Relationship between school facility conditions and the delivery of instruction: Evidence from a national survey of school principals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of school facility conditions on the delivery of instruction from the perspective of school principals in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – By employing a multivariate correlational research design, the paper empirically investigated whether the quality of ten facility conditions affects the delivery of instruction after controlling three school and three student characteristics that also may affect the delivery of instruction. The conceptual framework of this paper envisions the physical capital, along with the human and social capitals, as one of the three main core elements for effective teaching and learning. The conceptual framework of the study incorporated facility conditions identified by Schneider and Castaldi. Consistent with the literature, the conditions of school facilities in the conceptual framework included mainly cosmetic factors. The FRSS 88: Public School Principals' Perceptions of Their Facilities: Fall 2005 data set of the National Center for Educational Statistics is the main data source of the study. The data set included a nationally representative sample of 1,037 public school principals. Findings – The findings of the study indicated that six of the ten facility conditions are statiscally and positively associated with the delivery of instruction. These six facility conditions significantly predicted the delivery of instruction after controlling other extraneous or plausible variables. Facility conditions accounted for 43 percent of the explained variation on the delivery of instruction with a medium-sized effect. Social implications – Because of its service-oriented nature, the human factor has long been the primary focus of educational research. Organisational settings, where workers function and interact, and the contextual factors that shape organisational behaviour have attracted little attention among educational researchers. The findings of this study provided much-needed evidence to educators, policymakers, and legislators who are in dire need of research-based guidance on the effects of school facilities. The paper supported the notion that educational facilities do matter and they affect the delivery of instruction. The findings of the study may also have implications to other fields (i.e. heath, business, and manufacturing) in regard to the effects of facility conditions on the effectiveness of personnel at any workplace. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the field by offering a nationwide perspective of school principals on the effects of school facilities on teaching.