Abstract
In order to maintain a healthy learning environment, diagnosis and management of defects in the educational facility are paramount. The preliminary results of the ongoing research reported here seek to identify defects associated with educational buildings and their effects on the health of polytechnic students and staff in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey, including 34 defects based on a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) was used to establish relationships with the health of polytechnic students and staff. Two hundred (200) respondents were randomly selected based on their schools (faculty) within Lagos State Polytechnic. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of the collected data. The results of the study indicate that defects such as plumbing and dampness problems, cobwebs and dust, are prominent in the institution. Also the relationship between building conditions (defects) and health problems was established, with the predictors of the health problems. Based on the findings, it is important for designers and managers of facilities within tertiary institutions to develop and implement design and maintenance policies targeted at minimizing the likelihood of plumbing, dampness, electrical, cobweb and dust problems in educational buildings due to the health risks induced by the defects. It is evident that effective maintenance schedules and policies should be put in place to ensure that facilities are not left to decay before replacement.
Highlights
Education provides the knowledge and skills required for human capital development in any nation
This study set out to determine the relationship between educational building defects and health of users in a polytechnic located in Nigeria
Nine groups of defects in educational buildings were identified in the study, which include cobwebs and dust, damages to joinery/fittings and openings, dampness problems, plumbing problems, electrical problems, poor design/maintenance of buildings and grounds, roofing problems, problems with walls, and finishes problems
Summary
Education provides the knowledge and skills required for human capital development in any nation. Defects in poorly maintained indoor environments have been linked to building related illnesses experienced by users. Researchers have studied user satisfaction with educational facilities using a post occupancy evaluation (Adewumi et al, 2011; McGrath and Horton, 2011; Sawyerr and Yusof, 2013), performance of educational buildings (Hassanain, 2008; Wong and Jan, 2003), defects in educational buildings (Olanrewaju 2012; Wahab and Hamid, 2011), and effects of educational building facilities on academic performance of students (Leung and Fung, 2005; Uline and Tschannen-Moran, 2008). This study addresses the gap in the existing literature by investigating the relationships between educational building defects and the health of students and staff. The average age of most of the buildings and facilities in the school is 15 years, except for the newly constructed buildings
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