AWARENESS OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE PORT HARCOURT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

This study investigated the awareness of ADHD among secondary school teachers in Port Harcourt Local Government Area, Rivers State. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. This study was guided by three specific objectives, research questions, and corresponding hypotheses. The target population comprised 3,045 teachers from public junior and senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State, which comprises 1,305 teachers of public senior secondary schools and 1,740 teachers of public junior secondary schools (Rivers State Senior Secondary Schools Board and Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board, 2025). A sample of 341 respondents was selected using the Taro Yamane formula. The stratified sampling technique was used to compose the sample. The “Awareness of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Questionnaire (ADHDQ)” was validated by test and guidance counselling experts for data collection while its reliability was determined through the measure of stability using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), which yielded a reliability index of 0.83. Out of the 341 distributed questionnaires, 330 were retrieved and analysed. Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested using independent t-test statistics at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that secondary school teachers in Port Harcourt LGA demonstrated low levels of awareness regarding the core symptoms of ADHD: inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that the government and educational stakeholders should organize awareness and capacity-building programmes to equip teachers with the knowledge and classroom management strategies necessary to effectively support students with ADHD