THE ROLE OF SUPERVISION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN AKWANGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the role of supervision in the development of primary education in Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The research focused on two key dimensions: supervisors’ support and supervisors’ motivation. A descriptive survey design was employed, with a sample of 145 supervisors selected from a population of 1,450 using simple random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, Supervision and Development of Primary Education Questionnaire (SDPEQ), and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and chi-square tests at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that supervisors’ support significantly impacts primary education development, with respondents agreeing that supervision enhances teaching practices, professional development, curriculum implementation, and teacher quality. Similarly, supervisors’ motivation was found to positively influence education development, as effective supervision fosters teacher innovation, professional growth, and immediate feedback. Hypotheses testing confirmed significant impacts for both support (χ² = 546.159, p < 0.05) and motivation (χ² = 36.855, p < 0.05), leading to the rejection of the null hypotheses. The study concludes that supervision plays a crucial role in improving primary education through supportive and motivational strategies. Recommendations include fostering a collaborative supervisory environment and providing constructive feedback to enhance teacher performance. These findings contribute to the discourse on educational leadership and highlight the need for strengthened supervisory practices in primary education, it also revealed that good supervisory skill inspires similar attitudes in staff. A good supervisor provides immediate feedback to teachers. Supervision promotes quest for profession development among teachers. Supervision helps teachers to focus on professional growth. Supervision helps teachers to be innovative during lesson delivery.