INFLUENCE OF ETHICAL COMPLIANCE IN SCHOOL SUPERVISION ON EDUCATIONAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE.

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of ethical compliance in school supervision on educational quality and sustainable development in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. Three research questions and 3 hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design adopted. The population for this study comprised 6,875 principals and teachers in 302 public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. A sample of 378 respondents was determined using Taro Yamane formular. A multistage sampling technique was employed and the state was stratified into senatorial zones (Rivers East, Rivers West and Rivers South-East), the schools were randomly selected. Within the 35 selected schools which represented 12% of the sample size, 378 principals and teachers were chosen. A structured questionnaire titled "Influence of Ethical Compliance in School Supervision on Educational Quality and Sustainable Development Questionnaire (IECSSEQSDQ)" with 15items was used in line with four Likert-scale rating of Very High Extent /Strongly Agree, High Extent /Agree, Low Extent /Disagree and Very Low Extent /Strongly Disagree. The instrument was validated by experts. Cronbach's Alpha established a reliability index of 0.86 while 300 copies of the instruments were retrieved out of 378 copies administered. Mean and standard deviation answered research questions, while t-test tested hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The study found that ethical compliance in school supervision significantly influence the quality of education, ethical supervision practices significantly affect teachers’ performance and classroom delivery, and ethical compliance in supervision significantly contribute to sustainable development in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The study recommended among others that ethical compliance in school supervision should be strictly enforced by the Ministry of Education to strengthen education quality through consistent and transparent oversight in public senior secondary schools across Rivers State.