Influence Of School Infrastructure On Students' Academic Performance In Rural Public Secondary Schools

The study sought to investigate the influence of school infrastructure on students’ academic performance in rural public secondary schools.

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.