Ghulam Safdar Administrative Abilities of Male and Female Principals and Goals Achievement in Nigerian Public Secondary Schools

Abstract

The foundation of all levels of education is basic education whose problems are being reasonably addressed in Nigeria through a Universal Basic Education programme established by law.  Secondary education is a feeder to tertiary level of education which produces the required manpower for development.  Unfortunately, secondary education in Nigeria is experiencing an immense management crisis which has culminated in examination malpractices both in qualifying and University placement examinations.  These problems question the management capabilities of male administrators who have held sway in Nigeria’s school system.  Can the secondary school system be better managed by female administrators than the domineering male gender? In order to answer this question the 245 vice-principals of secondary schools in Rivers State, were sampled.  Out of the 245 principals only 63 are females and 182 males.  For a balance the sample of the study consisted of 63 vice principals from the schools administered by male principals and 63 vice-principals from the schools administered by female principals.  Out of the 2,394 teachers in the selected schools 1197 or 50% were chosen for the study and this gave a total of 1,323 respondents.  An instrument known as ‘Principals’ Administrative Abilities Assessment Questionnaire (PAAAQ) was used for data gathering.  The chi-square statistical method was used for the analysis of data.  The study revealed that female principals are better achievers of school goals than their male counterparts.  It is on this premise that the paper recommends that more females be appointed as school administrators to enable them contribute toward reviving the ailing educational system of Nigeria.