Abstract

Effective teaching and learning cannot take place where the school is unsafe. Thus, for students to achieve their career and academic goals, safety becomes imperative. This study examined classroom climate and safety in secondary schools in Ogun State. Two adapted instruments titled Classroom Climate (CC) with four sub-scales comprising of teacher-student ratio, classroom physical structure, classroom infrastructure, and interpersonal relationships and Safety in School (SS) with two sub-scales comprising of physical infrastructure safety and social environment safety were employed in the study. The instrument was administered to four hundred (400) students drawn four (4) randomly selected secondary schools from the strata of five (5) senatorial districts in Ogun state having arrived at the sample size using Yaro Yamani approach. Regression Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in the analysis of data collected. The result showed that student-teachers ratio, classroom physical structure and classroom infrastructure exert a significant negative effect on safety in secondary schools in Ogun State while interpersonal relationship and school rules and regulations do not exert a significant effect on safety in secondary schools in Ogun State. It was also found that the general condition of classroom climate exerts a significant negative effect on safety in secondary schools in Ogun State. By and large, we conclude that the general classroom climate conditions in secondary schools in Ogun State adversely affect safety in secondary schools. This is due to the poor state of classroom physical structure and classroom infrastructure. Among others, the need for school authority and stakeholders to partner in decision making to tap external resources to develop itself in order to enhance the quality of the school was recommended. Parents also need to support the provision of educational facilities to enhance a good academic environment, hence improved performance.