WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
IMPACT OF SCHOOL FACILITIES ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS LEARNERS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN JOS NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The importance of school facilities in the development of effective educational system, particularly at the secondary school level cannot be over emphasized. The utilization of the goals and objectives of education require the provision, maximum utilization and appropriate management of the school facilities. The design and size of school buildings have evolve over time. Many of the improvements reflected advancement in pedagogy and knowledge about environmental effects on learning. In the past, education was a much more informal activity than it is today and the physical setting for education was not considered important. Instruction usually occurred in open spaces or in structure designed for purpose other than teaching and learning. The early schools in Nigeria indicated that the national issues on education believed that the settings in which education occurred was of little consequence. This philosophy was visible in both school buildings and their locations, especially on the early schools. Very few architects (if any) were available to assist in the planning and construction of schools in the early days of education.

School can be viewed as an organized environment where educational curricular are interpreted. It is a formal structured organization which serves as a transitional stage in life between family and the society. School is a place where the child is prepared to function as an adult, and through this transformation by way of teaching and learning process, whose purpose is to bring about in the learner desirable positive and effective change in the behavior through critical thinking in a more conducive environment which is structured to facilitate learning. The attainment of an effective and efficient teaching and learning is therefore dependent on teacher’s quality, the location of the school, the organization and arrangement of physical structures and other school facilities in the school. In the present day of technological advancement, there is need for the school principals to adopt modern method of plant and facility management which would improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Adesina and Ogunsaju, (2011) stressed the importance of school facilities. He maintained that the qualities of education that children receive bear direct relevance to the availability or lack of physical facilities and overall atmosphere in which learning take place.

Secondary school, which according to Federal Government of Nigeria (2004:13) “is the education children received after primary education and before the tertiary stage” needs school plant and facilities which consist of all types of buildings for academic and non-academic activities; equipment for academic and non-academic activities; areas for sports and games, landscape, farms and gardens, including trees, roads and paths. Other facilities needed by secondary schools include furniture and toilet facilities, lightings, acoustics, storage facilities and parking lots, security, transportations, cleaning materials, food services, and special facilities for special needs. Their appearance and maintenance influences most parents and convince them to make judgment about the qualities and effectiveness as to what goes on in the school. It is believed that, without such facilities, the empty buildings, no matter how attractive they are cannot be effectively used for educational purposes.

Recently, the Nigerian secondary schools learners with hearing impairment academic performance is generally poor going by the existing records, (Adesina, 2011); He posited that, there was persistent mass failure of learners with hearing impairment in secondary school examinations (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). The observed poor academic performance of secondary learners with hearing impairment may not be unconnected with seemingly poor school plant planning in most Nigerian secondary schools. The high level of learners with hearing impairment academic performance may not be guaranteed where instructional space such as class rooms, libraries, technical workshops and laboratories are structurally defective. Enumerating the factors that could be responsible for intra and inter-school academic achievements, acute scarcity of instructional resources which according to him attributed constrain of educational systems from responding more fully to new demands.

School facilities constitute major determining factor toward ensuring quality education. It is one of the yardsticks for measuring the level of educational growth and development. It implies substantial cost of the school system for their establishment, if not properly managed and maintained, it will affect the academic performance of learners with hearing impairment. School facility is the process of ensures that buildings and other technical systems support the operations of an organization. Ajayi (2009) described school facilities as the practice of co-ordination of the physical workplace with the people and the work of the organization; it integrates the principles of school administration, architecture and the behavioural and engineering sciences.

Learners with hearing impairment academic performance can be measured in many ways but the commonly used method is the result of learners with hearing impairment in examinations, which is used to pass judgment on the schools and teachers. Learners with hearing impairment academic performance is the final grade which learners with hearing impairment get after a systematic and comprehensive measurement and evaluation of the individual learner with hearing impairment in a school setting for the purpose of making decision or judgment on his/her cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The researcher viewed academic performance as the educational outcome of learners with hearing impairment as measure by Senior School Certificate Examination.

Bullock (2007) studied the relationship between school facilities and learners with hearing impairment academic performance in secondary schools. The study examined the relationships that exist between learners with hearing impairment academic performance and the overall, structural and cosmetic building conditions. School administrators must be concerned with the structural and cosmetic conditions of school facilities as well as learners with hearing impairment academic performance, the combination of existing school facilities, leadership decision, and the financial ability of the schools. He founds that learners with hearing impairment perform better in school that were new or renovated recently than in older schools. The overall building condition, the school age of the building, and the windows in the instructional areas were positively related to learners with hearing impairment performance.

It is a common experience to see some schools today, where the environments are by far from being conducive for learning; where classroom spaces are inadequate, for most children are found to be compacted in classrooms, especially special schools. In some cases learning take place under trees. Some schools are generally in a poor state of repair. Teachers‟ effectiveness and learners with hearing impairment‟ learning may be limited by inadequate learning materials. Poor working conditions and insufficient facilities have inevitably eroded motivation and satisfaction which demoralized teachers, education today must prepare the child for an all-round development

            It is in the light of the above discussion that this stud seeks to determine the impact of school facilities on the performance of learners with hearing impairment in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• Statement of the Problem

Mass failure in examinations has relatively alarming proportions in the last few years. The outcome of our educational system has fallen below the minimal for our educational objectives and this means that there is a failure in our curriculum, facility provision, our teachers and teaching method or our evaluation system. Educating all children at this time of economic meltdown presents a significant challenge due to the large number of children, especially in a developing country like Nigeria, where planning always posed a problem. There is need, therefore, to utilize and maintain the limited plant and facilities available in schools for quality teaching and learning effectiveness. School facilities that are deteriorated and inadequate may result in reduced learning time, alienated learners with hearing impairment, inability to provide specialized curriculum, low staff morale, lack of technology proficiency, safety hazards, high rates of teacher attrition, and a reduced ability to meet special needs.

Therefore, this scenario of poor performance among learners with hearing impairment has motivated the researcher to determine where there is a relationship between educational faculties and academic performance of learners with hearing impairment in secondary schools or otherwise.

1.3. Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this research is to find out the impact of educational facilities on the academic performance of secondary school learners with hearing impairment in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. In the light of this, the specific objectives of the research include:

1. To determine the educational facilities which are available in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area.
2. To examine the impact of teaching and learning facilities on academic performance of learners with hearing impairment in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area.
3. To examine the challenges faced by learners with hearing impairment and teachers in using of educational facilities in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area.

1.4. Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide this study.

1. What are the educational facilities which are available in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area?
2. What are the impact of learning facilities on learners with hearing impairment academic performance in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area?
3. What are the challenges faced by learners with hearing impairment and teachers in using of educational facilities in secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area?

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is believed that the life wire of any educational system is the extent of availability of school facilities (in terms of quality and quantity) which occupies a crucial place in the realization of its goals. However, the result of the findings in this research work shall assist every stakeholder (policy makers, school administrators, teachers, government and the learners with hearing impairment) in playing a sensitive role aimed at improving the standard of education through the provision of a conducive learning environment.

First, policy makers will be well equipped with reliable and factual information which serves as an input for effective law making on issues relating to allocation of funds, timely released period and the legal framework guiding its activities.

Secondly, it will provide an extensive knowledge of school facilities to the school administrators to initiate, sustain and put to use. It will afford other researchers to look into grey areas not covered in the present study and seek ways of improving over it.

Furthermore, teachers as major stakeholders in the school system, who play an intermediate role, seek to work harmoniously with the school in encouraging the learners with hearing impairment to use the facilities. This could be to solve assignments, observe practical knowledge and in the acquisition of essential skills. It will also place a great burden on the government to provide adequate funding to the school system, equipped the inspectorate unit to carry out its functions effectively.

1.6. Delimitation of the Study

This study covers the impact of educational facilities on the academic performance of secondary school learners with hearing impairment. The study is limited to Otana Integrated School, Jos; Sunnah Private School of Jibwis; Plateau School for the Deaf and Open Doors for Special Learners which are secondary schools with learners with hearing impairment in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. This will be made up of the combination of government and private schools.

1.7. Operational Definition of Terms

Teaching: Is the act, practice or profession of a teacher which shapes one’s thought and action through giving instructions and or performing practices.

Learning: Learning is the act of acquiring new or modifying and reinforcing existing knowledge, behaviours, skills and values or it is a skill or knowledge acquired by instruction or study.

Impact: This is the likely effect of school facilities on the learners with hearing impairment academic performance.

Academic Performance: This is the outcome or achievements of learners with hearing impairment after being subjected to the use of teaching, learning, health, sport and recreational facilities.

Learners with Hearing Impairment: These are learners who do not hear, but are communicated with through sign language and writing.