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AbstractParents' contentment with their child's education is the subject of a modest but increasing corpus of research. However, little has been done to identify specific school services that attract parents' attention. This study assessed institutional variables and how they influence parental satisfaction with the quality of teaching, care for pupils, and safety. A random sample of parents (n = 1,413) participated in the study. Data were collected using questionnaires, admission registers and staff disposition lists. The instruments passed through validity and reliability processes. Cronbach alpha estimates ranging from .81 to .84 provided evidence of internal consistency. Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for analysis after data collection. Significant mean differences were found in parental contentment with the quality of teaching, care for pupils and pupils' safety based on schools' security, size, proximity and environmental attributes. Parents were more content with schools that provided safety, low teacher-pupil ratio, home proximity, and a learning-friendly environment. This study proved that school attributes are essential in determining parents' contentment with public primary school services. Parents become dissatisfied when their children are not receiving good services and may react by withdrawing them to other schools in search of greener pastures. This implies that parents' continued discontent with services will lead to a decline in future enrolment figures in public primary schools unless something is done promptly. Therefore, the government should provide school facilities for effective teaching and learning to improve public perception and contentment.

AbstractDue to the importance of teachers in providing quality education, research in the last two decades has consistently focused on their effectiveness. However, there are inconclusive debates in the literature on the nature of relationships that exist between different supervisory strategies and their links to teachers’ job performance. This study used a predictive correlation design to assess how five principals’ supervisory practices contribute to teachers’ job effectiveness generally and across three specific areas. Secondary school teachers that participated in the study were 284 and were selected using simple and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using a questionnaire. A bootstrapping procedure in covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) and multiple linear regression analysis were used for hypotheses testing at the .05 alpha level. Among others, findings revealed a significant joint prediction of classroom observation, supervision of sporting activities, instructional aids, team teaching and school record on teachers’ job effectiveness generally and in the dimensions of lesson note preparation and classroom management, but not the use of instructional materials. Teachers who reported frequent classroom observation by principals also reported a higher level of lesson preparation but not other aspects of teaching effectiveness. The supervision of sporting activities significantly predicted teachers’ overall effectiveness and specific aspects such as lesson preparation, instructional material use, and classroom management. This study can encourage school principals to gain more knowledge, facts and strategies required for effective and efficient school-based supervision.

Research has assessed the diverse characteristics of principals and teachers in analysing students’ educational outcomes at various levels. However, these studies often focus on the cognitive domain of learning, ignoring the affective and psychomotor aspects. Bridging this gap, we used hierarchical linear regression to link two inputs of teachers and administrators to students’ learning outcomes generally and across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. A total of 1,872 respondents comprising school principals (N = 87), teachers (n = 870), and senior secondary class II (SSII) students (n = 915) from 87 public secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone, Nigeria, participated in the study. Three sets of questionnaires were used for data collection. The questionnaires all had acceptable item and scale content validity indices. Principal Axis Factoring and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to assess the dimensionality and acceptability of the established models. Reliability was determined using the Cronbach alpha approach for internal consistency. Results indicated (relatively and cumulatively) that teachers’ attitudes to work and social relations significantly predicted students’ educational outcomes generally and across the three learning domains. Attitude to work was the strongest predictor of the two teachers’ input. Also, administrators’ leadership styles and attitudes towards accountability (relatively and jointly) predicted students’ learning outcomes holistically and across the three domains significantly. Leadership style was the most substantial administrators’ input, trailed by their attitude towards accountability. The study has practical implications for teachers to adjust their work attitudes and social relations and for principals to be accountable and maintain effective leadership practices in schools.