THE EFFECTS OF CAPACITY BUILDING OF SCHOOL HEADS IN ENHANCING STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Background
Education is regarded as the cornerstone of development in all countries around the world. It serves as the foundation for literacy, skill acquisition, technological advancement, and the ability to harness the environment’s natural resources for development (Adeyemi, 2012).
However, in most cases, societal expectations in terms of achievement of these goals are not met, and part of the explanation is linked to the lack of adequate student personnel services, as well as the academic environment of most secondary schools in Nigeria, which is not conducive to preparing students for effective teaching and learning.
The lack of effective personnel services creates situations that act as bottlenecks in the achievement of secondary school education goals and objectives. To achieve this goal, adequate provision of certain services to students is required in order for effective teaching and learning to occur.
Effective student personnel services are one of these. Oboegbulem (2007) defines student personnel services as “all the activities and services that are rendered to students by the school and its staff outside of the normal classroom instructions for the achievement of educational objectives.”
Specifically, student personnel services seek to provide orientation for students to aid in their adjustment to campus life, to perform individual inventory and testing to aid in self-knowledge and self-realization, to perform individual and group counselling, to provide placement and follow-up services, to provide adequate assistance to students on finance, health, food, and housing, to provide a variety of co-curricular activities, and to approve and monitor the activities of recognized student organizations (Francis, 2002).
Its goal is to meet the needs of learners in the areas of admission, registration, orientation, hostel accommodation, health services, orientation, and other services to ensure the welfare and well-being of students.
In this context, student personnel services refer to all non-academic services provided to students at schools outside of formal classroom instruction for the purpose of healthy, physical, emotional, social, and moral development as part of their preparation for a responsible and productive adult life.
Unfortunately, many scholars have observed principals who were unable to carry out their student personnel responsibilities effectively. According to Barbara (2011), the provision of welfare services in secondary schools is insufficient and appears to be responsible for learners’ low level of satisfaction and performance, incessant student unrest and other acts of indiscipline, and poor motivation to learn.
According to Ejionueme (2010), student personnel services provided by school principals appear to be not only inadequate, but also neglected and ineffective. He claimed that hostel accommodations are deplorable and unconducive, negatively impacting students’ academic performance and overall development.
Capacity building is one method of providing school principals with the skills necessary for effective student personnel services job performance. Capacity building, according to Mestry and Grobler (2004), is the process of providing individuals with the understanding, skills, and access to information, knowledge, and training in order to improve their abilities.
(a) Carry out core functions, solve problems, define and achieve goals, and
(b) Recognize and address their job performance needs in a sustainable manner.
According to Lambert (2003), it focuses on efforts aimed at improving individuals’ level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes for proficiency in a given task or job. According to King and Newman (2001), capacity building is the process of developing human capacities
(knowledge, skills, attitudes, potentials, and practice – KSAPP) through various methods (training, management development, organizational development, career planning and development, and so on) and time-bound organized learning experiences, in order to improve people’s productivity and achieve organizational goals more effectively and efficiently.
Capacity building in the context of this study refers to efforts (strategies and methodologies) made to improve the level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes possessed by school principals for proficiency in their student personnel responsibilities, with the goal of enhancing his/her capabilities to effectively handle responsibilities as the man/woman in charge of everything that happens in the school.
To provide effective student personnel services, school principals’ capacities in student personnel management must be constantly improved through access to capacity building opportunities. According to Stern (2004), capacity building will provide principals with the ability to identify and address students’ welfare needs through student personnel management.
This researcher believes that principals must have the ability to provide effective guidance and counselling services to students, as well as manage recreational facilities, student classifications, and adequate housing, among other things, in order for students to relax and prepare for teaching and learning in schools.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Statistics from available JSSCE and WAEC results, as well as research findings, show that students have been performing poorly in these external examinations, and secondary education objectives have been far from met.
This unfortunate development has caused great concern among parents and the general public, who typically blame poor performance and an increasing incidence of student dropout, indiscipline, and bad behavior on poor and insufficient services provided to students by school principals.
Most of our schools’ academic climates and cultures are not conducive to effective teaching and learning. There are instances of tardiness, absenteeism, and a general lack of direction in the performance of student personnel services tasks in secondary schools in South East Nigeria.
These issues lead to a poor academic climate and culture that are not conducive to effective teaching and learning, as well as continued poor student performance in certification examinations, poor learning outcomes, and poor product quality.
Poor training and appointment of principals in Nigerian secondary schools has been identified as the root cause of the problem, according to research efforts.
It is clear that the principals who were appointed to manage the schools are incompetent and lack the necessary capacities to effectively manage the myriads of student personnel management roles, challenges, and problems confronting Nigerian secondary schools.
As a result, they will need additional training to perform the expected student personnel services tasks. It is unclear whether government agencies have developed and made available the necessary capacities to provide students with effective student personnel services and to guide student personnel management in schools.
1.3 The Study’s Objective
The primary goal of this study is to determine the effect of capacity building for school leaders on improving students’ academic performance. More specifically, the study intends to;
1. Determine the capacity building or training required by school leaders in order to effectively manage the school.
2. Examine the impact of school leaders’ capacity building on students’ academic performance.
3. Investigate the skills needed by school principals for effective student personnel management.
4. Learn about the challenges of capacity building among school principals.
1.4 Question for Research
1. What are the capacity building or training requirements for school leaders in order to effectively manage the school?
2. Is there a significant effect of school leaders’ capacity building on students’ academic performance?
3. What skills do school principals need to be effective in student personnel management?
4. Are there any issues with capacity building among school leaders?
1.5 Hypothesis of Research
Ho: there is no significant effect of school leaders’ capacity building on students’ academic performance.
Hello, there is a significant effect of school leaders’ capacity building in improving students’ academic performance.
1.6 Importance of the Research
The study’s findings will be extremely beneficial to the following individuals: educational planners, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) officials, school principals, teachers and students of basic schools, and society at large. The research will expose each stakeholder to the capacity building or training needed or required for effective management of school settings.
This research will also serve as a guide or point of reference for other researchers who will conduct similar research.
1.7 The Study’s Scope
This study will include head teachers and principals of public secondary schools in Ikeja LGA.
1.8 The Study’s Limitations
Obtaining funding for general research work will be difficult during the course of study. Correspondents may also be unable or unwilling to complete the questionnaires provided to them.
However, it is expected that these constraints will be addressed by making the best use of available materials and devoting more time to research than is necessary. As a result, it is strongly believed that, despite these constraints, their impact on this research report will be minimal, allowing the study’s objective and significance to be met.
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