Utilization of Sports Facilities in Secondary Schools in Enugu State, Nigeria
Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology
chika.nwodo@esut.edu.ng
Abstract
This study focused on the utilization of sports facilities in secondary schools in Enugu State. Using a descriptive survey design, 173 physical education teachers in public secondary schools were sampled through multi-stage sampling. A structured questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.89 was used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while t-test was used to test two null hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. Findings showed that the extent of utilization of sports facilities in secondary schools in Enugu State was low (grand mean = 2.24), with all twelve sports facilities including pitches for volleyball, basketball, handball, football, sports field for athletics, hockey, recreational activities hall, gymnasium, sports/exercise laboratory, and courts for squash, tennis, and badminton utilized to a low extent. No significant difference was found between male and female physical education teachers (t = 0.801, p = 0.424), or between urban and rural teachers (t = 1.170, p = 0.244), regarding the extent of sports facilities utilization.
Keywords
Introduction
Sports is a competitive activity with strict rules and regulations, bounded by space and time, where participation is solely based on ability, effort, and competence regardless of race, ethnicity, social status, or economic standing. Sports have grown globally to the extent that sporting activities are deliberately encouraged within nations, serving as an instrument for national unity, mobilization, cultural re-orientation, and national integration. Sports facilities are the most important ingredients in modern sports, as there is no step in teaching, learning, coaching, and training in sports that does not require suitable facilities, equipment, and supplies. Facilities are permanent structures sited indoor or outdoor for the purpose of teaching, learning, and coaching sports. Utilization of sports facilities, equipment, and supplies in sporting activities is a sure way of achieving sports objectives. When real objects or their representatives are used in learning sports skills, athletes see, touch, and interact with them, helping athletes not to forget the skills they learnt easily.
Statement of the Problem
Given the importance of sports facilities to the success of any given sports programme, it would be expected that secondary school administrators would ensure the provision, utilization, and proper management of sports facilities. The prevailing problem in Nigerian secondary schools in Enugu State is that sports facilities may be declining steadily without school administrators or physical education teachers giving adequate attention to it. The downward trend in sports facilities in secondary schools has continued unabated despite the Federal Government establishing the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) to advance the provision of sports facilities in Nigeria. Many physical education teachers in Enugu State schools lack certain skills in different games such as soccer, volleyball, and table tennis, thereby affecting the utilization of available sports facilities for sports programmes in the schools.
Methodology
The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of 323 physical education teachers in 291 public secondary schools in Enugu State (166 rural, 157 urban; 195 male, 128 female). The sample comprised 173 physical and health education teachers selected through multi-stage sampling. A structured questionnaire with a four-point response scale (Very Great Extent, Great Extent, Low Extent, Very Low Extent) was used for data collection. The reliability coefficient obtained using Cronbach Alpha was 0.89. All 173 copies of questionnaire administered were returned, yielding a 100% return rate. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions, while t-test was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 significance level.
Results
The research question findings revealed that the overall mean rating ranges from 1.94 to 2.41, indicating that all sports facilities are utilized to a low extent. The overall grand mean of 2.24 with standard deviation of 0.69 further confirms that sports facilities are utilized to a low extent in secondary schools in Enugu State. Specifically, pitches for volleyball (mean = 2.23), basketball (mean = 2.34), handball (mean = 2.17), football (mean = 2.24), sports field for athletics (mean = 1.94), hockey (mean = 2.25), recreational activities hall (mean = 2.41), gymnasium (mean = 2.22), sports/exercise laboratory (mean = 2.20), court for squash (mean = 2.34), tennis (mean = 2.16), and badminton (mean = 2.32) were all utilized to a low extent. Hypothesis one testing showed no significant difference between male and female physical education teachers' mean ratings (t = 0.801, df = 171, p = 0.424). Hypothesis two testing showed no significant difference between urban and rural teachers' mean ratings (t = 1.170, df = 171, p = 0.244).
Discussion
The findings confirmed that sports facilities are not properly utilized to reap the maximum benefit of the sporting facilities in students' sports development. This aligns with Bucher and Krotee (2021), who noted that sports facilities are not properly utilized in schools. Wagner (2014) pointed out that there is need to utilize available sports facilities in schools to provide numerous health benefits ranging from lower blood pressure to improved mental health and cognitive functioning, and that quality utilization of sports facilities for physical activities must be a core requirement in all school health programmes. The finding that there is no significant difference between male and female physical education teachers implies that both share the same view on the low extent of utilization of sports facilities. Similarly, urban and rural schools share the same low extent of utilization of sports facilities in teaching physical education in secondary schools in Enugu State.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The study concluded that sports facilities in secondary schools in Enugu State are utilized to a low extent, with gender and location of physical education teachers not significantly influencing their responses on the extent of sports facilities utilization. Sports facilities should be provided to a high extent and utilized to a great extent to produce the required results in learners in all sporting activities. Government should provide adequate funds for sports facilities for physical education sporting activities in secondary schools. Teachers of physical education should utilize available sports facilities in their schools to encourage and fast-track the provision of other facilities. Physical education teachers are required to utilize sports facilities to a great extent in teaching physical education in secondary schools. Effort must be made to implement the findings of the study in all secondary schools in Enugu State to improve the overall utilization of sports facilities and enhance students' sporting performance.