IMPACT OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS IN PESHAWAR CANTT AREA

1. INTRODUCTION
Children need safe, healthy and stimulating environment in which to grow and learn. During the school
year, children can spend 6 to 8 hours at the school where the environment plays a significant/critical
role in child development. More of the time is spent in the school yard or travelling to and from school.
This condition requires careful planning and designing to optimize experiences that support education,
health and stewardship. Therefore, the school environment is of paramount importance in shaping and
reshaping intellectual ability. However, supportive and favorable school environment enriched with
enough learning facilities, and favorable climate makes students more comfortable, more concentrated
on their academic activities that resulted in high academic performance. The forces of the environment
begin to influence growth and development of the individual right from the womb of his mother. The
educational process of development occurs in physical, social, cultural and psychological environment. A
proper and adequate environment is very much necessary for a fruitful learning of the child. The
favorable school environment provides the necessary stimulus for learning experiences. The children
spend most of their time in school, and this school environment is exerting influence on performance
through curricular, teaching technique and relationship.

Environment plays major role in the life of every individual whether a students, teachers, employer or
employee. Though some people are yet to believe that environment brings about better performance.

Environmental factors affecting secondary students.

Learning takes place effectively only when congenial environment is provided for children in school
which are parts of his social environment. The school is a factor of tremendous importance in education.
The more the emphasis on speeding up the learning process, the more will be the emphasis on good
learning environment. Non-functional, meagerly equipped and unattractively decorated school plants
have given place to plants with superior lighting, attractive decoration, comfortable seating, useful
service facilities such as library, multipurpose room, functional playgrounds, and class-rooms with chalk
and bulletin boards, sinks, work areas, filing and storage facilities and pupils’ lockers.

A. Facilities Related to Infrastructure

i. Class-rooms

In the secondary school it is desirable that each section of students should have a room, though in
teaching, two sections or more can be accommodated in one big room designed to seat about 70 pupils.
It is desirable that some rooms should accommodate as many as 70 and other 30-40 students. About
one fourth to one fifth of the rooms should be larger and smaller than the average.

The class-room should have not only space for good study but adequate space for using maps, charts,
pictures, specimens, models, exhibits, reference books, tools, craft materials, experiment apparatus and
the like. Every instructional room should provide a healthful living and working environment for pupils
and teachers.
ii. Black-boards

Black-board is the necessary equipment of a class room and a handy apparatus at the hands of a
teacher. A teacher who does not use his black-board is not an effective teacher. Black-boards are many
and various and include painted areas of the wall, framed wall boards, swing slates and board rising and
falling, wall-boards and the black-board and easel. Of all these, black-board with easel is the best for the
reasons that it can be moved to any part of the classroom, that it can be raised as the teacher works
downwards on it and that its angle can be instantaneously changed to meet a change of the angle of
incidence of the light. Moreover, the board can easily be taken down for purposes of concealment of
contents during a test and both sides of the board are available for use.

iii. Cupboards

Every class-room should be provided with a cupboard for the accommodation of such stock as is issued
daily in the class and for the safe keeping of models, specimens, apparatus etc. If this be a glass-fronted
cupboard and part of it can be turned into a museum of specimens provided by the pupils, so much the
better.

iv. Lighting

The increase of short-sightedness among children of school age imposes an additional responsibility on
educationists for proper means of lighting the rooms. The light arrangements should be as much
approximate as possible to creating conditions in the class-room with reference to light in it as one finds
in the open air on a dull day. The light in the room should seem to come from no particular source but
should be well diffused about the room and should cast no shadows. The light should come in only from
the left so that no shadow is cast by pen or the pencil when the child is working at his desk. The desks,
therefore, should be arranged in such a manner as to take full advantage of the light coming from the
left. If this consideration is disregarded, the light will either shine in the teacher’s face or dazzle the
children.

v. Science Laboratories

The school must possess well-planned and equipped science rooms and laboratories to aid instruction
and stimulate greater interest in science courses. The old practice of having separate lecture and
practical rooms is now giving place to multiple-use room-a good size for an average school room is 24
feet by 42 feet. If service connection for gas, electricity and water are provided in the wall, it will be easy
to use the movable tables in one position for class work and in another for laboratory. Built-in
cupboards for storing chemicals and apparatus should be provided. They will save space and also assure
a better look. Science rooms, as in many other class-rooms, should include various types of instructional
aides, such as projectors, screens and suitable electrical outfits for visual education. They also need
growing beds for plants, cages for small animals, and cases for insects. Storage space should be provided
for class-instructional material for each group and for individual pupils using the room. Delicate
instruments and dangerous chemicals should be stored in separate compartments equipped with metal
shelves.

vi. Library
 Library is the hub of the academic life of a school. With the new techniques of teaching, library should
be the center of the school educational program.

vii. Furniture

If the school plant is to function efficiently, suitable furniture and equipment has to be provided.
Furniture plays an extremely important part in the physical, moral and mental welfare of the scholars.
Great care should be taken in providing the same for “education is the cultivation of a first and
legitimate familiarity between the mind and the things” as is said by Bacon. Each and every thing in the
school affixes its stamp upon the individuality of the child and “the whole efforts of a school ought to be
directed making boys manly, earnest and true by everything around them, all they do and all that is
done to them, being the best stamp”. We can only have the best work-man if we accomplish him with
the best tools.

Academic achievement

Education is a dynamic process, which involves imparting knowledge, generating interests and curiosity,
inculcating desirable attitudes and values and developing essential skills required for independent study.
This is necessary for enabling students to be competent and socially useful citizens. The unique
responsibility of the school is to impart and help children in the acquisition of scholastic skills of the
several factors influencing academic achievement; school environment may be said to play a dominant
role in the achievement of school students. Children with proper school environment have been found
to be making greater effort for academic performance.

Impact of environment on academic achievement

According to Dewey (1926) ‘Education is a continuous process of experiencing and of revising or non-
revising experiences. It is the development of all those capacities in the individual which enables him to
control his environment and fulfill his possibilities’. The forces of environment begin to influence the
growth and development of the individual right from the womb of the mother. Educational process of
development occurs in physical, social, cultural and psychological environment. A proper and adequate
environment is very much necessary for a fruitful learning of the child. Especially the home and the
school should provide the necessary stimulus for learning experience. The child spends most of his time
in school and here his environment is exerting a different influence on performance through curricula,
teaching techniques, relationship.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter looks at what learning environment is and how environment affects the pupil’s
Performance. The chapter explores the different variables that constitute to a learning environment that
is the psychological, social and economic as well as home environment.

2.2 Theories on Learning

There are theories that talk about learning and what others have said about how environment affects
pupil’s academic performance. These theories include: the motivation theory, the hierarchy of needs
theory and the social learning theory as discussed below.

2.2.1 Motivation Theory

Motivation is the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. The forces that lie
beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or cognitive in nature. There are several aspects
of motivation theory such as instinct theory of motivation in which people are motivated to behave in
certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so. An example of this is the seasonal
migration of animals; a behavior pattern that is inborn. There is also the incentive theory of motivation
that suggests that people are motivated to do things because of external rewards such as monetary
rewards. The drive theory of motivation also states that people are motivated to take certain actions in
order to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet needs. This theory is useful in explaining
behaviors that have a strong biological component, such as hunger or thirst. The problem with the drive
theory of motivation is that these behaviors are not always motivated purely by physiological needs. For
example, people often eat even when they are not really hungry. The humanistic theory of motivation is
based on the idea that people also have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions (Winslow,
2012).

2.2.2 Hierarchy of Needs Theory

The motivation theory integrates well with Abraham Maslow’s of the hierarchy of needs.

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs presents different motivations at different levels. First, people
are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and
esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-
actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual potential.

The hierarchy of needs theory posts that the needs at the bottom are the most urgent and need to be
satisfied before attention can be paid to the others.

2.2.3 The Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory is a perspective that states that people learn within a social context that is
facilitated through modeling and observation. People, especially children, learn from the environment
and seek acceptance from society by learning through influential models. The social behaviour is also
influenced by being rewarded and /or punished for these actions. This takes live model in which an
actual person demonstrates the desired behaviour, verbal instruction in which an individual describes
the desired behaviour in detail and instructs the participant to engage in the behavior, and symbolic
modeling which occurs by means of the media, including movies, television, internet, literature, and
radio. The most critical element of the social learning theory is that for pupils to learn they must pay
attention, retain what they have learnt; reproduce what they have learnt; and be well motivated.

School Environment and Learning

Anbalagan (2017) found that secondary students had high level of school environment. It is found out
that there were positive relationship between the school environment and academic achievement. To
make the achievement to a high level, efforts must be taken to strengthen the school environment.
Chukwuemeka (2013) conducted a study that consisted of six hundred teachers and students. Whereas
the sample was two hundred and fifty (250), teachers and students. The major findings of his study were
that Performance is affected by environment, improper maintenance of fixtures led to lower than
average student’s performance, Home background has effect on the academic performance of
students and the use of internet has made students to be lazy in their academic works.

According to Oluchukwu (2000) and Ajayi (2001), the school environment which include the classroom,
libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teacher’s quality, school management, teaching methods,
peers etc. are variables that affect student’s academic performance. Hence, the school environment
remains an important area that should be managed and well-studied to enhance student’s academic
performance. It was observed that the learning is optimal when body, soul and spirit are in accord;
otherwise learning will be ineffective (Frenzel, et al, 2007)). Hence, clean, quiet and comfortable
environment are important components of learning environment. Furthermore, creating of an ideal
learning environment must be a top priority of every concern educator.

Chukwuemeka(2013) did a research using 250 sample out of 600 population. He figured out that school
setting i.e. location is one of the crucial factor of environment that play a significant role in academic
performance of students. He said that school that are built near to airport or at city side distract
student’s concentration and cause disturbance among students. Furthermore he said that classroom
design also play a key role in the better performance of students. Classroom decoration, pictures
increase student’s interest, aptitudes and play a vital role in their behavioral development. In simple
words he concluded his study that all things that comes into school environment whether it is school
building, infrastructure, learning materials, different facilities, A.V.aids, student teacher relation, home
background etc. positively influence the performance of students.

In the same way Mahmood and Gondal (2017) carried a research in Gujrat to find out the impact of
school environment on student’s achievement. He took samples of teachers and head teachers from 8
districts of Punjab side. He came to the conclusion that school environment has a positive and direct
influence on the students achievement. From his studies he suggest that with physical environment,
supportive school environment from their teacher also play a pivotal role. He conducted his study on
English medium and Urdu medium classes. He recommended that supportive learning environment
should be promoted in schools in order to enhance the overall teaching learning process and get the
desired objectives of each subject matter and to increase the level of achievement among students.

Usaini.et.al (2015) conducted a similar study. The result of his study indicated that students from a
school with adequate facilities, good teachers and favorable environment perform well than those from
schools with fewer facilities, unqualified teachers and the less enabling environment. He conclude that
teachers should understand and appreciate the diverse domestic environment of their students.
Parents should involve actively with school authority about their children education to enable them
understand the progress or otherwise of their children.

Daramola (2017), on the basis of findings, he recommended that conducive learning environment
should be created for the students so that they would be able to perform academically. Moreover,
schools should be provided with adequate teaching aids, as this will also enhance the academic
performance of students in economics. His finding revealed that there is no significant relationship
between school location and students’ academic performance in economics in senior secondary school
in Ilorin. He said that Conducive learning environment should be created for the students so that they
would be able to perform academically, The school should be provided with adequate teaching aids, as
this will also enhance the academic performance of students in economics, The school administrators
should also encourage student – teacher interpersonal relationship as this will bridge communication
gap between students and their teachers and this will in turn enhance the academic performance of
students.

Onukwo (2004) in his note says that a conducive environment enhances a child's growth and
development. Children feel happy in a peaceful and friendly environment where as schools sited in noisy
urban streets are associated with deficits in mental concentration leading to student’s poor
performance.

Vikoo (2003) views instructional material as "any device with instructional content or function that is
used for teaching purpose, including books, supplementary reading materials, audio-visual and other
sensory materials, scripts for radio and television instrumentation programs for computer management
packaged sets of materials for construction or manipulation. Also Vikoo (2003) sees instructional
material as anything that can be profitably employed to facilitate teaching learning process. Therefore,
class without learning material can lead to student's poor academic performance.

Rationale of the study

The results of the study may add to the existing body of knowledge on the factors that contribute to
poor performance of pupils in local and national examinations. More specifically the study may assist
the government with policy recommendations that may be applied to improve learning environment in
many public secondary schools in Peshawar. This may be through provision of resources and facilities
which make the learning environment favorable hence make the schools child friendly. The result may
also help in unearthing the psychological or home factors that hinder or facilitate learning and make
appropriate policy interventions. The study may also propose solutions to the psychological and home
factors that hinder learning hence seeking to improve performance, attitude and the social concern of
the stakeholders like parents and teachers.

Statement of the problem

The area of the study selected by the investigator is “impact of school environment on academic
achievement of secondary school students.”

Objective of the Study

1) To examine how school environment influence students’ academic performance.

2) To identify the influence of teachers on students’ academic performance.

3) To analyze how school climate influence students’ academic performance.

4) To identify factors within the learning environment that affect students’ academic achievement in
mathematics.

Research Questions

i. Is there any relationship between school environment and the pupil academic performance?

ii. Is there any relationship between pupil’s performance and their psychological environment?

iii. Does the home environment have any relationship with pupil’s academic performance?

Research Hypotheses

Ho1. There will be no statistically significant relationship between school environment and the pupils’
academic performance.

Ho2. There will be no statistically significant relationship between psychological environment and the
pupils’ academic performance.

Ho3. There will be no statistically significant relationship between home environment and the pupils’
academic performance.

Definition of Operational Term

The meaning of the following terms in the context of my study:

Learning: this is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge behaviors skills values or preferences
and may involve synthesizing different types of information.

Learning environment: it’s the social, physical, psychological and pedagogical context in which learning
occurs and which affects pupil’s achievement and attitude.

School: this is an institution designed for the teaching of pupils (pupils) under the direction of teachers

School environment: a school physical environment includes the school buildings and the surrounding.

Academic achievement: its knowledge attained or skills developed in school subject by test scores.

Organization of the study

In chapter one the following were covered: background of the study, statement of the problem,
significance of the study, objectives, research questions, limitations, and definition of significant terms
used in the study.

Chapter two, looks at what learning environment is and how environment affects the pupil’s
performance. The chapter explores the different variables that constitute to a learning environment that
is the psychological, social and economic as well as home environment.

In chapter three the following are included under research methodology: research design, target
population, sample and sampling design, research instruments, instrument reliability, instrument
validity, data collection procedure, data analysis techniques and operationalization of variables.
Chapter four presents data analysis and interpretation while chapter five presents summary of findings,
conclusions and recommendations.

Limitations of the Study

The study was limited to Peshawar district. All the other divisions should have been studied but due to
constrain in time and money it was not possible.

Transport from one school to another was also a limitation due to poor infrastructure. The weather
conditions may be a problem among many others.

Assumptions of the Study

All respondents would be cooperate and give responses truthfully as asked. It’s also assumed that all
respondents will honest and gave their responses without being coerced to. It’s also assumed that all
respondents were literate and would be able to give their responses independently. The respondents
would answer the questionnaire in time. The data collection time would be sufficient and the weather
conditions would not interfere with data collection.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

Kothari (2003) defines a research design as an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis in a
way that tends to combine relevance of the research purpose with economy in procedure. The research
design constitutes a blue print for the collection of data and is meant to assist the researcher to collect
information that would form the basis for answering the research questions raised.

Descriptive survey design will be used in this research because of its descriptive nature that aids in
learning people’s perception, attitude beliefs, values, behaviors’, opinions, likes and dislikes, habits, and
desires. As regards Orodho and Kombo (2002), this design can be used when collecting information
about people’s attitudes, opinions, habits or any of the variety of education and social issues. In this
case this design will help the researcher in collecting information regarding the pupil’s attitude towards
learning in the given environment and how the learning environment (comprising of teacher-pupils
relationship, peers, family, and religion among others) can affect pupil’s performance in Peshawar cantt
area.

Target Population

Target population refers to all the members of a real or hypothetical set of people, objects by observing
some of them and extending them to the entire population or set of events (Orodho 2009).

In conducting a research study, the researcher would ideally investigate all the individuals to whom they
wish to generalize their findings. In this study, the target population is teachers, pupils from Peshawar
cantt area…….

Sample Size

According to Kerlinger (1973) a sample is a subject of the population where the actual study is being
conducted…..

Data Collection Instrument/ tools of research

The instruments we will use in this study for collecting data will be questionnaires for teachers and
pupils. The researcher will design a questionnaire to gather information from teachers and the standard
8 pupils because they are the ones who could be able to read and answer a questionnaire. According to
Bowling (1999), questionnaires are the best data collection instruments because they are carried out in
natural settings and the questions increase the natural validity of the study.
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