AWARENESS OF EDUCATION LAWS AND SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Ignorance of the law is not an excuse for any form of infraction relating to the development of minds for the future. This study examined awareness of education laws and school effectiveness in secondary schools in Ondo State,Nigeria. One research question guided the study and two hypotheses were tested. The study adopted descriptive correlational survey design. The population comprised all the principals,teachers and students in the 304 public secondary schools in Ondo State. A sample of 4,743 participants which include 135 principals, 1530 teachers and 3060 students from nine LGAs in the state composed using the multistage sampling procedure were involved in the study. Data were collected using a researcher developed questionnaire titled “Principals’Awareness of Education Laws and School Effectiveness Questionnaire†(PAELSEQ). The questionnaire was validated by experts. The internal consistency of the instrument was ascertained using the Kuder-Richardson formular. Data were analyzed using mean scores to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistic at 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that there is a significant relationship between principals’ awareness of education laws and school effectiveness (R=0.91). Findings also showed that there is a significant relationship (r=0.65) between principals’ awareness of education laws in school decision making and school effectiveness. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that teachers should be trained on education laws and procedures as well as carried along through regular briefings about likely changes in laws in the nation.