AFRICAN SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL

This study examines the influence of school-based initiatives on the sustainable educational development of students from disintegrated families in secondary schools in South-South Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The study population included 1,543 principals, 3,086 vice principals, 37,453 teachers, and 1,834,995 students in South-South Nigeria. A sample of 918 respondents was drawn using a six phase multistage sampling technique across 102 schools in four of six states. An 88-item structured instrument titled “School-Based Initiatives for Sustainable Educational Development of Student from Disintegrated Families Questionnaire” (SISEDSDFQ) with a reliability coefficient of 0.937 necessitated its use for the collection of data that was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to answer the research questions, and test the hypotheses. The study revealed that the respondents (administrators, teachers, and students) differed on the influence of school based initiatives on the sustainable educational development of students from disintegrated families in South-South, Nigeria secondary schools (F2, 870=.872, p >.05). The study recommended among others that secondary school administrators and teachers be encouraged to strengthen their counselling skills and improve understanding of cultural diversity that would increase the existence of cordial teacher-student interactions that would help in providing the needed social, emotional and even financial supports especially for students experiencing family instability.

This study examines moral education as an antidote for deviance and effective management of discipline among secondary school students in the Delta South Senatorial District, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey research. The population of this study comprised the 122 principals, 244 vice principals, 2,847 teachers, and 35,252 students across the 122 public senior secondary schools in the Delta South Senatorial District. A sample of 330 respondents comprising 15 principals, 15 vice principals, 75 teachers, and 225 students was selected using a six-phase multistage sampling technique in 15 public senior secondary schools. A 30-item self-structured instrument titled “Moral Education as Antidote for Deviance and Effective Management of Discipline among Students Questionnaire” (MEADEMDSQ) was used to collect data analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study revealed that the grand mean scores of 3.66 and 3.68 indicated that moral education improved students’ behaviour, and reduced deviant acts, respectively. Also, the grand means of 3.63 and 3.69 indicated that moral education positively influenced discipline management and character development, respectively. The grand means of 3.71 and 3.71 revealed that moral education promoted positive behaviour and discouraged indiscipline, respectively, in secondary schools in the Delta South Senatorial District, Delta State. The study recommended, among others, that the Ministry of Education should ensure secondary schools consistently integrate moral education to reduce truancy, violence, theft, malpractice, and cultism, while improving respect for rules, authorities and fostering positive peer relationships.