Anthropometric Survey and Appraisal of Furniture for Nigerian Primary School Pupils

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain some anthropometric dimensions of pupils in primary schools and examine the likelihood of mismatch between the relevant body dimensions of the pupils with the furniture they presently use in class. Random samples of 200 pupils in 4 randomly selected public primary schools were used for the study. The age range of the children was from 5 to 14 years (mean =9.8 years, SD=2.9 years). Twenty one anthropometric dimensions of the pupils and the dimensions of the furniture in the schools were measured. From the data obtained; means, standard deviations, minimum values, maximum values, 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles were computed using SPSS 16.0 statistical package. Also, Paired samples T-Test was conducted for the measurements of the male and female pupils at 0.05 level of significance using Microsoft Excel. The measured dimensions of the pupils were also compared with those of the desks and tables. The results of the study showed that all the anthropometric dimensions of the males differ significantly from those of the females with the exception of the elbow hand grip and that there exists a mismatch between the anthropometric dimensions of pupils and the furniture they are currently using