ETHICAL INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION AND TEACHERS’ JOB COMMITMENT: AN EMPIRICAL REVIEW OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AKPABUYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between ethical instructional supervision and teachers’ job commitment in public secondary schools in Akpabuyo Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted, involving a census of 118 teachers (46 males and 72 females) from seven public secondary schools within the area. Data were collected using a structured 14-item questionnaire titled Ethical Instructional Supervision and Teachers’ Job Commitment Questionnaire (EISTJCQ). The instrument’s validity was ascertained by experts in Educational Management and Measurement and Evaluation at the University of Calabar, while its reliability was confirmed with Cronbach Alpha coefficients of .82 and .79. Descriptive statistics and Simple Linear Regression were employed to answer the research questions, while hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and regression analysis at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that ethical instructional supervision significantly predicts teachers’ job commitment, with a regression coefficient of R = .502 and a coefficient of determination R² = .252, indicating that ethical supervision explains 25.2% of the variation in teachers’ job commitment. The study concludes that ethical supervision—characterized by fairness, transparency, respect, and integrity—plays a vital role in promoting teacher commitment in the studied context. These findings underscore the need for school leaders to cultivate ethically grounded supervisory practices as a means of fostering teacher engagement and institutional goal attainment. The study recommends the training and sensitization of school leaders on ethical supervisory principles to help build a supportive and committed teaching workforce within secondary schools in the region.