SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES AS PREDICTORS OF SECONDARY STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ESAN NORTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the school environment variables as predictors of secondary school students’ academic performance in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a correlational survey research design to achieve the purpose of the study. The population comprised of 5,129 students.  A stratified sampling procedure was used to select nine public secondary schools from a total of 14 public secondary schools in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State. A simple random sampling procedure was used to select 20 students from each of the nine public secondary schools, giving a total sample size of 180 students. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire constructed by the authors, titled: “School Environment Variables and Students Academic Performance”. The instrument was validated using face and construct validation procedures. A test re-test reliability method was conducted and a reliability coefficient of 0.62 value was obtained. Linear and multiple regression statistics were used for data analysis. The analysis showed that school environment variables (e.g. school location, class size, physical facilities, and instructional materials) predicted secondary school students’ academic performance in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that government should endeavour to ensure the provision of conducive instructional environment, in turn, enhance effective teaching and learning as this would further help to improve the current state of students’ academic performance.