Corruption, Institutional Weakness, and Educational Policy Implementation in Kwara State Public Secondary Schools: Implications for Educational Management and Development

Abstract

This research investigated how corruption and institutional weaknesses affect the implementation of educational policies in Government-owned high schools across Kwara State, Nigeria, and the consequences for educational management and development. Employing a correlational descriptive survey design, the study targeted principals and teachers from the three senatorial districts. Using multi-stage sampling, 355 participants were chosen. Data were collected with a researcher-developed instrument titled the Corruption, Institutional Weakness, and Educational Policy Implementation Questionnaire (CIWEPIQ), whose content validity was confirmed by experts in Educational Management, Educational Administration, and Measurement and Evaluation; reliability was established via Cronbach’s alpha. Pearson’s product-moment correlation tested hypotheses one, two, and four, while multiple regression analysis examined hypothesis three, all at the 0.05 significance level. Findings showed that corruption negatively and significantly related to policy implementation (r = .283, p < .05), and institutional weaknesses also had a significant adverse effect (r = .407, p < .05). Additionally, the combined influence of corruption and institutional weakness explained 13.2% of the variance in policy implementation (R = .364, R² = .132). The study further found that effective policy implementation was significantly associated with improvements in educational management and development (r = .472, p < .05). Based on these outcomes, the researchers advise strengthening institutional capacity and curbing corrupt practices to boost policy implementation and support sustainable development in public secondary education.