Improving Teaching And Learning Through Infrastructure Provision In Basic Schools In Shai- Osudoku District

ABSTRACT This study sought to assess the improvements generated in teaching and learning because of new facilities provided in some basic schools in Shai-Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region. These improvements and challenges were captured in the collective experiences shared by respondents- teachers and pupils reflect the gap between policy prescriptions for school resource provision and actual practices at school level. An exploratory and descriptive approach was adopted through the use of in-depth interview and questionnaires to collect data. (Qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were administered on teachers, pupils and other key respondents). Results of the interviews and questionnaires from sampled schools (four schools) which were compared with controlled schools (three schools) that did not receive major facilities from 2009 to 2017 showed varied levels of improvement in teaching and learning environment. I discovered that schools that hitherto had to halt classroom activities because of rain or overcrowding in class have had marked infrastructure sufficiency. Thus, increasing contact hours for teaching and learning. Meanwhile, because the facilities provided did not include pre-school and JHS the schools are compelled to improvise in order to accommodate pre-school and JHS. Constant engagement with communities would increase a sense of ownership of schools which is necessary for infrastructure provision. It is also recommended that the power to allocative resources and interventions towards provision of basic education infrastructure be centralized at the district level so that district authorities can properly identify, plan and execute timeously the infrastructure needs of schools in Shai-Osudoku District. The experiences of teachers and pupils shared during this research would enrich literature on school facility and teaching and learning outcomes and also inform school infrastructure policy decision at school, district and national levels.