Arab Educational Information Network

The exigencies of educational institutions in the information age require that thinking dispositions of students with administrative responsibilities be given utmost attention. This enquiry probed the influence of thinking dispositions of school prefects’ academic attainment in civic education in rural and urban learning ecologies. The study adopted a survey research design of a quantitative type. The respondents were 167 (male=88, female=79, X=15.85, SD=1.73) prefects in eight selected secondary schools in northern and southern Nigeria. Eity seven respondents attended urban schools, while 80 were in rural schools (M=1.48, SD=0.50). The instruments utilized for collecting data were ‘Prefects Thinking Dispositions Questionnaire’ (PTDQ) and ‘Citizenship Education Achievement Test’ (CEAT). Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation, and multiple regression of hierarchical type were employed to analyze the data. Results show that school location, absolutism, superstitious thinking, and openness as values were the most potent predictors of school prefects’ academic achievement in civic education. The study recommends that teachers in rural and urban learning ecologies teach thinking disposition constructs to school prefects to improve their academic achievement, and empower them with rational ability to run the school outside the classroom. (Published abstract)