TOPIC: DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES AS A DILEMMA OF SECODARY SCHOOL MANAGERS IN NIGERIATOPIC: DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES AS A DILEMMA OF SECODARY SCHOOL MANAGERS IN NIGERIAAUTHORS: REV. SR. DR. EKEJIUBA PAULETTE AUTHORS: REV. SR. DR. EKEJIUBA PAULETTE {PAULLYSOLA@YAHOO.COM}+2348055928327 AFFILIATION/ORGANIZATION: DEPT. OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES AND MANAGEMENT, FACULTY OF AFFILIATION/ORGANIZATION: DEPT. OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES AND MANAGEMENT, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BENIN. BENIN CITY, NIGERIA. EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BENIN. BENIN CITY, NIGERIA.

INTRODUCTION

The society characterized by human beings is dynamic and therefore subject to various changes on a daily basis. Actually, problems do occur when a change occurs spontaneously. Our contemporary societies such as Nigerian people without plan migrate from one place to another as a result of one problem or the other. Schools in these clustered areas are therefore diverse. A diverse school is a mixture of students either by ethnicity, culture, age, religion, beliefs or other characteristics.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN (1999) stated that every child is entitled to education irrespective of culture, religion or social status. Consequently, Universal Basic Education Act 2004 makes education of the child free and compulsory. Thus, numerous school age children of different ethnic groups and religion are currently clustered in certain schools in the more securedstates in the country. Their parents move to more secured zones as a result of fear of unknown, insecurity threats and national disasters which the country is currently facing in some parts of the country. These massive relocations have religious, cultural and financial implications in the management of schools in the affected areas such as Owerri in Imo State, Benin in Edo State and Lagos in Lagos State. This has made enrollment into secondary schools in these states recently according to Ekejiuba {2014} to be on the upward swing, because all school age children must be in school.

This change in the number and quality of students seemed to complicate the work of educational managers because decisions and predictions could not be made with accurate certainty since schools rules and regulations continue to be modified, amended or changed from time to time in other to accommodate unanticipated changes when it occurs.

If these non-indigenous students are not adequately managed by demographic change builders (school managers), there may be culture shock among the students. Students need to overcome these shocks before they will learn. This is because cultural misunderstanding can cause strong emotions like shame and embarrassment which can seriously influence relationships and study process. Face with cultural and religious heterogeneousness and since social interaction in schools is determined by specific cultural model, then behavior and attitudes must be modified in order to avoid disturbing the schools that exists in a cultural setting. Furthermore, the environment of the school itselfmay be a mismatch for non-indigenous students. They might tend to exhibit deviant behavior which is unacceptable and irresponsible. Deviant behavior shows that students have made bad choices about how to meet their needs. They cannot make better choices unless they are democratically involved in school activities, celebrated, made to become more realistic in the view of their societies, and more appreciative of the social values of cooperation. These are what the change builders ought to inculcate in these students. Change leaders are school managers who plan and implement these demographic changes in schools. Change in schools therefore entails new actions and processes in order to accommodate all students of varied background. The question therefore is “Are Nigerian School Managers well equipped to manage these new trends in schools as a result of emergency demographic changes in their various schools?”

LITERATURE REVIEW:Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with a population of over 120 million people of diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious identities. Ekejiuba (2012) discovered that schools in the Southern Urban Cities such as Owerri, Benin and Lagos are clustered with students of varied background and culture. She furthers stated that people migrate to more secured states as a result of terrorist attacks, other anti-social activities and flooding. In order to have broad coverage of this study, “Input-Output production model was employed”.

Sources- Adapted and modified by the Researcher.In the input stage, there is a need to equip the school in such a way that it will accommodate and effectively train all students. Inside the processing stage of the production model, the school managers could employ Behavior Modification and Self –awareness Model. In Behavior Modification Model, the school managers must without any form of discrimination give every student a real and legitimate sense of control, influence, responsibility and power such as class prefect, senior prefect, sports prefect, etc. Through these functions, the school managers could make the students to discover their potentials and be successful in life. This model is not only supportive but also protective. It makes them to be self-controlled, self-reliant and self-discipline.

Table 1: INPUT-OUTPUT PRODUCTION MODEL

INPUT STAGE PROCESSING STAGE OUTPUT STAGE Personnel Teaching and learning process Excellence in Academics Infrastructure (1) Academic learning Graduated person School plant (2) Application of Behavioral

modification model Refined person

School Facilities (3) Application of Self-Awareness Model Self -knowledge and reliance Auxiliary School (4) Interacting with people, events and

environment Accepted behavior

Services Ability to control self and environment.

In the Awareness Model, the school managers help the students that are emotionally and socially traumatized as a result of unplanned flooding, terrorist attacks and raping. The tempers of these students often flare out of control; they do not trust themselves and have difficulties in forming friendships. They mightwithdraw;spend a lot of time doing private work such as reading, drawing,etc. Knowing selves will aid them control and accept what they areand work towards being a refined person. Looking at the behavior of some students of varied backgrounds makes people to cast doubt whether the school managers inculcate these attitudes among the students.

OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY (1) To help school principals to be abreast with the changing situation and current demographic trends in their various schools.

(2) The objective of this study is to improve the capacity of school managers on how to manage demographic changes in schools with a view of improve the academic and behavior of the students from diverse background in their school. RESEARCH QUESTIONS(1) Have you had a course on demographic management?(2) What are the factors that constitute the dilemma of school managers in times of demographic changes?(3) What types of attitudes do principals encourage students from diverse cultures? 

METHODOLOGYProduction theory in education which rests in input-output model was employed. The study was

conducted using ex-post –facto design while employing descriptive research design method. The target population of the study consists of the entire Nigerian secondary school principals. However, as of the time of this research, i.e. 2013-2014, the population was not within the research of the researcher where people including the school managers, students and parents relocated, are killed and abducted on a daily basis as a result of flooding and terrorist attacks.

Consequently, there was a predetermined criterion upon which the sample was selected. The researcher used disproportionate stratified random sampling because the elements selected from each stratum(north and south/male and female) was not in relative proposition as they are in population. Two Questionnaires titled, “Factors constituting the dilemma of school principals in times of demographic changes” and “Types of attitude which Principals encourage students from diverse culture” were administered to 30 principals from different states in the North and 60 Principals from the south. The Second instrument was responded by 123 teachers conveniently taken from teachers during P-T programs in the University of Benin. Based on the Researcher’s judgment, 30 (21 males and 9 females) Principals from the North and 60 (38 female and 22 male) from the south were deemed good to constitute a representative sample with respect to the research purpose and limitations. Data collected was analyzed using percentage, Pie-charts, Pictogram and bar-chart.

 ANALYSIS OF DATAResearch question (1);What is the percentage of School Principals that had a course on the management of demographic

changes?

FIGURE 1; Pictogram of the Respondents Opinion on the attainment of Demographic-Management courses.

Figure 1 showed that five people (17%) and 17(28%) Respondents had Demographic Management courses in both North and South respectively. On the other hand, 25 people (83%) and 43 Respondents (72%) indicated that they have no knowledge of Demographic change management courses.Research Question 2; what constitutes the Dilemma of school managers in times of demographic changes.

Table 2: Opinion of Respondents attendance of the courses on the management of Demographic changes

OPINION NUMBER OF RESPONSE PERCENTAGES (%)North South North South

Yes 5 17 17 28 No 25 43 83 72Total 30 60

Table 3: Factors that constitutes the dilemma of school managers in times of demographic changes.

Table 2: Opinion of Respondents attendance of the courses on the management of Demographic changes.

OPINION

North

South

North South

Yes No

Factors

Northern Zone

Southern Zone

Male Female Male Female

Factors No % Yes % No % Yes % No % Yes % No % Yes % Overcrowded Classrooms 19 90 2 10 6 67 3 33 5 23 17 77 2 5 36 95 Inadequate Resources 12 57 9 43 5 56 4 44 8 36 14 64 5 13 33 87 Indiscipline 7 33 14 67 5 56 4 44 8 36 14 64 16 42 22 58 Differences in Religion 3 14 18 86 2 22 7 78 3 14 19 86 2 5 36 95

Table 4 shows that the following factors which constitutes the dilemma of school managers in times of demographic change in the following proportion : over-crowded classrooms 4 degree and 6 degree in the Northern male and female respectively, while in the south there were 21 and 45 male and female respectively. Similarly, in the Northern zone 28 and 13 of the male and 8 and 35 of the female agreed that indiscipline and differences in religion were the major challenges of school managers in managing demographic changes in schools. In the South 280 and 450 of females and 180 and 240 of male agreed on the same factor.Research question 3: What type of attitude do Principals encourage students from diverse culture?

Table 4: Proportion Responses by Zone and Gender

Factors

Northern Zone

Proportion in Degree

Southern Zone

Proportion in Degree

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Overcrowded Classrooms 2 3 4 6 17 36 21 45 Inadequate Resources 9 4 18 8 14 33 18 41 Indiscipline 14 4 28 8 14 22 18 28 Differences in Religion 18 7 13 35 19 36 24 45

Fig. 3: Bar Chart Showing Respondents Opinion on the attitudes which school managers encourage students from diverse culture. The response from the teachers reveals that some school managers do not actually encourage positive attitudes on students from diverse culture. As many as 84(68%) disagree that school managers encourage self-respect among students from diverse culture; while 39(32%) agreed similarly, 97(79%) of the respondents disagreed that these students from diverse culture were encouraged to be successful in their academic studies, while 26(21%) agreed. Nevertheless, 92(75%) of the respondents agree that the school managers’ love these students from diverse culture while 31(25%) of them disagreed.

BAR CHART

DISCUSSION

The study reviewed that most Nigerian school managers were not demographically equipped in terms of managing schools in times of demographic changes. This accounts why most students were not positively encouraged towards the attainment of the system goals and objectives. Obviously, once the school was in a multi-cultural environment, students might find that their expectations were inaccurate and the degree to which one filter them so that they will adjust to new environment depends on the school principals’ (demographic change builders) capacity.

When a student feels he/she is accepted despite what he/she is, he would be receptive to change his behavior to suit the existing rules and regulations. Contrarily, when they are not accepted, they rarely(according to the researcher’s observations) interact with their classmates; they seemed to grow up in a sheltered world.

Powell (2006) contended that such attitude of those students might be as a result of inappropriate cultural differences and bias classification process. Through the interaction with school managers, the researcher as an eye-witness saw when the non-indigenous students entered the school for the first time they were asked to undress so as to be like other students, they were permitted to undress themselves at the school gate before entering into the school premises. It seemed that such students felt shocked. According to Powell (2006), this cultural shock or biased were not a problem to only non-indigenous students but also to indigenous students who were not able to understand items that were not related to their culture.

However, allowing students an opportunity to learn more about someone who is unlike them is better in the long-run because it gives them an understanding of others, enable them to work and study together in a positive way. The result equally showed that there were several factors such as differences in religion/culture and indiscipline which constitute the dilemma of school Principals in their various zones in terms of demographic changes. When school managers were not demographically trained, they could not identify these factors and even the changes let alone of initiating a relevant program. This is because the untrained demographic school managers cannot necessarily estimate the impact of these changes on the attainment of school objectives. Each factor determines its approach to it. Generally, behavior and system modification followed by self-awareness models were deemed veritable tools for managing schools in time of demographic changes in Nigeria.

 

CONCLUSIONThe demographic changes in school is not only in terms of population but also in culture and religion.

Nigerian schools are becoming a factory(with the aid of 1999 constitution) to new environment for the attainment of school goals and objective.

Various factors exhibit a robust challenge for school managers in the management of school in times of demographic changes. Most principals in the capacity of managing these changes were reflected on somepositure attitude which could not highly encourage students from diverse culture. The researcher believes that with the principals patriotic commitment and Government support of training them demographically, they would ultimately overcome the present challenges and move educational system forward.

 RECOMMENDATIONSSince the study is disproportionately sampled, additional research is needed using proportional sample

technique in order to examine whether the findings of the study is generalizeable to a wider range of managers. School leaders should organize a cultural day for their schools where students cultural food, dance, drama, cultural dress, songs,etc are exhibited and recognized.

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development, Faculty of Education Ahmadu Bello University, University of Zaria 7(1) 120-126.Powell, J.J.W, Special education on the risk of becoming educated, European Society 8(4): 577-599.FRN(1999) National Policy on Education 2004 Education.