PRINCIPALS’ COMMUNICATION AND SUPERVISORY PRACTICES AS CORRELATES OF CHILD-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN DELTA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated principals’ communication and supervisory practices as correlates of child-friendly environment in public secondary schools in Delta State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A correlational research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprised all 462 principals in Delta State. The census sampling technique was used for the study, as the entire population of 462 principals is relatively small and manageable. A researcher-developed instrument titled ‘‘Principals’ Communication and Supervisory Practices Questionnaire (PCSQ)’’ and ‘‘Child-Friendly Environment Scale (CFES)’’ were used for data collection. The instruments were subjected to face validation by three experts, comprising two experts in Educational Management and an expert in Measurement and Evaluation, all from the Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus. The internal consistencies of the instruments were determined using the Cronbach Alpha method, which yielded overall reliability indices of 0.83 for PCSPQ and 0.79 for CFES, respectively. The instruments were administered by the researcher with the assistance of five research assistants, and a 99% return rate was achieved. Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions and test hypotheses. The study's findings revealed, among other things, that communication practices have a strong and significant relationship with a child-friendly environment in public secondary schools in Delta State. It was also found that supervisory practices have a moderate and significant relationship with the creation of a child-friendly environment in public secondary schools in Delta State. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among other things, that the Secondary Education Management Board should integrate supervisory practices into the existing in-service training programme for principals to improve their skills and knowledge of using supervision to create a child-friendly environment in public secondary schools.