EVALUATING ADMINISTRATORS’ ADHERENCE TO ETHICAL AND VALUE-ORIENTED LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN DELTA STATE: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION

Abstract

This study evaluated administrators’ adherence to ethical and value-oriented leadership practices in the management of basic education schools in Delta State; from teachers’ perception. Three research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study was conducted in Delta State, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised all the 10, 619 teachers in the 1,130 public basic education schools, that is, primary schools only, across the 25 local government areas within three senatorial districts of Delta State. A sample of 600 teachers was selected as sample for the study using a multi-stage sampling technique. The primary instrument for data collection was a 33-item structured questionnaire titled: “Administrators’ Adherence to Ethical and Value-Oriented Leadership Practices Questionnaire (AAEVOLPQ)” and organized on a 4-point rating scale of: Very High Extent (VHE)– 4 points, High Extent (HE) – 3 points, Low Extent (LE)– 2 points, and Very Low Extent (VLE) – 1 point, used to answer the research questions. The instrument was validated by three experts: two in Educational Management, and one Measurement and Evaluation expert, from the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, in the SouthEast region of Nigeria. The reliability of the AAEVOLPQ was established through a pilot test conducted on 30 teachers from three public basic education schools in Anambra State (a neighboring State not included in the main study). The data obtained were analyzed using Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient to realize reliability coefficient values of 0.83, 0.88 and 0.87 for the three clusters; which yielded an overall reliability index of 0.86 when the score were summed up and divided, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically, mean scores benchmarked at 2.50 and standard deviation statistics were used to answer the research questions. Findings of the study indicated that the extent of administrators’ adherence to ethical and value-based leadership practices in the management of basic education schools in Delta State were all to a low extent. This implies that the administrators generally did not adhered stronglyto ethicaland value-based leadership practices in basic education schools. Among the recommendations proffered was that the Post Primary Education Board (PPEB) and other relevant stakeholders such as the Delta State government and policy makers should organize continuous periodic ethical leadership training through workshops and seminars focused on ethical decision-making, conflict resolution, fairness, value re-orientation, equity, justice, integrity, honesty and professional accountability, in order to enhance the moral competence and leadership effectiveness of school administrators; which equally promotes high extent of administrators’ adherence to ethical leadership practices in the management of basic education schools in the State.