Principals Gender and the Utilization of Legal Provisions in Administration of Secondary Schools in Cross River State, Nigeria

Scholastica C O Ekere

doi:10.20527/jee.v2i2.3896

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of principals` gender on the utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration in cross river state, Nigeria. The sample consisted of four hundred and twenty six principals from both private and public secondary schools in cross river state. One hypothesis was formulated to guide they study. Ex-post facto design was adopted for the study. A sample size of 426 principals from public secondary schools, were drawn from a population of 780 principals using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled “Principals utilization of legal provisions in secondary schools Administration Questionnaire (PULPSSAQ). The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using independent t-test. The results of the data analyzed showed that female principals utilized legal provisions more than their counterparts’. The principals’ sex did not have any influence on staff administration and school community relation. It was concluded that sex of the principal was critical in some aspect of utilizations of legal provisions should be made for in service training, regular workshops and seminars for principals especially males to help upgrade their knowledge with modern techniques of utilizing legal provisions in secondary school administration.

Highlights

In Nigeria, the issue of law, order and discipline in school system is becoming more pronounced due to the phenomenal growth in school size and population
This study attempts to contribute to the awareness of constitutional laws of Cross River State of Nigeria; as regards, secondary school administration in accessing principal gender in the utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration
The present finding lend credence to Peterson and Erdeners’ (2001) study which revealed that man and woman differed in the way they perceived and managed resources using laid down laws. (Umoh 2007), (Atson 2005) and (Coffie 2004) reported that 75 percent of male and female chief executive believed that leadership and management skills of women differed markedly from those of their male counterparts, with women seen as consensus builder, better able to “nurture strong interpersonal relationships’ through obedience to laid down rules and work processes. Another finding of this study revealed that principals’ sex had no significant influence on the utilization of legal provisions on two other variables used for this study, viz staff administration (t=10.87 df=426, p=

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, the issue of law, order and discipline in school system is becoming more pronounced due to the phenomenal growth in school size and population. One of the responsibilities of the head of a school irrespective of gender status is to ensure that neither teacher nor students suffer any form of racial or religious discrimination, the law provides for religious freedom in the mandatory...”assembly for collective worship on the part of all pupils in attendance at the institution...” (Education Laws of Cross River State, 2004). This study is designed to investigate principal gender and the utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration in Cross River State. This study is designed to determine whether principals gender influence their utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration. This study attempts to contribute to the awareness of constitutional laws of Cross River State of Nigeria; as regards, secondary school administration in accessing principal gender in the utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration. Research question and hypothesis This study is to investigate to what extent does the sex of principals’ influence the utilization of legal provisions in secondary school administration while the research hypothesis is that there is no significant difference

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Results

CONCLUSION