Physical Facilities as Predictors of the Quality of Girls’ Education at Primary School Level in Oyam District, Lango sub-region, Uganda

Abstract

The significance of school environmental factors to girls’ education remains central because they have a tremendous impact on the quality of teaching and learning of pupils as well as the extent of attention they pay to lessons when in classrooms. This means that schools that fail to provide a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning may hardly achieve quality in their pupils particularly the aspect of educational excellence. This situation continues to be among the reasons for wider disparities in the performance of girls and boys in a number of districts in Uganda. The main thrust of this research was to determine the effect of physical facilities on girls’ education in Oyam district. The study was guided by the cross-sectional survey using a mixed methods approach and structured questionnaires were administered to 139 respondents. Both Means and Standard Deviations were used to describe the variables while correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to determine the relationship and the effect respectively. The results reveal that physical facilities predict approximately 21% variation of all the possible factors that are likely to account for the quality of girls’ education in Oyam district (Adj. R2= 0.205). It is encouraged that a conducive school environment in terms of quality physical facilities becomes a central concern among key stakeholders if the quality of girls’ education is to be enhanced in Oyam district.