Effects of School Variables on the Assurance of Quality Learning Outcomes in Schools

Abstract. This study examines the state of school variables and their implications on effective performance of Quality Education Assurance Agency to enhance effective teaching and learning activities in schools below tertiary level. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Respondents for the study consist of 60 principals and 540 teachers that were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique from the entire population of 304 public secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. Research instrument tagged, “Education Quality Assurance and School Variables Rating Scale ” (EQASVRS) and Interview of Principals and Teachers ’ as Focus Group (PTFG) were used for data collection. The significance of the hypothesis, using chi-square statistics, was tested at p<0.05 probability. The study reveals that there is gross inadequate number of teachers and other school variables like classrooms, libraries, laboratories and instructional materials which affects the level of curriculum coverage and the academic performance of secondary schools. Furthermore, the results show that the there is significant effect of school variables on quality education assurance practice in schools (χ2 = 2.255 at p<0.05) with the quality assurance practice (χ = 3.625) and school variables (χ = 2.495). This means that most school variables in secondary schools are in poor condition which reduces the impact of quality education assurance agency on school activities. The study concludes that for the education sector to enjoy the desired boost, especially in the students ’ academic outcomes, attention should not be limited to school supervision, but also ensuring that school variables are in good state and evenly distributed across schools