STRATEGIC PLANNING PRACTICES AND ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS AMONG PRINCIPALS OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, EDO STATE

This study examined the relationship between strategic planning practices and administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it determined the extent of strategic planning practices, assessed principals' administrative effectiveness, and examined whether the relationship differed by principals' age, administrative experience and school location. The study adopted a correlational survey design and used census sampling to include all 12 principals in the 12 public secondary schools in the study area. Data were collected using the researcher-developed Strategic Planning Practices and Administrative Effectiveness Questionnaire (SPPAEQ). The instrument demonstrated satisfactory reliability, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .84 for strategic planning practices and .88 for administrative effectiveness. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Fisher's Z-transformation at the .05 significance level. Findings showed that strategic planning practices were utilised to a high extent (M = 3.25, SD = 0.44), while administrative effectiveness was also high (M = 3.46, SD = 0.40). A strong, positive and significant relationship existed between strategic planning practices and administrative effectiveness (r = .861, p < .05). However, the relationship did not differ significantly based on age, administrative experience or school location. The study concluded that strategic planning is significantly associated with effective school administration. It was recommended that principals should sustain the high level of strategic planning practices, particularly strategic implementation and that principals should sustain their high level of administrative effectiveness, particularly in decision-making and communication