ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS VARIABLES ON EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated organizational ethics variables on effective management of public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. Three objectives and research questions guided the study. The study used descriptive survey design. A self-designed questionnaire titled “school management effectiveness questionnaire” was used to collect information for the study. 800 school managers made up the population of the study and a sample of 250 respondents was drawn from the population using stratified random sampling technique. Out of the 250 copies of questionnaire administered, only 238 were retrieved and used for the study’s analysis. The instrument was face and content validated through expert review by educational management specialists in Rivers State University and legal/ethical studies scholars, and the internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach Alpha. Overall reliability index of 0.82 was obtained. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that legal compliance, ethical leadership, and core institutional values influence effective school management to a high extent in public secondary schools in Rivers State. It was recommended that, the Ministry of Education should provide regular training and sensitization for school managers on the legal frameworks governing school operations to ensure greater compliance and accountability, school leadership development programmes should prioritize ethical behaviour, focusing on fairness, transparency, and moral responsibility and schools should collaboratively define and promote core values such as respect, excellence, inclusiveness, and accountability. These values should be embedded in school culture and daily practices.