INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMPETENCE OF PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN EDO SOUTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF EDO STATE

This study investigated the relationship between Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based capacity building and the administrative competence of public senior secondary school principals in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State. The study was motivated by the growing need for school administrators to possess adequate ICT competencies to effectively manage educational institutions in an increasingly technology-driven environment. Specifically, the study determined the level of ICT-based capacity building and administrative competence among principals, examined the relationship between ICT-based capacity building and administrative competence, and investigated whether the relationship varied based on principals’ sex, educational qualification, years of experience, and age. The study adopted a correlational descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 47 public senior secondary school principals in Edo South Senatorial District, while a sample of 24 principals were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that was validated by experts in Educational Management and Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was established using the Cronbach Alpha method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation and t-test statistics were employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the level of ICT-based capacity building (grand mean = 2.69) and the level of administrative competence (grand mean = 2.61) among public senior secondary school principals were high. The study further established a significant positive relationship between ICT-based capacity building and principals’ administrative competence. Significant positive relationships were also found based on principals’ sex, educational qualification, years of experience, and age. The study concluded that ICT-based capacity building is a significant predictor of principals’ administrative competence. It therefore recommended that the Edo State Ministry of Education should strengthen continuous ICT training programmes, improve the provision of ICT facilities in schools, and institutionalize regular professional development initiatives to enhance principals’ administrative effectiveness and improve the overall quality of secondary school administration.