Improving learning infrastructure and environment for sustainable quality assurance practice in secondary schools in Ondo State, South-West, Nigeria

The current study examines the state of learning environment and infrastructure, together with their effects on teaching and learning activities and the extent to which they are being maintained. The study uses a descriptive survey design paradigm. Respondents consist of 60 principals and 540 teachers that were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique from a pool of 599 public secondary schools in the Ondo State, South-West, Nigeria. Data were collected using the Learning Environment Management Questionnaire (LEMQ), the Teachers’ Instructional Task Performance Rating Scale (TITPRS), and the Interview Guide for Principals (IGP). The study reveals that teachers’ perception of the quality of learning infrastructure and environment ranges from 41 to 60.5%, while the schools with inadequate quality range from 19 to 59%. This implies that the quality assurance practice is at the average level in secondary schools. Result also reveals that there is a significant relationship between the teachers’ instructional tasks and the students’ academic performance (r = 0.645 at p<0.05). The study concluded that the school and other stakeholders in education should effectively collaborate and contribute significantly towards the development of learning infrastructure and environment, so as to create a more conducive working environment for a sustainable high-quality education assurance practices in secondary schools.