ASSESSMENT OF TEACHERS’ COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS IN TEACHERS’ REGISTRATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA CODE OF CONDUCT FOR IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed teachers’ compliance with the requirements in the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria Code of Conduct for improvement of public secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Four research questions guided the study and four null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised all 292 principals and 4,788 teachers in the 292 public secondary schools in Cross River State. A proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to draw 58 principals and 957 teachers for the study.  The research instrument used for data collection was “Teachers’ Compliance to the Requirements in Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria Code of Conduct for School Improvement Questionnaire (TCRTRCNCCSIQ)”. The instrument was validated by three experts, one from the Department of Educational Psychology, one from the Department of Adult and Non-Formal Education and one from the Test and Measurement Department, all from Federal College of Education, Obudu. Cronbach's alpha method was used to test the internal consistency of the instrument, yielding reliability coefficients of 0.84, 0.81, 0.79, and 0.77 for Clusters A-D, respectively, with an overall coefficient of 0.80. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. The study's findings revealed, among other things, that teachers comply with the TRCN Code of Conduct regarding requirements for interacting with learners, colleagues, and parents/guardians to improve public secondary schools. Further results showed that teachers do not comply with the TRCN Code of Conduct regarding the requirement to relate with employers for the improvement of public secondary schools. It was also found that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of principals and teachers on teacher compliance with the TRCN Code of Conduct regarding the requirements for relating with learners, colleagues, employers and parents/guardians for the improvement of public secondary schools. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among other things, that the Ministry of Education should utilize mass media to conduct periodic sensitization of teachers on their compliance with their duties to employers.