Examination of Educational Resources and Historical Development of Private Secondary School Education in Osun State, Nigeria (1999-2016)

Abstract

This paper examines educational resources and the historical development of private secondary school education in Osun State, Nigeria,  from 1999 to 2016. It considers the growth and development of privately-owned secondary schools in terms of the quantity of human and material resources from 1999 till 2016 and the development of private secondary school education in Osun State, Nigeria, in terms of the  quality of education provided. The study uses a historical research method involving primary and secondary sources of information. Two instruments, `Questionnaire on Adequacy of Educational Resources in Private Secondary Schools (QAERPSS) and `Structured Open-ended Interview Schedule` (SOIS), were used to collect data from respondents purposively sampled from 50 private secondary schools. The two instruments had reliability coefficient values of 0.67 and 0.73, respectively. Periodic and thematic approaches of historical analysis were  used to analyse the qualitative data, while descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data obtained for the study. It was  found that in quantitative and qualitative terms, educational facilities in the schools were fairly adequate. Private secondary school  teachers in Osun State were also fairly adequate. Moreover, students’ performance in external examinations was impressive. It was  concluded that between 1999 and 2016, available educational resources promoted good quality education in private secondary schools in  Osun State, Nigeria. The paper recommends that adequate educational resources be sustained for the continuous quality  performance of learners and sustainable national development.