STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN ANAMBRA STATE FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This study investigated the strategies for overcoming ethical challenges in the management of colleges of education in Anambra State for sustainable national development. Four research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all 470 academic staff in the two accredited public owned colleges of education in Anambra State, that is, Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, (298 academic staff) and Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe (172 academic staff). A sample size of 235 academic staff was selected at 50% using the proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The main instrument for data collection was a 50-item close-ended structured questionnaire titled: "Strategies for Overcoming Ethical Challenges in the Management COEs for Sustainable National Development Questionnaire (SOECMCOESNDQ)", developed by the researchers. The face and content validity of the instrument were ensured by giving out three drafted copies of questionnaire to two experts in Educational Management and Policy Department including one Measurement and Evaluation expert from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. The reliability of the questionnaire was established through a pilot study conducted in one of the colleges of education in Enugu State that was not part of the study sampling 25 academic staff. After the pilot-test, the internal consistency of the instrument was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha statistics, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.87, 0.82, 0.79 and 0.85 for the four clusters respectively; which were all added up and divided to give an overall internal consistency r-value of 0.83, indicating high reliability. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as the mean statistics rated at 2.50 and standard deviation statistics to answer the four research questions. Findings of the study revealed among others that the colleges of education in Anambra State faced significant ethical challenges that adversely affected their capacity to contribute to sustainable national development. However, the causes of these ethical challenges, likewise their consequences on achievement of sustainable nations development in Anambra State, including various practical strategies to overcome these ethical challenges confronting the management of these COEs were discovered in the study. From this findings, recommendations were proffered and among them included that management staff, administrators, teaching and non-teaching staff including students in colleges of education through government and the regulatory body like National

Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) financial support with the private sector contributions should undergo mandatory regular training on ethical leadership and governance to help build their capacity towards managing institutions with integrity, transparency, and accountability in order to overcome these ethical challenges prevailing in the management of colleges of education in Anambra State for sustainable national development.