EVALUATION OF THE BUILDING PERFORMANCE OF LECTURE THEATRES AND ITS EFFECTS ON STUDENTS' LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

ABSTRACT

Lecture theatres are a vital part of the educational buildings required in institutions as part of their functional assets and physical infrastructure thus, their level of performance is very critical to educational effectiveness and can affect students’ learning experience. This research seeks to evaluate and assess the performance of lecture theatres as it relates to students’ learning experience by presenting students’ perceptions of specific performance parameters of lecture theatres at the University of Benin. A quantitative research method was adopted where a total of 107 questionnaires were returned for the students of the two lecture theatres under study. Purposive sampling and convenience sampling were utilized in the selection of the lecture theatres and collection of data respectively. The study revealed that students across both lecture theatres under study, perceive all performance parameters as important to their learning experience. The result indicated ventilation, cleanliness, lighting, thermal comfort, acoustic control and safety with high mean scores as the most important respectively while aesthetics on the other hand as the least important parameter with the lowest mean score. Also, the study shows a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the performance parameters of the lecture theatres expressed by the students with acoustics, safety and cleanliness respectively being the parameters they are mostly unsatisfied with. These data are a reflection of one institution. Nevertheless, the results reveal a need for prioritizing these performance parameters in decision-making during the design, construction, maintenance and renovation of lecture theatres in institutions of higher learning.