Abstract:
The general purpose of this study was to appraise the planning practices of secondary education management board in Abia State. Six research questions and six null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey design was used for the study and the population consisted of 658 subjects, comprising 372 experienced staff and 286 less experienced staff of three education zones in Abia State. The whole six hundred and fifty-eight senior staff of the board was used, due to its manageable size. A 40-item questionnaire was the instrument developed by the researcher and used to collect the required data for the study. Data collected were tested for reliability using Cronbach’s Alpha method.The results obtained were as follows:cluster A=0.92,cluster B=0.85,cluster C=0.88,cluster D=0.83,cluster E=o.91,cluster F=0.73.Overall reliability estimate result=0.95.Mean and standard deviation were used to answer reasarch questions while the hypotheses were tested using t-test. The data collected from the respondents were analysed using means, standard deviations and t-test statistic. Result obtained revealed that planning practices manual were not used effectively, therefore there were poor planning for calendar of events, insufficient funds, lack of qualified personnel, inadequate physical facilities and equipment,poor supervision of instruction and lack of supervision materials, among others. The results also showed that there was no significant difference between the mean ratings of more experienced senior staff and less experienced senior staff of the secondary education management board Abia state in their planning practices. Based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were made and the implications of the findings as well as the limitations of the study were highlighted and then suggestions for further research were also made.
