Examining Principals’ Personnel Management Skills: The Interplay of Human Relations and Instructional Supervision in Delta State Secondary Schools (Published)

This study examined principals’ personnel management skills: the interplay of human relations and instructional supervision in Delta State secondary schools. It was guided by two research questions and hypotheses respectively. The research employed a correlational survey method within an ex-post-facto design. The study encompassed a population of 15,322 principals and teachers from Delta State Secondary Schools, from which a purposive sample of 380 principals and teachers was selected. The research utilized the Principals’ Personnel Management Skills of Human Relations and Instructional Supervision Questionnaire (PPMSHRISQ) as the instrument for data collection. Data analysis involved mean rating to address the research questions, while hypotheses were tested utilizing Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) at a significance level of 0.05. Findings revealed that to a high extent, human relations and instructional supervision contribute significantly to effective personnel management by principals, in Delta State Secondary Schools. In conclusion, this study unveils crucial insights into the dynamics of personnel management by principals in Delta State Secondary Schools. It is evident from the data that both human relations and instructional supervision play substantial roles in contributing to effective personnel management. It was recommended that educational authorities and school leadership should prioritise professional development for principals, as human relations play a significant role in effective personnel management. These programmes should emphasise healthy connections, efficient communication, and a friendly workplace.

Keywords: Delta State, Human-Relations., Instructional Supervision, Secondary Schools, principals' personnel management skills

Comparative Analysis of Secondary School Students’ Performance in Science Subjects in Ekiti State, Nigeria (Published)

Citation: Oludare Jethro Olojo, Ibukun Omolara Akinwumi and Samuel Oluwaseyi Olofin (2022) Comparative Analysis of Secondary School Students’ Performance in Science Subjects in Ekiti State, Nigeria, British Journal of Education, Vol.10, Issue 3, pp. 73-84

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare secondary school students’ scientific performance in Ekiti State, Nigeria. To accomplish this, the researcher used an ex-post facto research method. The results of students who sat the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) in all 141 secondary schools in Ekiti State from 2015 to 2019 were used by the researcher. Science students who sat for WASSCE in all of Ekiti State’s public secondary schools between 2015 and 2019 made up the study’s sample. As a result, data from the May/June 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations were used in the study. In total, the study was guided by four research questions and one hypothesis. The research questions were examined using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and graphs, while the hypothesis was validated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a significance threshold of 0.05 using the SPSS version 20 package. According to the findings of the study, students’ performance in Chemistry was better than their performance in Physics and Biology across the five years analyzed. Students’ performance in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry does not follow a predictable pattern, according to the findings of this study. According to the findings, students performed best in Chemistry, followed by Physics, and least well in Biology. As a result of the study’s findings, it was suggested that the government provide enough and up-to-date laboratory equipment for schools, and that parents and other education stakeholders assist governments by contributing their own quota to school growth.

Keywords: Comparative Analysis, Secondary Schools, Students performance, science subjects

Routine Change and Transformational Change Management as Determinants of Teachers’ Commitment in Secondary Schools in Calabar Education Zone, Nigeria (Published)

The thrust of this study was to examine routine change and transformational change management as determinants of teachers’ commitment in secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study made use of survey research design. The sample of the study comprised 634 teachers selected from a population of 2,112 teachers’ using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was developed by the researchers and titled: “Routine Change and Transformational Change Management as Determinants of Teachers’ Commitment Questionnaire (RCTCMTCQ)”.The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using Simple linear regression analysis. The hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. The results of the study revealed that routine change management and transformational change management significantly determine teachers’ commitment in secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that school leaders should ensure that the method and practice of routine change management is adhered to in order to evade role conflict at reaching the anticipated goals in the school system.

Keywords: Secondary Schools, routine change, teachers’ commitment, transformational change

Influence of Internal Supervision of Instruction on Improving Teacher Performance in Secondary Schools in Edo State (Published)

This study investigated the influence of internal supervision of instruction on improving Teacher performance in secondary schools in Edo State. Four research questions and four hypotheses were postulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey design was used. From the population of 1110 teachers, of Edo State, 444 teachers were sampled using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The sampled teachers represent 40% of the entire population. A thirty-two (32) item questionnaire was sent to experts for validation and they offered useful suggestions after their review. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer all the research questions posed in the study.  Four null hypotheses formulated were tested using t-test and ANOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that internal supervision of instruction had positive influence on improving teacher performance in Edo State. The study found that classroom visitation, observation technique, demonstration technique and evaluation technique had a positive influence on teacher performance in secondary schools in Edo State. The study also found that there was no significant difference on the influence of internal supervision in improving teacher performance in secondary school based on gender, location, educational qualifications and teaching experience. Based on the findings, it was recommended that:  supervisors and Principals should endeavour to ensure that classes are regularly visited to enable secondary school teachers to improve more in their performances.

Keywords: Edo state, Instruction, Secondary Schools, Teacher Performance, internal supervision

Influence of Teaching Methods on Students’ Performance in Kiswahili Poetry in Secondary Schools in Lugari Sub-County, Kenya (Published)

The 2002 revised curriculum for Kiswahili for secondary school education in Kenya incorporated content on poetry. Students have continually performed poor in Kiswahili paper 102/3 in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) with the poetry section being the most failed. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of instructional methodology on students’ performance in poetry in Kiswahili in Kenyan secondary schools, taking a case of Lugari Sub-County. The objective of this paper is to present and discuss the research findings on the methods and teaching resources used by teachers of Kiswahili in teaching poetry. The study was based on Dale’s cone of experience theory which states that learners retain more information by what they ‘’do’’ as opposed to what they ‘’hear’’, ‘’read’’ or ‘’observe.’’ The study adopted a survey research design. It targeted secondary schools in Lugari Sub-County, Kakamega County in Kenya. The researcher used stratified sampling to place schools into three strata; four schools per strata were sampled making a total of twelve schools with twelve teachers of Kiswahili from the sampled schools. Purposive sampling was used to sample Form Three students. Data were collected using two sets of questionnaires, observation checklist, and document analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the obtained data and findings placed under themes. It was found that oral questioning and lecture methods dominated poetry in Kiswahili lessons. Therefore, the research recommends that teachers of Kiswahili should explore a variety of interactive teaching methods to enhance students’ mastery of content.

Keywords: Influence, Kenya, Kiswahili Poetry, Lugari, Performance, Secondary Schools, Students, Teaching Methods

Extent of Students’ Involvement in Sports Betting In Public Secondary Schools in Mumias East Sub-County, Kenya (Published)

Effective curriculum implementation can be challenging in an environment where other factors are competing for the learners’ attention. One such factor in Kenya is sports betting. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of students’ involvement in betting on learning process among secondary schools in Mumias-East Sub-County, Kenya. Based on the study, this paper presents and discusses the findings on the extent of students’ involvement in betting. A causal-comparative design was used in the study. Respondents included 369 students, 206 parents and 21 class teachers obtained by stratified random sampling. Data was obtained by use of questionnaires, and analysed using frequencies, means and percentages. The study found that 30.9% (n=369) of students were involved in sports betting. Therefore, there is high student involvement in betting, with more male students involved than female students. Most parents are not aware of whether or not their children engage in betting. Majority of students who bet own personal phones. Those who bet lose their bets more times than they win. Based on the results of the study, the Kenya government should review gambling regulations and legislation to include laws that prohibit school-going students from betting, since most students who bet are aged 18 years and above, meaning that they enjoy legal protection albeit being school students.

Keywords: Extent, Kenya, Mumias, Secondary Schools, Students, involvement, sports betting

Social Networking and Participation as Predictors of Teachers Emotional Intelligence in Public Secondary Schools in Rivers State (Published)

The study investigated social networking and participation as predictors of teachers’ emotional intelligence in public secondary schools in Rivers State. Two objectives, two research questions as well as two hypotheses were postulated to guide the study. The design for the study was correlational design. The population of the study comprised all the 16,743 public secondary school teachers in Rivers State out of which 376 teachers were sampled for the study through multi-stage sampling technique. Two questionnaires which were a 35-tem questionnaire titled “Social Capital Investment Scale” (SCIS) as well as 40-item questionnaire titled Emotional Intelligence Scale” (EIS) were the instruments used for the collection of data for the study. The questionnaires were validated by three experts in the area of Measurement and Evaluation, Department of Psychology, Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt. However, for the reliability, Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaires with reliability co-efficients of 0.76 and 0.83 for the sections of the independent variable and 0.96 for the dependent variable. The research questions were answered using Pearson Product Moment Correlation while the hypotheses were tested using z-ratio at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that there was a positive relationship between social networking and teacher’s emotional intelligence. Similarly, a positive relationship exists between social participation and teachers’ emotional intelligence in public secondary schools in Rivers State. It was recommended that school administrators should endeavor to organize social activities among teachers, parents and students as often as possible to encourage teachers’ participation and freedom of association should be promoted in order to strengthen social networking in these schools.

Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Secondary Schools, Social Networking, Social Participation, Teachers

Principals’ Administrative and Supervisory Roles for Teachers’ Job Effectiveness in Secondary Schools in Rivers State (Published)

The study investigated principals’ administrative and supervisory roles for teachers’ job effectiveness in secondary schools in Rivers State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey was adopted while the population of the study was 8452 teachers of secondary schools in the state. The sample size of 265 teachers which represent 3.1% of the entire population was drawn through cluster sampling technique. A questionnaire titled principal’s administrative and supervisory roles for teachers’ job effectiveness Questionnaire (PASTJEQ) was developed and used for data collection. The research questions were answered using mean (), mean set (),  standard deviation (Sd) and rank order statistics to answer the research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using the z-test statistics. The findings among others are as follows: principals engage in staff personnel administration and providing assistance on instructional activities to teachers in Rivers State. It was recommended among others that Principals should adopt modern supervisory techniques that are more human and government should initiate a periodic training for principals on administrative roles performance.

Keywords: Principals’ Administrative, Secondary Schools, Supervisory Roles, Teachers’ Job Effectiveness

Contribution of School-Based Income Generating Activities in Quality Education Provision in Secondary Schools Managed by the Catholic Diocese of Moshi, Tanzania (Published)

The purpose of this study was to find out the contribution of school-based income generating activities (IGAs) in quality education provision in secondary schools managed by the Catholic Diocese of Moshi (CDM). This study was conducted in October, 2017 in 12 secondary schools managed by the CDM comprising 8 co-education, 2 girls and 2 boys’ secondary schools. The study adopted a quantitative approach under a cross-sectional survey research design. A sample size of 252 respondents was selected to be part of this study; this included a total of 168 Students and 72 Teachers using stratified and simple random sampling. The study also automatically involved 12 Heads of schools. Data was collected through self-administering Questionnaires to the Heads of schools, Teachers and Students; and Document Analysis Schedule for examine Form Four National Examination results from secondary schools selected as a sample of the study. The data obtained was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14, into percentages and frequencies; and presented by using tables. The results of this study indicated that; crops, vegetable and poultry farming were the main school-based IGAs in secondary schools managed by the CDM; provision of teaching and learning materials as the most contribution of school-based IGAs to the secondary schools managed by the CDM; lack of entrepreneurship skills among the school-based IGAs stakeholders was the main challenge affecting Heads of Schools in management of school-based IGAs in secondary schools managed by the CDM; and finally a suggestion of  creation of awareness and cooperation’s among the school-based IGAs stakeholders were the main possible solution to challenges facing Heads of Schools in management of school-based IGAs in the secondary schools managed by the CDM. This study concluded that school-based IGAs are very useful alternative ways of producing additional funds as they enable secondary schools managed by the CDM to solve financial problems. The study recommended that; Heads of Schools, Teachers and Students should be given special entrepreneurship training on transparence and accountability before the design and implementation of any school-based IGAs in secondary schools managed by the CDM.

Keywords: Education Sector, Income Generating, Quality Education, Secondary Schools, Tanzania

Correlation between Instructional Leadership and Students’ Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Baringo County, Kenya (Published)

The significance of instructional leadership as it relates to students academic performance has assumed greater importance in education today as stakeholders demand for greater accountability. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between instructional leadership and student achievement, considering the dismal academic performances of students in public secondary schools in Baringo County. The study adopted the cross sectional survey   research design. The target population of the study was 1070 secondary school teachers from 122 public secondary schools. A sample size of 291 teachers was selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected by use of questionnaire and Document analysis. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarize and describe data whereas the Spearman correlation analysis was used to establish relationship of the variables in the study.    

Keywords: : Academic Performance, Instructional Leadership, Secondary Schools, Students, Teachers