School Facilities and Class Size as Predictors of Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Ogun-East Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

This study determined school facilities and class size as predictors of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Ogun-East Senatorial District, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive research design of the survey type. The population comprised 532 teachers of four core subjects and 33,162 students in 133 public junior secondary schools in 9 Education Zones in Ogun-East Senatorial District. A sample size of 212 teachers and 2,073 students of JS3 for the 2022/2023 academic session were selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Student samples were selected from intact classes. Three validated research instruments titled: School Facilities Assessment Checklist (r=.82), Subject Teacher Class Size Inventory (r=.95) and Students’ Academic Achievement Tests (r=.76) were used for data collection. The research questions were analysed using percentage, mean and standard deviation. The hypotheses were tested using correlation and multiple regression analysis at .05 alpha level. Findings showed that the condition of school facilities available for use in 73.6% of public secondary schools was poor. The nature of class size was majorly large in 62.3% schools. There was a significant composite contribution of school facilities and class size to students' academic performance (F2, 250 = 43.858; p < .05). There was a significant relative contribution of school facilities (β= 0.704; t= 7.701) and class size (β= -0.200; t= -2.185) to students’ academic performance. The study concluded that school facilities and class size combined are strong predictors of students’ academic performance. The study recommends that the existing school facilities should be expanded to reduce overcrowded classrooms in public secondary schools.