Abstract:

The study investigated the extent of influence of the conditions of the school students attend and how it influences their academic achievements. A multi-site case study was adopted in carrying out the study. The population of the study consisted of school officials such as headmasters, senior housemasters, and bursars. Students and parents were also involved in the study. A sample size of 339 was used. The researcher used purposive, convenient and proportional representation (quota) sampling techniques in selecting the respondents. The instruments used included semi-structured questionnaire, semi-structured interview schedules, structured observation and secondary analysis. Descriptive statistics were used in presenting the data. The study found that teacher quality was important in students’ academic success. There was a significant number of untrained teachers who were teaching at the SHS level. The schools were faced with inadequate furniture, teaching and learning materials, library materials and space. School officials indicated in the interview sessions that the status of the libraries shows that they were not up to standard. Students agreed that teacher quality, teachers’ experience, school general atmosphere and well stocked library facilities promote students’ academic achievements in school. The school officials revealed that, to a large extent the type of school students attend, has an influence on the students’ academic performance. The overall school performance largely depends on the effectiveness and efficiency of the educational leadership in the school. The study recommends that government channels more resources into the education sector, especially at the SHS level to address the challenges of disadvantaged secondary schools in terms of infrastructure, furniture, computers, and library books among others.

Keywords:

Academic achievement, academic performance, teacher quality, students’ success, school performance, school infrastructure, school facilities.