IMPACT OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENTS’ DROPOUT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of school environment on students’
dropout in secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Three research
questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The design adopted for
the study was descriptive survey research design. The population of the
study comprised 3,918 senior secondary school 2 students in Rivers
State, from which 786 students were sampled through simple random
sampling technique. The instrument for the study was a questionnaire,
titled, “Influence of School Environment on Students Dropout
Questionnaire (ISESDQ)”. The research questions were analyzed using
mean ratings and standard deviation, while the hypothesis was
analyzed using independent t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance.
The results of the study revealed that school physical environment,
school social environment and school academic environment, had
impact on students’ dropout in secondary schools in Rivers State (with
weighted means of: 2.98, 2.70 and 2.73 respectively). It was also found
that students’ perception on the impact of school physical, social and
academic environments on students’ dropout were not significantly
dependent on students’ gender (t-values .025, .019, .795, and .347; and
p-values .980, .985, .427, and .729 respectively). Based on the findings
of the study, it was recommended among others that the school
physical environment in Rivers State should be improved by renovating
and repainting old and dilapidated classroom buildings and adequate
facilities provided to make the schools more attractive and conducive
for learning. In addition, the social environment of the school should be
free from abuse and violence. Finally, it was recommended that the
school academic environment should be improved by monitoring
teachers’ classroom management and Instructional delivery.