique was used to select 180 secondary school students from four selected secondary schools in the study area. The instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire, which was administered to the respondents. The data obtained was subjected to descriptive statistics technique and the analysis of variance. The results revealed that physical school environment (p<0.05); school location (p<0.05) and school facilities (p<0.05) significantly influenced the academic performance of the selected students. Also, school environment (p<0.05), in its entirety significantly impacted on the self-esteem of the students. Based on these findings, the study recommends that modern and functional educational facilities such as libraries, laboratories, ICT centers, health centers, sport centers, toiletries and other instructional materials should be provided and made accessible to the students and teachers should be friendly and courteous towards their students so that they- the students, can consult them whenever they have any disturbing issue(s).
Keywords: School, Environment, Academic Performance, Self-Esteem
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Education is very essential to all countries of the world both developed and developing. Education is the process or art of imparting knowledge, skills, facts, judgment and either formally or informally. It is the channel through which human, physical, social, emotional and intellectual abilities are developed. Education to Kneller (2000) is the process by which individuals go through schools, colleges, universities and other institutions of learning for transmission of values and knowledge. Education in the assertion of the 1st black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, is the most potent weapon to fight poverty, ignorance and provoke positive reforms in the world. Quality education allows for acquisition of skills, technology, progress and creates an avenue for the exploration of human resources towards the attainment of economic development.
School, colleges and universities -have no worth without student. Students are most essential asset for any educational institute. The social and economic development of the country is directly linked with student academic performance. The students’ performance (academic achievement) plays an important role in producing the best quality graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country thus responsible for the country’s economic and social development (Ali et.al, 2009). Student academic performance measurement has received considerable attention in previous research, it is challenging aspects of academic literature, and science student performance are affected due to social, psychological, economic, environmental and personal factors. These factors strongly influence the student performance, but these factors vary from person to person and country to country.
School environment: Quality assurance is the systematic management, monitoring and evaluation procedure adopted to ensure that the learning environment and the curriculum program of an educational institution meet the specified standards to achieve the set goals and produce outputs that will satisfy the expectations of the institution’s customers (society). Quality assurance oriented schools are characterized by core values and elements which were identified by UNICEF (2000) as: quality learners, learning environments, curriculum content, teaching and learning processes, and learning outcomes.
The societal expectation of quality outputs from the training institutions makes the students the primary focus of attention in any instructional program, and the better the school, the better it can meet the goals that include equipping the students with desirable skills, knowledge and attitudes that enable them to work and live in the society of knowledge. The teachers are expected to make teaching the learners’ centered and create enabling environment for the students to interact with learning materials in order to concretize their knowledge and skills so that they can become self-confident and self-reliant, and contribute meaningfully to the socio–economic development of the society.
There is actually a general belief that the condition of school’s learning environment including infrastructure has an important impact on teachers’ effectiveness and students’ academic performance. The facilities that are needed to facilitate effective teaching and learning in an educational institution include the classrooms, offices, libraries, laboratories, conveniences and other buildings as well as furniture items and sporting equipment. The quality of infrastructure and learning environment has strong influence on the academic standard which is an index of quality assurance in the school. For instance, Earthman (2002), reporting on California, revealed that comfortable classroom temperature and smaller classes enhance teachers’ effectiveness and provide opportunities for students to receive more individual attention, ask more questions, participate more fully in discussions, reduce discipline problems and perform better than students in schools with substandard buildings by several percentage points. Ogundare (1999) and Olagboye (2004), viewed utilization of school infrastructure and learning environment as the extent of usage of school buildings, laboratories, library, assembly-ground, flower garden, school garden, volleyball field, chairs, desks, chalkboard, and so on. However, too much pressure on their use could result in over utilization, a situation that could lead to rapid deterioration and breakdown. For instance, when a classroom built to accommodate 40 students is constantly being used for 60 students then the returns from these facilities may not be maximized in terms of teaching and learning. Comfortable learning facilities will not only boost the morale of teachers and students but will also ensure the realization of the set educational objectives in secondary schools.
Self-esteem: The concept of self-esteem is omnipresent in contemporary life. In classrooms and workplaces, sporting events and music recitals, people generally assume that high self-esteem is critical to success in that domain. Indeed, the promotion of self-esteem, and the prevention of low self-esteem, is widely perceived as an important societal goal that merits widespread interventions to boost self-esteem levels in the population. Yet until recently, the scientific literature provided few insights into the nature and development of self-esteem. In the past several years, a large number of longitudinal studies have significantly advanced the field. What is the typical, or normative, pattern of self-esteem changes from adolescence to old age that is, at which stages of life do people typically show increases or decreases in self-esteem? How stable are individual differences in self-esteem across long periods or, put differently, is self-esteem a stable trait like shyness and intelligence or a transient state like feelings of fear and embarrassment? And finally, is self-esteem truly consequential does it influence important life outcomes? Self-esteem refers to an individual’s subjective evaluation of his or her worth as a person (Donnellan, Trzesniewski, & Robins, 2011; MacDonald & Leary, 2012). Importantly, self-esteem does not necessarily reflect a person’s objective talents and abilities, or even how a person is evaluated by others. Moreover, self-esteem is commonly conceptualized as the “feeling that one is ‘good enough,’” and consequently, individuals with high self-esteem do not necessarily believe they are superior to others (Rosenberg, 1965, p. 31). Thus, self-esteem involves feelings of self-acceptance and self-respect, in contrast to the excessive self-regard and self-aggrandizement that characterizes narcissistic individuals (Ackerman et al., 2011).
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In Nigeria, many schools both primary and secondary are situated at various places by private individuals, government, corporate and religious organizations. Thus, the process of teaching and learning takes place under different environment. Every school possesses different kind of facilities and classroom structures at divergent functional levels. All students are expected to sit for the same examination at the final year of either their junior or senior secondary school education (Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination at junior level and Senior School Certificate Examination at senior level). It is therefore expected to have a similar performance from all students since they were taught with the same curriculum and syllabus. In reality, some students in some schools perform better than their counterparts in other schools. This indicates there are definite determinants that influence the success or failure of students in examinations. A particular example of such definite determinants is school environment. Students taught in a conducive environment tend to perform better than their peers taught in an uncomfortable environment. To this end, it is apt to examine the impact of school environment on the academic performance of students and on their psychosocial development.
1.3 OBECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of school environment on students’ academic performance and psychosocial development in Nigeria using a case study of secondary students in Ikenne local government area of Ogun-state.
The specific objectives of the study are:
- To ascertain the extent to which the quality of physical school environment influence students’ academic performance.
- Determine the effects of learning environment and infrastructure on teaching and learning in secondary schools
- To determine the extent to which school environment influences students’
Self-esteem.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The question of interest raised in the study include:
- What types of learning environment and infrastructure are available in secondary schools?
- What are the influence of learning environment and infrastructure on teaching and learning in secondary schools?
- How are learning environment and infrastructure being maintained in secondary schools?
- What are the influence of self-esteem on student academic performance?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation about an observation made on the premise of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Four hypotheses relating to each research questions are developed in the study.
- There is no significant relationship between learning environment and infrastructure in secondary schools.
- There is no significant relationship between learning environment and infrastructure on teaching and learning in secondary schools.
- There is no significant relationship between learning environment and infrastructure being maintained in secondary schools.
- There is no significant relationship between influence on self-esteem and student academic performance.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings will be of immense benefits to students, parents, guardians, teachers, principals, government and relevant stakeholders in the education sector.
The findings of the study will help parents and guardians in determining the choice of the type of school for their children and wards. This is because, the children will enjoy good school learning environment that allows for quality school products. The study will inform teachers, headmasters (mistresses) and principals about their readiness and strong-will to improve school supervision and management methods to ensure quality teaching and learning. It will help them appreciate the fact good school facilities and equipment stimulates students’ academic performance. It will also assist the teachers in the areas of their classroom delivery, teaching effectiveness and increased productivity. The results of the study will help the government and policymakers to formulate effective planning policies and programmes to foster schools’ academic activities. It will also provide policymakers with knowledge to identify and solve the needs of the schools in terms of building and facilities. Lastly, it will aid researchers in their future research undertakings in the aspect of school environment, students’ academic performance and their psychosocial development.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study attempts to cover the influence of school environment on students’ academic performance and self-esteem by prioritizing on secondary school students in Ikenne local government area of Ogun state.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
STUDENT: can be define as someone who is learning at a school or in any teaching environment either formal or informal.
SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: Refer to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which student learn. Since students may learn in a wide variety of settings, such as outside of school location and outdoor environments, the terms are often used as more accurate or preferred alternative to class room, which has more limited and traditional connotation. And it has both direct and indirect influence on student learning.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: measure of knowledge gained in formal education usually indicated by test scores, grade, grade points, average and degrees. Here, the achievement level of the student is judged by the marks that the students have scored in the quarterly examinations
SELF-ESTEEM? Self-esteem is how we value ourselves; it is how we perceive our value to the world and how valuable we think we are to others. Self-esteem affects our trust in others, our relationships, our work nearly every part of our lives. Positive self-esteem gives us the strength and flexibility to take charge of our lives and grow from our mistakes without the fear of rejection. And some sign of positive self-esteem are. Confidence • Self-direction • Non-blaming behaviour • An awareness of personal strengths • An ability to make mistakes and learn from them • An ability to accept mistakes from others • Optimism • An ability to solve problems • An independent and cooperative attitude • Feeling comfortable with a wide range of emotions • An ability to trust others • A good sense of personal limitations • Good self-care.
1.9 PLAN OF THE STUDY
The study is divided into five chapters.
- Ø Chapter one is the introductory aspect of the study that consists of the general introduction, problem statement, research objectives, questions and hypotheses that guides the study.
- Ø Chapter two contains the literature review, by delving on the conceptual framework, theoretical review, empirical review and gaps in literature.
- Ø Chapter three presents the research methodology adopted in the study.
- Ø Chapter four provides the presentation and discussion of results.
- Ø Chapter five gives the summary, conclusion, policy recommendation and suggestion for further studies.
