LEVERAGING SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT TO ENHANCE LEARNING OUTCOMES AMONG EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PUPILS IN EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, EDO STATE

Abstract

The study explores the perception of leveraging school environment on the learning outcomes of early childhood pupils in the Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Two research questions were generated to guide the study. The descriptive survey research design was employed in the study. The population comprised all kindergarten classroom teachers and their head teachers. The sample was 156 teachers and their heads were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire tagged “Perceived Impact of Leveraging School Environment Questionnaire (PISEQ)”. Three specialists in education validated the instrument. The reliability of the instrument was established with Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, which yielded a coefficient of 0.70. The data generated were analysed with descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. The study revealed that the school environment (physical, social and psychological environment) impact on the learning outcomes of early childhood pupils. Therefore, the study recommends among others that environmental educators, educational managers, administrators and other stakeholders in the educational sectors should ensure the provision of a decent school environment to facilitate effective learning and by extension improved learning outcomes.