ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF PRINCIPALS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The study investigated assessment of the role of principals in the improvement of quality assurance in public secondary schools  in Enugu State. The purpose of the study was to find a solution to the gap created by gender (male and female principals) and location (Urban and rural) of the public secondary school principals in the discourse under investigation. Three research questions and six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The researchers adopted descriptive census survey research design for the study, while the total population of 295 principals was used. A 33-item structured questionnaire named “Assessment of the Role of Principals in Improvement of Quality Assurance Scale (ARPIQAS)” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three research experts, two from Educational Management Department and one from the field of Measurement and Evaluation in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Education, all from the Faculty of Education, ESUT. The instrument was subjected to a trial test using 30 computer studies teachers in public secondary schools in Ebonyi State, using Cronbach Alpha reliability estimate. A reliability coefficient of 0.62, 0.69, and 0.66 were obtained for cluster 1-3 respectively, while the overall reliability was 0.78. Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used on the six null hypotheses that guided the study. Based on the results, the research concluded that planning role, record keeping role, report writing and supervisory roles are to a great extent needed for effective improvement in the quality assurance in public secondary schools in Enugu State. Gender of  the principals  differ significantly in mean ratings on the extent planning role, record keeping role, report writing  and supervisory roles on the improvement of quality assurance  in public  secondary schools in Enugu State. Location of the computer studies teachers do not differ significantly in mean ratings on the extent planning role, record keeping role, report writing and supervisory roles on the improvement of quality assurance in public secondary schools in Enugu State. Based on the findings the researchers recommend among others; periodic supervision, seminars and workshop as well as in-service training for principals on the improvement of quality assurance in public secondary schools in Enugu State.