School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry

School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry
School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry

ABSTRACT: The study investigated School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The population of the study consisted of all the Chemistry teachers in the study Area. A sample size of thirty (30) Chemistry teachers was purposively selected from  four (4) out of eight (8) senior secondary schools in the study area. Questionnaire on School Facilities Availability and Utilization (QSFAU) was the main instrument used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean statistical analysis.

School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry

Findings from the study revealed poor school facilities availability and utilization in the teaching of chemistry in secondary schools in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government should provide adequate facilities/equipment needed in schools for the teaching of chemistry and teachers should always improvise these facilities when they are not available. 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

According to Anchurian and Steward (2004) school facilities play a vital role in the actualization of educational goals and objectives by satisfying the physical and emotional needs of the staff and students of the school. School facilities, can therefore be briefly regarded as the items which make teaching and learning possible in the school. In other words school facilities can be referred to as the human and physical resources that are needed or use in the school in order to aid learning and teaching. The quality of education depends largely on school facilities. The school environment and its facilities has a strong influence on students learning. School facilities can actually have a substantive impact on learning process.

Dewees (2010) stated that lack of facilities has an adverse effect on the performance of students. The challenge for educators is to renovate or design buildings, libraries, laboratories that provided the appropriate infrastructure for new learning approaches as well as tools for technology that improves teaching and learning processes. Facilities found in the educational institutions are designed to aid the attainment of educational goals and objectives.

Educational facilities are infrastructural facilities in education which enable a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. The value of facilities in education becomes attainable when viewed in terms of their adequacy to programme they were designed for. This means that facilities must satisfy both qualitative and quantitative educational programmes, which w ill aid the school to function well. The need for availability of educational facilities in the institution of learning is indispensable to teaching and learning. Teachers and students perform creditably when facilities are available in the schools. A well equipped laboratory, library, classroom are prerequisite to quality education.

Vandiver (2011) posited that a positive relationship exists between availability of facilities in school and academic performance of students and that the teaching of sciences could be made easy and interestingly for students if the facilities such as laboratory facilities and library facilities in the schools are available and are utilized in the teaching and learning process. It is also noted that a well prepared instruction could be designed by non-availability or improper utilization of school facilities by the teachers. This is because the students could misuse the opportunity given to them to utilize these resources if the teachers do not guide and supervise the students during the process of utilization.

Gamoran (2009) noted that facilities such as library resources and presence of science laboratory had much impact on variation in students’ achievement. School facilities are the totality of facilities that directly or indirectly influence the teaching and learning process. This refers to the immovable objects in schools that provide an avenue for the explanation of Basic Science theories.

School Facilities Utilization and Teaching of Chemistry

1.2       Statement of the problem

It is well known fact that the academic performance of students depends to a large extent on the facilities the students are exposed to while learning. Problems are often generated when there is no inclusive teaching and learning as a result of inadequate facilities like laboratory facilities, library facilities, classroom facilities, etc. Students cannot be expected to achieve objectives of lessons when the teaching and learning of the lesson is without adequate utilization of functional teaching and learning facilities.

Laboratories and libraries are lucking in many schools and in schools were they are found; reagents, equipment and necessary materials are not utilized. For instance students who learn in the absences of adequate facilities learn in abstract, that is without practical knowledge of what the teachers is teaching and such teaching cannot be said to be effective. Such students develop low interest in the subject and low interest brings about poor attitude resulting in poor academic performance. The problem of this study was to investigate presence or otherwise of school facilities for learning, their utilization and hindrances to their usage in the teaching of chemistry.

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