EFFECTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE OF NURSERY/PRIMARY SCHOOL PRESENCE ON HOST COMMUNITIES IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the retroactive physical and social situations of nursery/primary school's neighborhood in Osun State Nigeria, and assessed their current physical and social situations as well. It also evaluated the social welfare effects of the presence of nursery/primary schools on the school neighbourhood based on retroactive reports and insitu observation of the physical and social situation of the school's neighbourhood in the study area. These with a view to providing information on the strength of the nursery/primary school as a social enterprise that may provide social welfare benefits to its host communities. The study adopted the descriptive and observational survey research designs. Nursery/ Primary Schools in Osun State and residents of houses within their neighborhood constituted the population for the study. School History Questionnaire (SHQ) was used to collect data for the study and was validated, tested for reliability with coefficient of 0.62. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and paired samples t-test. The results showed that the physical and social situations of nursery/primary school's neighborhood in Osun State were considered good (67.99%) before the emergence of nursery/primary schools in Osun State residential areas; while their current physical and social situations were rated very good (75.94%). There was also a significant effect of the presence of nursery/primary schools in the schools' neighbourhood when the retroactive reports and the in-situ observations scores were compared (t=5.15, p<0.05). The study concluded that even though the nursery/primary school may be considered a business venture, at the same time, it also serves as a social enterprise that could provide social benefits to the community of people resident in its neighborhood.