INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL DISPARITIES AND LEARNING QUALITY IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA: A SURVEY OF URBAN, PERI-URBAN, AND RURAL LOCATIONS
Keywords:
learning quality, instructional materials, public schools, educational equity, resource allocation, teaching effectivenessAbstract
Although access to instructional materials is a key determinant of learning quality, their distribution across public schools and geographic regions is rarely equitable. This study examines how unequal access to instructional materials affects learning quality in Nigerian public secondary schools, with specific focus on the nature and extent of material disparities, their effect on teacher instructional delivery quality, and their relationship with students’ academic engagement and overall learning outcomes. A descriptive survey design was employed. A stratified random sample of 400 respondents—comprising 200 teachers, 150 senior secondary students, and 50 school administrators—was drawn from urban, peri-urban, and rural public secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. Data were collected using a 30-item validated questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale. Three research questions and three corresponding null hypotheses guided the inquiry: H₁ (no significant disparity in material availability across school locations), H₂ (no significant relationship between material availability and teacher delivery quality), and H₃ (no significant relationship between material access and student learning outcomes). The study is anchored in the Resource-Based Theory of Education, adapted from Barney’s (1991) Resource-Based View and applied to educational contexts by Adeyemi and Adu (2022). Results revealed significant disparities in instructional material availability across school locations [F(2, 397) = 18.92, p < .001], a strong positive correlation between material availability and teacher delivery quality (r = .63, p < .001), and instructional material availability as the strongest correlate of student learning outcomes (β = .52) in a model accounting for 49% of outcome variance. All three null hypotheses were rejected. These findings underscore the urgent need for equity-driven resource allocation policies in Nigerian public school systems.References
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