TEAACHERS PERCEPTION OF SUPERVISORS AND ROLES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT

This study investigated ?Teachers? Perception of Supervisors? Roles in Primary Schools in Minna Education Zone, Niger State.? Six research questions answered using Mean and SD and three null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistic and ANOVA guided the study. Population of the study was 8,087 primary school teachers in the 764 public primary schools in the zone. The sample was 404 teachers drawn though multi-stage sampling technique. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and was validated by three experts from the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Main findings of the study revealed, among others, that supervision in primary schools is perceived by teachers as one of the ways of improving the quality of primary education and facilitating the achievement of school goals and objectives. Supervision makes teachers sit up and be more committed to their duties thereby making them more effective and efficient. There was no significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female teachers in the study area on their perception of supervision. Major implication of the findings is that quality of primary education in the zone will highly be enhanced if the supervisors carry out their supervisory functions diligently.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION Background of the Study

Organizations are established essentially to achieve their stated objectives or targets. Such objectives cannot be achieved without putting in place strong mechanisms. One of such mechanisms is supervision. Supervision of educational activities generally and in particular classroom instructions is not only necessary but important to evaluate teachers? performance and their effectiveness in the discharge of their duties as transmitters of education. Education is the transmission of what is worthwhile from generation to generation. It is the process of assisting learners to acquire knowledge, skills and acceptable attitudes and moral behaviours that would make them responsible citizens able to take care of themselves, their families and contribute to society (Chukwu, 2011). In agreement with this, Joseph (2014) stated that education is the principal method through which society transmits knowledge from one generation to another. Education can be described therefore, as a very strong weapon used by the society to instill in learners its norms and values that they can use to appreciate the past, reshape the present in order to advance the future of their societies. It is the means through which individuals acquire relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes that would help them fit well into the society and shape their lives for the better and enable them contribute toward the general development of their society.
The essence of education is to change positively, the behaviour of the learner and to make him a better citizen of his society who can contribute to national development. Education is a vital instrument ?par excellence? for effecting and achieving national development (Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN, 2004). In line with this, the second Nigeria philosophy of education states that education fosters the worth and development of the individual for each individual?s sake and for the general development of the society. Kimani, Kara and Njagi (2013) stated that education helps societies fashion out and model individuals to function well in their environment. Education serves a lot of purposes. It equips the citizenry to reshape their society and eliminate inequality (Boit, Njoki and Chang?arc (2012) as mentioned by Kimani et-al (2013). The Government of Trinidad and Tabago (2005) regards education generally