ABSTRACT

This study was designed to assess resource adequacy and utilization for effective administration of mission secondary schools in South- East, Nigeria. The study was guided by eight research questions and six null hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population is 66,278 comprised of 412 principals, 4,559 teachers and 61,307 students in the 412 mission secondary schools of the 55 Diocese of Catholic and Anglican Communion in South- East, Nigeria. Using 2% of the population, proportionate stratified simple random technique was used to obtain a sample size of 1326 by ratio of 1:2:3. This gave a sample of 221 principals, 442 teachers and 663 students. The instrument for data collection was the researcher’s structured questionnaire titled “School Administration Resource Adequacy and Utilization Questionnaire” (SARAUQ). Face validity of the instrument was done by three validates, two of whom were from the Department of Educational Management; the other from measurement and evaluation unit, Department of Science Education College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike. A trial test was conducted in Delta state to ensure the reliability of the instrument. Estimate of internal consistency of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a reliability index of 0.84.The researcher with five research assistants administered the instrument to the respondents. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used to test hypotheses 1, 2 and 5, ANOVA was used for hypotheses 3, 4 and 6. The result of the study revealed adequate number of teachers, but inadequate quality/qualified teachers, inadequate facilities and funds, and the available ones are subjected to very high utilization. Since the school cannot operate in a vacuum, the inadequacy of the other resources constitute problems to effective school management. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which include that the diocesan boards of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion should be committed to their financial obligations by fully funding the schools to ensure provision of adequate teachers and facilities both in quantity and quality; and that the management of mission schools encourage professional growth of teachers through such development programmes as conferences, seminars and workshops. This will go a long way in ensuring that teachers keep abreast with the changes and innovations in the skills and methodologies of the 21st century education. Limitations of the study were highlighted and some suggestions for further studies were made.