Abstract:
This study investigated the effects of school physical environment on students' academic performance in Tanzanian Government secondary schools. The study is built on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory by the Psychologist, Abraham Harold Maslow in 1943. This study employed qualitative approach with some aspects of quantitative data. Descriptive case study design was used to generate data from 146 participants who responded through questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD). The data was analyzed using tables and frequencies were used supported by voices from informants. The findings indicated that the government has tried to provide the laboratories in the visited schools, though with shortages of chemical apparatus. This affected the practical work among the students. It was also found that poor school physical environment contributed to the deterioration of the students' academic performance in government secondary schools. Physical environment in the surveyed schools appeared to be below standards and it affected effective teaching for that can contribute towards improved academic performance of the students. The majority of the visited schools had shortage of resources, i.e. classrooms and libraries, furniture, and teaching and learning materials. As a result, students were overcrowded in the classrooms in the visited schools and they performed poorly in the national examinations, with the majority scoring between IV and 0 Divisions. The study, therefore, recommends for a need to improve the school physical environment as the condition in the visited schools was poor to make any meaningful contribution to the improved academic performance of the students.
