SCHOOL PHYSICAL FACILITIES AS CORRELATES OF TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study focused on the physical facilities of schools and teacher effectiveness in public secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. Teacher effectiveness shapes learning outcomes through their instruction, engagement and classroom leadership. Despite the recognised importance of teacher effectiveness in achieving quality education, many schools face challenges that hinder optimal teacher performance, particularly in terms of inadequate infrastructure. Three research objectives, one research question was raised and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The population for the study consisted of 3,228 public secondary school teachers, while the sample for this study was drawn using a multi-stage sampling procedure to select 300 respondents. The sampling procedure involved a four-stage process in which Osun State was purposively selected, ten (10) Local Governments were stratified and chosen from the thirty (30) Local Governments and one (1) Area Office, fifty (50) public senior secondary schools were randomly selected from the two hundred and thirty-four (234) schools within the chosen Local Governments, and finally, eight (8) teachers were randomly selected from each school to participate in the study. A self-structured questionnaire tagged “School Physical Facilities Questionnaire (SPFQ) with a reliability coefficient of 0.86. A simple percentage was used to answer the research question and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was used to analyse hypotheses 1 & 2 at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there was a moderate level of teacher effectiveness in public secondary schools in Osun State. The result of hypothesis 1 revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between adequacy of physical school facilities and teacher effectiveness (r = 0.744, p < 0.05) and also result of hypothesis 2 revealed that there was a significant and positive correlation between utilisation of school physical facilities and teacher effectiveness in Osun State public school (r = 0.96, p < 0.05). The study established that well-equipped classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and staff offices contributed significantly to teachers’ motivation, instructional competence, and classroom control. It was concluded that the provision and utilisation of school physical facilities are vital for enhancing teachers’ effectiveness and sustaining quality education in public secondary schools in Osun State. It was therefore recommended that the Osun State Government, in collaboration with non-governmental organisations and community stakeholders, should invest more in the provision, maintenance, and equitable distribution of school facilities. School administrators should also encourage effective utilisation of available resources and organise regular training to strengthen teachers’ instructional capacity.