Conduct of senior school certificate in electronic mode: preparedness and attitude of school administrators in Niger State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study was carried out to ascertain the preparedness and attitude of school administrators in Niger State towards conduct of Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in electronic mode. Descriptive survey research design was adopted and the sample for the study comprised 300 school administrators from 150 (75 public and 75 private) secondary schools in Niger State. A combination of purposive, proportionate stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to select respondents for this study. Researchers-designed questionnaire that was divided into section A, B and C was used to collect data on demographic profiles, attitude and preparedness respectively. Using Cronbach alpha formula, the reliability coefficients of the questionnaire for sections B and C were 0.89 and 0.96 respectively. The collected data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and independent sample t-test statistics. Two research questions were answered and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The results revealed that school administrators in Niger State have positive attitude towards conduct of SSCE in electronic mode, but are not fully prepared for it. It also was discovered that while attitudes of school administrators do not differ based on school type, significant difference exists in the level of preparedness for conduct of SSCE in electronic mode. Hence, it was recommended among others that appropriate governments, non-governmental agencies and school administrators should place more priority on making provision for adequate basic facilities in terms of human and materials needed for effective and efficient e-exams system particularly in the public schools.