School buildings maintenance in Malaysia : current practices, key challenges and implications

Abstract

The school building has been examined by various research dominated by quantitative approach originated from USA and Europe, which are keen to point out its influence on various learning outcomes. Nevertheless, the underlying factor which affects the building condition, namely school building maintenance receives scant consideration. Hence, the current study intends to fill this gap of knowledge on this under researched topic. Thus, drawing from multiple perspectives of key stakeholders’ (i.e. education officers, school principals, teachers and students) experiences in four types of secondary schools in Malaysia, the research achieves the following: (a) examines the current policy, procedures and mechanism of maintenance in Malaysian secondary schools; (b) establishes the key challenges of school building maintenance in Malaysia; and (c) assesses the level of satisfaction of the administrators and end users on the school building condition and maintenance. Using mixed methods research, survey questionnaire and face-to-face semi-structured interviews were undertaken, besides walk-through observations of the schools and school documents review. Findings reveal the existence of school building maintenance policy, procedures and mechanisms in place, despite minor differences depending on school type. Key challenges include some common urgent school building maintenance issues, varying causes, limited resources and knowledge and skills, as well as critical roles of the different stakeholders. Findings also indicate that school building maintenance has implications for quality of education: school building condition; teaching and learning; and occupants’ feelings and emotions. From the key findings, several recommendations in terms of policy and practice, which are of useful value for Malaysia and beyond, are offered. In conclusion, it is proposed that school building maintenance needs to be viewed from an ecological perspective, where schools are understood within their educational, social, cultural and geographical contexts.