ABSTRACT

The study investigated school plant management and principals’ management ethics as determinants of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational design. Nine research questions and nine hypotheses guided the study. A sample size of 400 respondents out of 4495 teachers and 12, 234 SS3 students were selected using multi-stage sampling technique and Taro Yamen sample size determination formula. Three sets of structured questionnaire were developed to collect data. The first questionnaire titled: School Plant Management Questionnaire (SPMQ) with 37 items was designed to collect information on School Plant Management, Principals’ Managerial Ethics Questionnaire (PMEQ) with 12 items was designed to collect information on Principals Managerial Ethics while the third questionnaire titled: Students’ Academic Performance Questionnaire (SAPQ) with 11 items were designed to collect information on academic performance of students. Data generated were analyzed using cronbach alpha Coefficient to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items. Data were analyzed using Pearson Moment Correlation to answer the research questions and to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that procurement of administrative facilities to a non-significant positive moderate extent relates to   students'   academic performance in secondary schools; utilization of administrative facilities to a significant positive high extent relate to students' academic performance in secondary schools; maintenance of administrative facilities to a non-significant positive moderate extent relate to students’ academic performance in secondary schools; procurement of instructional facilities to a non-significant positive moderate extent relate to students’ academic performance in secondary schools;  Principals’ decision-making managerial ethics to a non-significant  positive very high extent relates to students’ academic performance in secondary schools. Some of the recommendations made include; the government through the Ministry of Education should make adequate financial budget and provision for provision, utilization and maintenance of administrative and instructional facilities for improving academic performance in secondary schools; school administrators should ensure that managerial ethics are followed to the later. Such managerial ethics would include developing integrity, collaborative decision making and communication; parents and guardians should make voluntary contributions towards provision and maintenance of administrative and instructional facilities to improve academic performance in secondary schools; teachers should increase their effort in utilizing and maintaining provided instructional materials to enhance academic performance in secondary schools. They should also improvise relevant but unavailable instructional facilities to facilitate learning and improve academic performance. The study concluded that adequate provision, utilization and maintenance of school plant and principal’s managerial ethics have direct impact on teaching and learning process and thus contribute positively to students’ academic performance in South East, Nigeria.