Abstract
This study is on principal’s supervisory roles on instructions and academic performance of SS3 student in education. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Ikorodu local government of Lagos state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals adm, senior staff and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
The issue of quality in any education system cannot be compromised. The quality of educational administrators (principal teachers and learners (students) in any nation determines the quality of its formal education and schooling. The changes in the educational structure in Nigeria, especially at the secondary school stage demands that the school principals play a bigger and more important role in educational supervision. (Grauwe and Carron, 2004) states that principals’ supervisory role in schools particularly on its teaching and non-teaching staff services is an important concern because it plays an important part in the quality of education that the school provides to its students. School principals as school inspectors appear as a feeling of superiority on the part of inspectors whose interest is only in the well-being of students with no consideration for teachers. Principal’s supervisory role is a critical issue in educational leadership. It involves lots of leadership supervision of teacher’s skills, students’ academic performance, effectiveness of the teachers and technical skills. The National Policy of Education (2004) under the Ministry of Education revealed how the principal prime role of educational leadership, must be effective. Yunus (2012) found that educational supervision is a dynamic process in education aiming at improving the quality of teaching and learning. Nwankwo (2004) opined that supervision can be divided into categories. There are instructional and personnel supervision, instructional supervision has been defined as a set of activities, which are carried out with the purpose of making the teaching and learning purposes better for the learners. Personnel supervision on the other hand, deals with the set of activities, which are carried out by the supervisor with the basic aim of sensitizing, mobilizing and monitoring staff in the school towards performing their duties ultimately in terms of achievement of the stated aims and objectives of the educational system. Principals are responsible for the administration of admission, health, lunchroom, textbooks, supplies, records and many other auxiliaries in the educational system. Therefore, the role of a school administrator or a principal is to supervise, planning, developed competitive strategies for the school. The principal is thus faced with the responsibility of supervising teachers generally to improve their instructional performance effectively, make recommendations and also manage both human and material resources towards achieving the principal as the head of the school, as the architect of the quality of activities in the school and the quality of academic achievement of students depends on the quality of instructional performance. The high rate of failure in the public secondary schools in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations over the years has caused immense agony to many families. The situation seemed to be growing worst as the years went by. The question of poor performance of students in public examinations had been attributed to inadequate and ineffective supervision of principals (Effiong, 2006). In recent times, education stakeholders have expressed their concern over the poor performance of students in the SSCE. Some blamed the school administrators (principals) and the teachers while some blamed the students themselves and the parents. Whoever to be blamed, the fact remains that, the school and its organizational management has correlation with the academic achievement of the students. (Olaleye, 2013).
In the school system, supervision is as antique as the teaching profession and has undergone series of evolution since the colonial era, it is directed towards sustaining and ameliorating the teaching-learning process in the educational system, this is because education plays an essential role in the growth and development of any nation socially, politically, economically and this explains why it has country and the entire world. Instructional supervision is the art of over-seeing the teaching-learning process, therefore making sure that the school is administered, managed and leads in an effective manner to achieve the educational objectives (Osakwe, 2010).
The principal holds the major position in the programme of instructional improvement through effective and efficient supervision of teachers instructional performance through various supervisory techniques, it becomes peremptory that principal’s supervisory functions must be adequate to influence teacher’s instructional performance. This desired expectation in education could be achieved through effective supervision since it creates the awareness of sound education philosophies in teachers (Nwaogu, 2010).
Principals supervise and monitor the work and behaviour of teachers, in order to improve individual teacher’s competencies no matter how proficient they are deemed to be and provide students with quality learning. The duty of ensuring that effective teaching and learning take place lies with the principal who employs various instructional performance .
Osakwe further emphasized that the quality of instruction and the use of supervisory functions of principals in schools depend on the extent to which teachers perform their tasks. Effective supervision and the extent to which principals carry out their supervisory duties are based on sound principles which serve as a directive to positive actions that are aimed at improving teaching-learning process in the school system. In the school system instructional supervision is concerned with using methods, principles and practices of various techniques to establish, develop and execute the goals, policies, plans and procedures necessary to achieve educational goals. Supervision therefore is concerned with the provision of professional assistance and guidance to teachers and students geared towards the achievement of effective teaching and learning in the school.
Supervision of instruction guide teachers and also enables them to combine relevant input for enhancement of the teaching- learning process. The fact remains that the success of an educational programme especially in the achievement of effective learning depends largely on the job performance of the teachers. The ugly situation of poor performance of public secondary school students in Nigeria perhaps requires intensive instructional supervision towards attaining school goals and objectives. The primary objective of instructional supervision is therefore to ensure that teaching and learning proceed under adequate condition and yield the desired results. The importance of instructional supervision on the achievement of effective learning in today’s educational system can consequently not be over-emphasized especially at the secondary school level which is perceived to be a vital step for career decisions (Babatope and Gabriel, 2014). It is against this background that this study examines principals’ supervisory roles on academic performance of SSS 3 students in education district III of Lagos State.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Poor performance of students in senior secondary school examination has persisted despite, the fact that secondary schools are assumed to have well trained, qualified teachers and principals. The reasons for poor performance cannot be easily discerned without focused investigation. Teachers work in unconducive classroom environment, in some schools, classroom are not well lit or ventilated, some classrooms are also overpopulated, due to the overpopulation, movement around the class is always hindered which may not allow the teachers to be able to monitor every students activities and progress in the class. The appalling economic strength make teachers to look beyond their monthly salary by engaging in several businesses, hence many teachers put up non-challant attitude to their teaching and some of them play truant. Also teachers’ low esteem on the eyes of the society and lack of self-esteem by the teachers constitute problems of indiscipline among them. Such indiscipline acts are lateness to class school, absenteeism, trading during school hours, ineffective use of diaries and lesson notes in the class, records are not properly kept and generally violating teachers code of professional ethics. All these make teachers incompetent and not dedicated to duty, unless the principal runs after them.
Consequently, there have been steady decline in teachers’ instructional task performance and students’ academic performance which depicts non-realization of quality assurance in secondary schools (Ajayi 2002). It is against this nature, that the study sets out to examine principals supervisory task and academic performance of SSS 3 students in District III. Lagos State. The identified gaps and challenges include the followings: lack of commitment to supervision by many principals, lack of proper monitoring and evaluation of students’ learning outcomes, inadequate training facilities to develop teachers for professional growth and increased productivity and Lack of adoption of code of conduct for learners (students). This study therefore, sought to establish instructional supervision functions of the school principals and its effect on academic performance of SSS 3 student.