Headteachers’ Administrative Competence and School Effectiveness in Public Primary Schools in Ondo State

This study assesses the relationship between headteachers' administrative competence and school effectiveness in public primary schools in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. The headteacher occupies a pivotal role in primary school governance, responsible for supervising instruction, managing resources, maintaining records, engaging the community, and enforcing discipline. Despite the centrality of this role, many primary school heads in Nigeria are appointed based on seniority rather than demonstrated administrative competence. A descriptive survey design was employed, with data collected from 30 headteachers, 180 classroom teachers, and 30 Local Government Education Authority inspectors across 30 primary schools in Akure, Ondo, and Owo educational zones. Headteacher administrative competence was assessed using a structured rating instrument covering planning, supervision, communication, and resource management dimensions. School effectiveness was measured through pupil-teacher ratio, textbook availability, inspection scores, and primary school leaving examination performance. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were applied. Results reveal that headteacher competence in instructional supervision and resource management are the strongest predictors of school effectiveness. Headteachers with formal educational management qualifications demonstrated significantly higher competence scores. The study concludes that administrative competence of headteachers is a significant determinant of primary school effectiveness in Ondo State. It recommends that the Ondo State Ministry of Education make educational management training a prerequisite for headteacher appointment and introduce periodic competence reassessment for all serving school heads.

Keywords: headteacher competence, school effectiveness, primary school, Ondo State, educational management.