| dc.description |
The study sought to investigate the influence of school infrastructure on students’
academic performance in rural public secondary schools in Iringa District, Tanzania.
The specific objectives were to assess the availability of school infrastructure enhancing
students’ academic performance, describe the challenges encountered by school heads
on improving school infrastructure, and suggest the possible measures on the challenges
facing heads of schools on improving school infrastructure. The research used a mixed method approach and convergent parallel research design. A total of 151 respondents
comprised of 48 teachers, 97 students, 5 heads of schools, and 1 District Education
Officer were involved in this study. The study used a combination of simple random
sampling and purposive sampling techniques to select the respondents. The data was
collected through questionnaires, interviews and observation. The analysis for
quantitative data was done using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package
for Social Science (SPSS) version 21, while that of the qualitative data was done
through thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that students’ performance
in rural public secondary schools in Iringa District was unsatisfactory due to inadequate
school infrastructures like libraries, laboratories, shortage of classes, dormitories, and
instructional materials. This study concluded that school infrastructure is very essential
to develop quality education and lead to growth and excellence in performance. Lack of
infrastructure negatively influences academic performance. The study recommended
that the government should increase funding for schools to provide and support
adequate teaching and learning materials. The government should also ensure that
standardized available school infrastructure in secondary schools motivate learners |
|