Facilities Planning in the Dynamic Environment in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools

Abstract

The article explains the improvement of Tanzanian public primary schools facilities planning in the dynamic environment. The main contribution is that School Facilities Planning (SFP) in the dynamic environment to enhance adequate and quality school facilities is determined by the presence of vision and mission statements, positive school culture, technological environment and monitoring and evaluation. This article looks not beyond the planning but rather at the dynamics of planning discourse itself. It explains how dynamic environment in Tanzania facilitates, and sometimes constrains, the mobilization of resources to implement school facilities plans. It draws from the discursive construction of social actors in SFP from 2010 to 2019. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used as a theory, methodology, and data analysis strategy. Major findings indicate that, in order to improve planning in the dynamic environment, vision and mission statements should be established in schools and emphasize SFP; there should be a culture of facilities planning in schools; technological environment should be emphasized to facilitate durable and quality school facilities; and monitoring and evaluation should be emphasized to facilitate SFP.