INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Secondary school education holds a special place in Nigeria’s educational system because it determines students’ academic and professional careers. Secondary school education, according to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), is the type of education students receive after elementary school but before higher education. The goal of secondary education is to prepare students for productive lives in society as well as further education. According to Ogundele (2008) in Ijamu, Nigeria has several educational issues (2015). Inadequate funding, poor and irregular salary payment, student population growth, low teacher work satisfaction, and a lack of educational facilities and required equipment for efficient teaching-learning processes have all been blamed. As a result, our secondary school system has

Poor educational quality and level.

Because the government is unable to address these issues, community involvement in secondary school management becomes unavoidable. Bondesio (2000) defines influence as the ability to elicit desired and quantifiable behaviors and results. In Nigeria, it appears that community members may be involved in secondary school administration. Community influence is defined in this study as community activities that result in positive transformation and efficient and effective secondary school administration in Delta state. In this context, the research is being used to assess the impact of community involvement in the management of Delta state’s public secondary schools. The ability of the secondary school system to achieve its goals is determined by effective and efficient management. Secondary schools are referred to in this study. Delta State government owns, funds, and manages all secondary schools. The school, after the family, is the primary source of socialization. As a result, the school exists to serve the community, and the community exists to serve the school. Administration is the ability to get people to work together by telling them what to do and how to do it in order to achieve a specific goal. Administration is defined as the practice of working with and through people to effectively achieve organizational goals (Aguba, 2009). According to Veig (2001) in Olowe (2007), administration is “decided activity done in pursuit of a deliberate goal.” It is the matching of available labor and resources to achieve the desired result.

outcome at the lowest possible energy, time, and financial cost (Famade, 2004).

Administration’s primary goal is to coordinate people and material resources in order to achieve specific goals. Secondary school administration in this study refers to the extent to which secondary schools achieve their goals by producing students who have acquired information, are disciplined, and have developed appropriate skills and a moral value system that allows them to participate in society. To complete tasks successfully, it is necessary to collaborate with and through instructors, non-teaching personnel, and students.

The typical image of a community in Nigeria, and indeed in many other African countries, is of a medium-sized rural hamlet with a close-knit group of people who are mostly self-contained, with everyone knowing and caring for one another.

standing in a recognized relationship with one another (Amujiri, 2000). Every school is a part of a community (Abraham, 2003). This is because the community determines the school’s catchment area. According to Ngoka (2003), a community is a group of people who live in the same area and have similar religious, racial, cultural, and historical backgrounds, as well as a desire to collaborate.

The process by which communities take responsibility for their own well-being and develop the ability to contribute to the development of their schools by participating in decision-making processes related to setting goals and pursuing issues that are important to them is known as community participation in school administration (Greenwood, 2009). According to the author, community involvement is the process of improving and achieving community goals.

Members’ dedication to common goals through decision-making, goal-setting, collaboration, and other similar methods. Among the community participants in the research are the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), the Board of Governors (BOG), the School Based Management Committee (SBMC), the Old-Student Association, social groups, and the Women’s Association. However, the scope of this study is limited to the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the Board of Governors (BOG), and school administrators.

The Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Board of Governors (BOG), and School Based Management Committee (SBMC) manage schools, as well as design curriculum, serve as resource persons to teach about some cultural-oriented themes, protect and maintain school property, and supervise and monitor pupils’ attendance at school. The goal of the school board is to see if the community participation approach to lifelong learning is feasible. Formal governance systems that allow parents and the community to participate in their children’s education include the PTA, BOG, and Principal. Communities contribute to the provision of necessary educational resources and infrastructures for proper school administration, such as classrooms, libraries, and hostel accommodation, as well as to the upkeep of facilities through a variety of activities such as educational endowment funds, construction of new buildings, provision of reading materials, repairs and maintenance of existing structures, and provision of educational endowment funds (Ofougwuka, 2005). According to Ofougwuka, communities also fence the school property and provide public amenities such as a toilet at the school. Communities governed by the Parents Teachers Association (P.T.A) according to Harb and El-shaarawi, provide adequate classroom, laboratory, and office buildings (2006). Furthermore, the community assumes many responsibilities, including maintaining school discipline, through the Parent Teachers Association and the Board of Governors (Ugwu, 2000). Udensi (2003) discovered that community involvement in secondary school administration aided in the maintenance of school discipline in Lagos State. Discipline is essential for maintaining an effective learning environment in the classroom, and it necessitates a high level of community involvement. According to Shamrock (2002), in order to detect the child’s overall issues at home and at school, schools must maintain constant contact with parents in the community. This demonstrates the importance of school-community interactions in maintaining school discipline and improving secondary school administration. However, does the neighborhood in which the

the location of the school participate in the administration of Delta State’s public secondary schools? The answer to this question is one of the things the researcher needs to know.

The school’s neighborhood serves as a focal point for community participation in the school’s decision-making process. Decision making refers to the process of identifying issues, developing potential solutions, selecting one, and putting it into action (Holt, 2004). The school administration, PTAs, BOGs, and elected community leaders collaborate to determine the entire instructional curriculum for their schools. These stakeholders worked together to make decisions and were responsible for their own finances, allowing them to focus on curriculum and program development, collegial decision-making, and strategic planning (Donald, 2005). Local governments must According to secondary school principals, students should be involved in decision-making at Delta state’s public secondary schools. This will strengthen and deepen the school-community relationship, making communities feel more connected and facilitating efficient school management. The researcher wishes to learn more about the degree of community engagement in decision-making processes in Delta state public secondary school administration. In order for government secondary schools in Nigeria to function effectively, the community also provides security to protect the school plant. Communities typically contribute to the development of the school by providing people to provide security, act as messengers, and assist in the upkeep of the school plant in order for facilities to maintain their beauty (Grander, 2006).

Ugwuanyi (2013) discovered that communities are actively involved in the supply of people in his study of community involvement in secondary school administration in Enugu State’s Nsukka Education Zone. Schools, according to Whawo (2002), cannot do the job alone, and parents cannot delegate responsibility for their children’s education. All existing connections are beneficial, including the Parent-Teacher Association, the Old Students Association, and the Community Association. Providing people such as auxiliary staff for public secondary schools within a community is without a doubt one of the most important responsibilities of the community to the schools in their area. Because the community exists for the sake of the school, and the school exists for the sake of the community.

1.2 Research problem statement

Nonpayment of teachers’ salaries due to a lack of materials

Secondary school administration in Nigeria is becoming increasingly difficult for principals due to, among other things, late payment of salaries, overcrowding in classrooms, an increase in student enrolment, truancy and lack of discipline on the part of students, non-provision of teaching equipment for science and technical subjects in schools, and motivational issues. These issues may result in a lack of challenge on the part of teachers in carrying out their primary responsibility in the school, which is teaching. As a result, quality education suffers and standards fall. According to Ijamu, these issues have become a recurring decimal in Nigerian education history (2015).

The government meets these requirements on occasion, but the supply is woefully inadequate. According to (Ugwuanyi, 2013), the government cannot address all of the issues.

issues with school administration on their own. Given the government’s inability to address the aforementioned issues, could community involvement in the management of public secondary schools alleviate them? The study’s goal is to investigate the impact of community involvement on the management of Delta state’s public secondary schools.

1.3 The study’s objectives

The study’s primary goal is as follows:

1. Determine the impact of community participation in the provision of infrastructure on the administration of Delta state’s public secondary schools.

2. To investigate the impact of community participation in the maintenance of discipline on the administration of Delta state’s public secondary schools.

3. Determine the impact of community participation

in the allocation of funds for the administration of public secondary schools in Benue state.

1.4 Hypothesis of research

H01: Community participation has no impact on the administration of Delta state’s public secondary schools in terms of maintaining discipline.

H02: In Delta State, community participation has no impact on the provision of infrastructure or the administration of public secondary schools.

1.5 Importance of the research

The importance of this study cannot be overstated because:

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of community participation on the administration of public secondary schools.

The research findings will undoubtedly provide much needed information to government organizations, the ministry of education, and academia.

1.6 The Study’s Scope

This study investigates the impact of community participation.

On the Management of Public Secondary Schools. As a result, Delta State secondary schools will be used as case studies.

1.7 Research limitations

A number of factors hampered this study, which are as follows:

just like any other research, from a lack of needed accurate materials on the topic under study to an inability to obtain data

The researcher faced financial constraints in obtaining relevant materials as well as printing and collating questionnaires.

Time constraint: Another constraint is time, which makes it difficult for the researcher to shuttle between writing the research and engaging in other academic work.

1.8 Term operational definition

Community participation is loosely defined as people’s involvement in a community.

in projects to address their own issues

Administration: the process or activity of running a company, organization, or other entity.

Secondary school: an institution that provides secondary education, as well as the building in which it is delivered.