SCHOOL ORGANISATIONAL VARIABLES AND EDUCATION QUALITY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AT SENIOR SECONDARY LEVEL IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

There are evidence of poor indicators (teacher effectiveness, students non-cognitive outcomes, students achievement in English Language and Mathematics) of educational quality performance in most secondary schools in southwestern Nigeria. This problem has been attributed to school organisational variables (organisational leadership, organisational culture, professional development and learner-centredness) among other factors. Previous studies have focused largely on the interrelationship between student and teacher-related factors with little emphasis on how school organisational variables predict education quality performance. This study was, therefore, designed to explore how school organisational variables determine educational quality performance in southwestern Nigeria. It also established the model fit, predictive accuracy and predictive relevance of each variable to English Language Achievement (EACH) and Mathematics Achievement (MACH) models. Deming‘s Total Quality Management Theory guided the study, while the survey design of correlational type was adopted. Simple random sampling was used to select three states: Lagos, Oyo and Ondo from the Southwest, while the senatorial district where each state capital is located was purposively selected. In each of the senatorial districts, three local government areas (LGAs) were randomly selected, while six public and three private schools were chosen from each LGA. In each school, a principal, two teachers (English and Mathematics teachers) and an intact class of SS III students were sampled (principals-81, teachers-162 and students-3331). The seven instruments used were: principal leadership practices questionnaire (r= 0.96), school culture survey (r= 0.84), Teachers Professional Development Affinity Inventory (r= 0.92), learner-centredness questionnaire for students in English Language (r= 0.97) students evaluation of teacher effectiveness scale in English language (r= 0.96), and mathematics (r= 0.96). Students non cognitive outcome scales (r= 0.86). Data were analysed by partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS at 0.05 level of significance. Organisational leadership (r= 0.10; r= 0.15), organisational culture (r= 0.15; r= 0.16) professional development (r= 0.14; r= 0.30), and learner-centredness (r= -0.22; r= -0.04) had significant relationships with performance in English language and Mathematics respectively. The EACH and MACH structural models indicated model fitness (SMRM = 0.06 and 0.05 respectively), predictive accuracy (R2 = 0.30; 0.28, respectively) and predictive relevance Q > 0 on organisational leadership (MACH- Q 2 > 0.046) organisational culture (Q2 > 0.17 and 0.37 respectively), professional development (Q2 > 0.28 and 0.51 respectively) learner-centredness (EACH- Q 2 > 0.01), teacher effectiveness (Q2 > 0.47 and 0.43, respectively) students non cognitive outcome (Q2 > 0.24 and 0.21 respectively) English language and Mathematics (Q2 > 0.12 and 0.15 respectively) had predictive relevance to the EACH and MACH models while organisational leadership for EACH (Q2 < -0.01) and learner-centredness for MACH (Q2 < 0 - 0.08) had no predictive relevance to the models. Organisational leadership, organisational culture, professional development and learner centredness are important in determining educational quality performance. School institutions seeking quality participation in the provision of quality education should improve school organisational variables to ensure quality performance.