School Plants in India: 4 Functions of
School Plants
School Plants in India: 4 Functions of School Plants ([Link])
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The school plant includes the school building, play-ground, furniture,
class-room, library, hostel, apparatus and equipment’s, school
offices, black-board, school record etc. Thus, the term ‘school plant’
carries a wide meaning. All the material conditions of the school
plant should be conducive for the all-round development of the
student- physical, emotional, social, cultural, aesthetic and moral.
The School is a social institution set up by the society to serve its ends.
School is the nucleus around which the society resolves. It is the
school and its environment which play a major role in moulding the
ideas, habits and attitudes of the pupils with a view to producing
physically strong, mentally alert, emotionally stable, culturally sound,
socially efficient and well-balanced personalities.
The physical facilities as well as the campus do have a great deal to
contribute to the total success of the school. Beautiful surroundings
are a very important factor in generating a congenial atmosphere for
work and job satisfaction. So, in the whole educational process, there
are two important resources- human and material.
Planned organisation of these materials or physical resources in the
school is known as school plant. The physical facilities or the material
resources contribute a great deal to the total success of the school.
Hence the importance of the school plant is known to all members of
the society. It is the most important factor in the whole educational
process. Reller has rightly remarked that, “The school plant is one of
the major concerns and opportunities of the school administrator. It is
of great importance because of the impact of the plant on the
educational processes and programme.”
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The school plant includes the school building, play-ground, furniture,
class-room, library, hostel, apparatus and equipment’s, school offices,
black-board, school record etc. Thus, the term ‘school plant’ carries a
wide meaning. All the material conditions of the school plant should
be conducive for the all-round development of the student- physical,
emotional, social, cultural, aesthetic and moral. In order to achieve
this purpose, good learning environment should be created by
developing the school plant. So school plant is the most important
factor in the whole educational process.
Need and Importance of School Plant:
School environment involves two types of resources. These are human
resources and material resources. The human resources are the
headmaster, teachers and other persons involved in the teaching-
learning process. The material resources are the physical facilities of
the school environment. These are beautiful surroundings of the
school which generate a congenial atmosphere for the total success of
the school.
So these material resources of the school as a whole. It termed as
school plant, is the nerve centre of the educational process. William
has rightly said that, “Nothing in the whole educational programme is
more conducive to cooperative attitude among the pupils and a love of
school than an attractive and wholesome environment.”
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The head of the educational institution will remain handicapped in the
matter of realizing educational objectives, if they are not provided with
adequate material facilities in the form of school plant. So school plant
enjoys a key role and important position in the educational process.
The need and importance of school plant can be understood
from its following functions:
1. Helpful in better teaching and learning:
As there is too much emphasis on speeding up the learning process, so
no less emphasis should be given to the good learning environment. A
healthy, beautiful and refreshing environment and essential facilities
provided by a good school plant, help in creating a congenial educative
environment.
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As a result of which an environment can be established in which the
classroom teacher can be creative and can improve his teaching. The
teacher and the taught both may be benefitted in terms of facilities and
environment. Learning environment plays an important role in the
whole teaching-learning process in school. So school plant is helpful in
better teaching and learning.
2. Helpful in the all-round development of the personality of
the students:
School plant helps for the all round development of the student –
physical, emotional, social, cultural, aesthetic and moral. In the
school, pupils spend a good deal of their time. Hence, healthful school
plant takes care of their physical growth and development. All aspects
of personality of the pupils are developed due to good sanitation,
proper ventilation and lighting, good canteen and hostel
arrangements, provision of playgrounds etc. in the school premises.
3. Helpful in providing community centre:
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The school is a social institution set-up by the society to serve its ends.
The school cannot be thought to exist without society. It is the nucleus
round which the society resolves. A good school plant helps in
bringing society and the school closer for their mutual progress and
development. Hence, the importance of a school plant need not be
elaborated.
4. Helpful in better school administration and organization:
Beautiful school plant is helpful for the proper organisation and
administration of school programmes. Administration and
organisation of school plant is one of the important responsibilities of
the headmasters of schools. And so, all the facilities and equipment’s
meant of administration and organisation of the school are more
important for a good school plant.
WHAT IS A SCHOOL PLANT?
The school plant is the pillar and support of all teaching and learning activities. The site,
size, arrangement and other aspects of the classroom, support facilities such as labs,
toilets and other equipment can either be welcoming or repulsive to teachers and
students alike.
Importance of school plant to the Teaching-learning
process
Importance of school plant to the Teaching-learning process | Namse's Blog ([Link])
A paper written by Udosen Namse Peter
ABSTRACT
This paper examines school plant and its importance to teaching and learning in the school
system. It begins with a brief overview of school plant and relates it to educational planning. It
then examines school plant as a concept and explains the teaching learning process. Five (5)
importance of school plant are then explained. The paper ends with a conclusion highlighting the
main points of the paper.
INTRODUCTION
It has been observed that many schools are now paying more attention to their school plant.
School plant which includes all educational facilities has been repeatedly found to have a positive
relationship with quality of education.
These educational facilities include the site, the buildings, physical equipment, recreational
spaces and textbooks used for the achievement of educational objectives (Oluchuckwu 2002).
Odupurokan (2011) states that a well planned school plant will gear up expected outcomes of
education, that will facilitate good social, political and economic emancipation; effective teaching
and learning and academic performance of students. Therefore it can be said that the school
plant is an essential aspect of educational planning because unless schools are well suited,
buildings adequately constructed and equipment adequately provided much teaching and
learning may not take place. Corroborating these, Mark (2002) and Ajayi (2007) maintained that
high levels of students’ academic performance may not be guaranteed where instructional space
such as classrooms libraries, technical workshop and labouratories are lacking.
WHAT IS SCHOOL PLANT
The school plant is the sum total of building, equipment, textbook including the surrounding
where teaching and learning takes place. The school plant includes all permanent and semi –
permanent structures in the school.
TEACHING – LEARNING PROCESS
The teaching learning process is a systematic series of activities carried out by teachers to
ensure learners (students) behave in a pre-determined way, or imbibe certain attributes
(curriculum). These include change in behaviour, attitude and performance in achievement tests.
The teaching – learning process is usually guided by a curriculum.
IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL PLANT
Many researchers have shown the obvious relationship between school plant and curriculum,
which in turn affects effective teaching and learning. The impact of the physical environment, in
which teaching – learning takes place, is very important. The reasons for this are not far-fetched
and include:
1. School plant helps improve students’ performance in achievement tests (WAEC,NECO, JAMB,
SAT etc).
2. School plant improves attendance and reduces dropout rate.
3. School pant improves student’s attitude to learning.
4. School plant increase teaches retention rate.
5. It boosts teaching effectiveness.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
Learning is a complex activity that puts student’s motivation and condition to the test. (Lyons,
2002 in Mcgowern 2007). It has been a long held assumption that curriculum and teaching only
have an impact on learning. However it is becoming apparent that the physical conditions of
school can influence students’ achievement. A study by Chan and van Berkan (1996) found that
2nd grade students in standard school buildings scored higher as measured by the comprehensive
test of basic skill than did their counterparts attending class in sub-standard facilities. They also
found that air conditioning, absence of graffiti, condition of labouratories, classroom furniture
correlated with students’ achievement at a significant level. In Nigeria, analysis of the WAEC and
NECO exams results show that students in well equipped schools (mainly private and urban) do
better that those in poorly equipped schools (mainly public and rural). It can be concluded that
technologies and adequate school plant better equip students for success in achievement tests.
STUDENTS ATTENDANCE AND DROPOUT RATE
Students’ attendance has long been linked to success in school. Student’s presence in school is
essential for teaching and learning to take place. Bracey (2001) note that an abundance of
research corroborates the belief that smaller school plant will improve attendance rates. Smaller
school plants have been found to foster instructional innovation, which in turn engages students
and provides motivation for class attendance. The idea behind building larger schools was to
lower per student cost; however, the benefits of larger school are not realized by many schools.
Another cause of poor attendance is that the convenience and environmental conditions in many
public schools in Nigeria are a deplorable state or non-existent. I have encountered many female
students who stay away from school because of the state of the conveniences. The Asthmatic
society of Nigeria reports that respiratory problems such as Asthma are the leading cause of
pupils below 8 years absenteeism in Nigeria. They claim that poor classrooms and surrounding
condition cause dust and other irritants to infect pupils. The aesthetics of the school including
facilities such as Air conditioners, Internet, and beautiful Surroundings motivate students to
attend school regularly and therefore learn more.
STUDENTS ATTITUDE TO LEARNING
Factors of the school plant that affect behavior and attitude are known as ambient environmental
conditions. O’Neill (2000) notes that these factors include temperature, ventilation, lighting,
colour and noise level. These elements produce comfort and Irritation, either of which can affect
behavior of school students. The attitude of students is often driven by how they perceive the
surroundings, including their physical environment. Annoyed students often become disciplinary
problems for example: Earthman and Lemaster (1996) found that the thermal environment of
classrooms can be very important to the well being of children. temperature levels have been
found to have a significant impact upon attention span of students.
Interior factors such as lighting and aesthetic features can affect student behavior and influence
disciplinary referral rates. Evidence exists that florescent lighting may increase stress level and
hyperactivity more so than full spectrum or incandescent lighting (McGuffey, 1981). Lackney
(1996) found that students in classrooms without adequate ventilation had more negative
attitudes than children exposed to natural light. McGowen (2007) states that certain researchers
have suggested that educators can manipulate atmosphere from constricting to engaging by
changing colour schemes in instructional areas.
TEACHERING EFFECTIVENESS
Good physical working condition in any occupation can have a positive impact upon job
effectiveness and morale. According to Keller (2003), it is difficult to separate teaching
effectiveness from school environment. Physical surroundings (school plant) impact job
satisfaction and hence job performance – teaching.
Stockyard and Maybery (1992), Contend that the physical environment has been shown to play a
significant in teaching effectiveness. Teachers agree that the facilities in which they teach can
deter the quality of their teaching, if the physical environment is substandard.
A teacher that teaches in a classroom with a projector and interactive board will definitely be
more effective than a teacher using black board (Chalk and Talk).
TEACHER RETENTION
It is important to note that while new teachers are needed to address retirement and enrollment
growth, more emphasis should be placed upon retaining the teachers already employed. When
teachers are retained, it boosts the learning attitudes and behavior of students. Students learn
better from teachers whom they have already developed a bond or familiarity.
One of the reasons commonly attributed to teachers leaving the profession are poor work
environment. Who wouldn’t prefer an air conditioned banking hall to a hot smelly class? If in
school plants are not available and well planned, teachers will be lost to other sectors.
CONCLUSION
School plant is very essential to achieving positive outcomes in the teaching – learning process.
The school plant is the pillar and support of all teaching and learning activities. The site, size,
arrangement and other aspects of the classroom, support facilities such as labs, toilets and other
equipment can either be welcoming or repulsive to teachers and students alike. This simple fact
has been noted to profoundly influence the acts of teaching and learning.
