ADMINISTRATION OF ETHICAL STANDARDS IN SCHOOL SUPERVISION FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UMUAHIA EDUCATION ZONE OF ABIA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the Administration of Ethical Standards in School Supervision for Sustainable National Development in Public Secondary Schools in Umuahia Education Zone of Abia State, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design with a total population of 662 individuals that comprised 56 Principals, 112 Vice Principals, and 494 teachers from Public Secondary Schools in Umuahia Education Zone. The study's sample size was 170, chosen through simple random sampling. It comprised 60 principals/vice principals and 110 teachers. The instrument used for the collection of data was a 19-item self-structured questionnaire titled; “Administration of Ethical Standard in School Supervision for Sustainable National Development in Public Secondary Schools in Umuahia Education Zone of Abia State, Nigeria Questionnaire” (AESSSNDPSQ) which was validated by two experts from Education Measurement and Evaluation and Education Management and Planning, Imo State University, Owerri. The reliability of the instrument was established at ‘r’ = 0.82 using the Cronbach Alpha statistical tool. Two research questions guided the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyse research questions 1 and 2, structured on a 4-point scale of Very High Extent VHE, High Extent HE, Low Extent LE, and Very Low Extent VLE with a mean point of 2.50. The findings revealed that the respondents indicated the extent of the ethical standards administered in school supervision in public secondary schools as being high, with a cluster mean of 2.5, and that the respondents agreed to a high extent with the strategies to be administered to implement ethical standards in school supervision in public secondary schools. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government should provide continuous professional development (CPD) in ethical leadership and decision-making through partnership with the teachers’ training institutions or educational consultants, the supervisors should schedule regular feedback forums where teachers can express concerns or suggest improvements, there is need to maintain regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure that ethical practices are sustained and conduct an orientation programme for appointed government officials to lead by example.