School Building Design Quality and Educational Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation in Secondary Schools in Oyo State

The relationship between school building design quality and student educational outcomes has been empirically established in global research, but Nigerian evidence linking measurable architectural attributes to academic performance at the secondary level is limited, constraining the evidence base for school infrastructure investment policy. This study empirically investigates the relationship between secondary school building design quality and educational outcomes in thirty public secondary schools across urban and rural zones in Oyo State. School building design quality was assessed using a validated Physical Learning Environment Assessment tool covering twelve dimensions including classroom thermal comfort, daylighting, acoustic conditions, circulation adequacy, laboratory provision, sanitation quality, library spaces, and outdoor environment. WAEC senior school certificate examination results over three years (2020-2023) were used as the primary academic outcome measure. School-level socioeconomic variables were controlled using principal household income data from structured surveys. Multivariate regression analysis examined the relationship between design quality dimensions and academic outcomes. Results show that four design dimensions show statistically significant positive associations with academic performance after controlling for socioeconomic variables: classroom daylighting quality, laboratory provision and condition, thermal comfort, and library provision and usability. A one standard deviation improvement in the combined design quality score is associated with a 4.3 percentage point improvement in average WAEC pass rate. Urban schools outperform rural schools in both design quality and academic outcomes, and design quality accounts for approximately nineteen percent of the urban-rural academic outcome gap. The study advocates for minimum performance-based design standards in Oyo State school construction procurement. Keywords: school building design, educational outcomes, secondary schools, Oyo State, learning environment.