Curriculum_development_related_literatur.docx

CHAPTER 2 Review of Related Literature and Studies Presented and discussed in this chapter are the literature and the recently completed studies utilized in the conceptualization and preparation of the research outline. Related Studies The availability and accessibility of the facilities and equipment in BUCE determine to a large measure of the successful implementation of its curricular programs. It includes the learning materials used in the teaching – learning process and the learning environment where the learners are provided with opportunities to learn. A facility is something designed or created to provide a service or fulfill a need. These include library buildings, play grounds, classrooms, toilets, laboratories, recreation halls and many others. While Equipment in this context is referring to what is housed or what is put in the facilities. These may include balls, computer, apparatus, books, rulers, maps and desks. It would be very difficult for a particular curriculum to be implemented with books, libraries, toilets and classroom due to the fact that learners for example, would be lining up to use one toilet or go very far to help themselves thereby wasting a lot of time for learning. Facilities

can help foster teaching which is effective because they enable learners involve themselves in a variety of stimulating activities. Better facilities affect the quality of education in schools. For example if the classroom has facilities for the physically challenged, they can feel accepted and so they can learn freely. Learner’s physical environment affects their study behavior. The library should be made in such a way that learners are not disturbed by noise and must be stoked with different types of books which appeal to their individual needs. If this is done then there will be active forms of learning which in turn will reflect the curriculum. Many schools don’t provide adequate space resources for children. This can have a negative effect on learners and on the curriculum implementation. This means that classrooms have to be spacious and quiet for pupils to read properly. Poor ventilation, heating or lighting problems and poor physical security can make learning very difficult for students. Facilities and equipment should suit the environment and should help in implementing the curriculum. For instance computers cannot be supplied to a school where there no electricity or any source of power. Just as water borne toilets cannot be provided where there is no permanent source of water. If these are just provided any how then learning will not take place.

It is therefore important that school authorities make proper decisions when building and designing learning facilities. How buildings are designed, can have serious implications for health and learning of children and this in turn may affect the curriculum. Note that: School facilities and equipment therefore can have a negative impact on the implementation of the curriculum if they are not available or if they are in deplorable state. Conversely, if school facilities and equipment are in good state and in correct supply, all the planned experiences to be offered to the learners can be adequately implemented and learning would take place effectively. Thus school facilities and equipment are vital if the curriculum has to be implemented.1

Teaching and learning resources are also a challenge. There is limited procurement and supply of these resources in schools. Instructional materials and equipment are all in short supply or may not be available at all – no books or writing material, no chalk, no science apparatus, inadequate or out of-date library (Kelly 1999). Worse still, with population explosion, classrooms are overcrowded and learners are made to share whatever little stocks of material and furniture available. In such situations, teacher effectiveness in hampered and it becomes almost impossible for the teacher to render individual pupil attention because of large numbers of pupils in classes – over enrolment. This kind of situation in institutions of learning will make it very difficult for curriculum implementers to carry out their roles effectively.2

That an existing stock of schools and their equipment need to be maintained in a good state of repair and in full working order would seem sufficiently self-evident to require no further elaboration. Yet a few countries make no budgetary provision for maintaining their stock of schools, while many more allocate such small sums of money for this purpose that both buildings and equipment continue to deteriorate until, finally, they have to be replaced. One way of defining maintenance is as 'a combination of any actions carried out to retain an item in, or restore it to, an acceptable condition1. The definition would be clear enough were it not for the use of the word 'acceptable', which implies a subjective assessment of the repair work needed and, consequently, possible loss of financial control of programmes. If control of the sort which is not to be subject to the whims of the assessors is to be exercised, then maintenance has to be very strictly interpreted as the preservation of the item in its original condition. Maintenance involves maintaining items buildings, furniture and equipment - as far as is possible in their original condition. Improvement involves changing the original condition of the item. However, school facilities maintenance is concerned about more than just resource management. It is about providing clean and safe environments for children. It is also about creating a physical setting that is appropriate and adequate for learning. A classroom with broken windows and cold drafts doesn’t foster effective learning. But neither does an apparently state-of-theart school that is plagued with uncontrollable swings in indoor temperature. WHY DOES FACILITIES MAINTENANCE MATTER? As America’s school buildings age, we face the growing challenge of maintaining school facilities at a level that enables our teachers to meet the needs of 21st century learners. While the construction of new school facilities supports this task, many older buildings have developed modularly over time. A 1920s-era school may have gotten an addition in 1950, which in turn got an addition in 1970, and yet another addition in 1990. The task of caring for these old school buildings, some of which are historically or architecturally significant, at a level that supports contemporary instructional practices is substantial. At the same time, maintaining the finely tuned workings of new, more technologically advanced facilities also demands considerable expertise and commitment.

An effective school facility is responsive to the changing programs of educational delivery. It is much more than a passive container of the educational process: it is, rather, an integral component of the conditions of learning. The layout and design of a facility contributes to the place experience of students, educators, and community members. Depending on the quality of its design and management, the facility can contribute to a sense of ownership, safety and security, personalization and control, privacy as well as sociality, and spaciousness or crowdedness. When planning, designing, or managing the school facility, these facets of place experience should, when possible, be taken into consideration.

Definition of Terms Maintenance- Actions necessary for retaining or restoring a piece of equipment, machine, or system to the specified operable condition to achieve its maximum useful life.

Policy is a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policiesare generally adopted by the Board of or senior governance body within an organization whereas procedures or protocols would be developed and adopted by senior executive officers.

facilities something (such as a building or large piece of equipment) that is built for a specific purpose

equipment the set of articles or physical resources serving to equip a person or thing: as (1) : the implements used in an operation or activity : apparatus <sports equipment> (2) : all the fixed assets other than land and buildings of a business enterprise (3) : the rolling stock of a railway

accessibility Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessibledesign ensures both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted) and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers).

availabilityThe degree to which a system, subsystem or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at an unknown, i.e. a random, time.