# Introduction he primary objective of the early Christian missionaries was to convert the natives to Christianity through education. The knowledge of the Bible, ability to sing hymns, recite catechisms and to communicate both orally and in writing was considered essential for a good Christian. As already observed, several missionary bodies, with their political, economic and denominational sympathies emerged during this period, working as hard as they could to establish as many schools as they could. It is important to note that each missionary body operated its own educational Author: Delta State University. e-mail: revbomageorge@gmail.com system and financed its own educational project. Today, mission schools have spread like a wide fire in all states of the federation (Nwaze, 2011). Mission schools like every other school in Nigeria faces a host of challenges which have affected its primary objectives. Mission schools are confronted with management options and unethical practices. The potential for conflict in these situations can be exacerbated by differences in the roles and responsibilities of teachers within the school system. Leading to little discussion of the ethics upon which the choices to be made in these difficult situations are based. Unethical practices frequently arise from decisions which require value judgements about doing the right thing, or good/ best thing in a particular situation. Campbell (2008) stated that doing the 'right thing' seems easy enough most times, when an ethically difficult situation arises, it may cause individuals to examine their ethics in practice. He went further to assert that teaching is inherently a moral endeavour with principals, teachers and the whole school community struggling with complex ethical realities in their day-today activities. Kohlberg (2010) opined that moral reasoning, as a precondition to ethical behaviour is not sufficient to act in an ethical way. It is often, assumed that teachers will do the 'right thing', and in doing so ethics and moral principles may simply become part of the hidden curriculum. This means that, the principles on which teachers' act are so embedded in practice that they are generally not discussed, examined nor talked about. However, Lyons (2006) rightly put it that majority of teachers reported that they had difficulty in resolving real life unethical issues they faced when carrying out their daily activities within the school system. However, unethical practices in mission schools, as identified by Leke (2009) include truancy on part of teachers and students, cheating during examination, improper dressing, drug abuse, lying and lateness to school and lessons, leaking examination questions among others. These unethical practices disturb the minds of teachers and students, which interfere with the learning of both the students and their peers (Aduma, & Auwal, 2007). The quality of education to parents depends on what affects their children that is the school climate based on character moulding of the learners. Practice of learning and work ethics is a good determinant of qualitative education. Schools where unethical practice is high in operation cannot produce disciplined and quality graduates. This reduces the value of our school products, based on the standard by which we judge human behaviour. In other words, moral rules, promoting those things thought of as good and minimizing or avoiding those things thought as bad learnt at early age at home and school. Mission schools do not only experience unethical practices within the school but also are confronted with management issues. There are numerous issues before the mission schools and before the school administrators (principals and teachers). Sidhu (2007) opined that these challenges are: explosion of students' population, lack of credibility, poor facilities, political unrest, lack of cooperation, non-performance, lack of devotion, outdated expertise, wastage, and poor planning. In the same vein, the management issues maybe due to the changing society in which the mission school finds itself today. Today, the society is in a state of continual change, with one change leading to another. The society has become increasingly confused, fragmented and discontented (Grimmett & Echols 2010). This is because the rapid pace of change has affected all institutions without exception to the mission schools. In the educational institutions, students' and teachers' culture has changed dramatically thus, influencing their attitudes to teaching and learning respectively (Nwaka, 2010). The old learning, skills, attitudes, instructional materials, equipment and methods are quickly getting obsolete, irrelevant or inadequate. As the society witnesses these rapid changes, education has been pointed out as the only instrument of salvation. It is believed by the researcher that education, as the foundation of all societies and the globally competitive economies, is the most efficient way through which a society can face the issues of today and tomorrow. # a) Statement to the Problem Mission school that is held in high esteem by government, host community, and parents have been bedevilled with high incidence of unethical practices as well as management issues. These challenges have made parents to lose hope in their wards who attend mission schools within Nigeria in general and Delta state in particular. However, the influence of unethical practices confronting the school administration, school climate, quality of school graduates and societal perception on the mission schools is well known. This has negative effect on the societal value of mission schools, locally, nationally and internationally. These are some of the reasons for perceived fall in the quality of instruction by teachers and academic achievement by students. The increasing rate of dropout, interschool movement within local government, state and countries are also perceived to be unethical practices in mission schools in Delta State. In addition, the effects of wastage in education resulting from corruption due to unethical practices, after huge financial, human, material investments in the mission schools are known by scholars. However, one particular question that agitated the mind of the researcher is how do teachers in mission schools perceive unethical practices and management issues within their school system? Therefore, the problem of this study is what are the unethical practices and management options in Delta State mission schools as perceived by teachers. # b) Research Questions The following research questions were raised to guide the study. # c) Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated from the research questions raised. 1. There is no significant difference between the perception of male and female teachers on identifiable unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. 2. There is no significant difference between urban and rural teachers on the causes of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. 3. There is no significant difference between experienced and less experienced teachers on the perception of the consequences of the ethical practices in mission schools. 4. There is no significant difference between male and female teachers' perception on the management options for unethical practices in mission schools. # d) Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to examine unethical practices and management options in Delta state mission schools as perceived by teacher. Specifically, the study sought to investigate: 1. To find out the unethical practices in Delta state mission schools as perceived by teachers. 2. To investigate the causes of unethical practices in mission schools 3. To ascertain the consequences of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools 4. To examine management options for unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. # e) Significance of the Study This study will be beneficial to government, school administrators, those having one form of role to play in the Educational sector and finally those interested in carrying out research on similar topic. Government will benefit from this study because it will portray unethical practices and management issues facing Delta state mission schools in particular and Nigeria mission schools in general. If the control measures identified is followed strictly by the government, it will go a long way to help solve the problem of unethical practices as well as management options facing mission schools. The study will help mission school administrators to understand those unethical practices facing the school, and how it is being perceived by teachers within the school. It will make the principals to get prepared for unethical practices that might arise when they carry out their daily activities in the school environment. The study will help those interested in carrying out similar study to understand the state of unethical practices and management issues facing mission schools. # II. # Review This study was based on concept of decision making propounded by Herbert Alexander Simon in the year 1947. Decision making is a universal process in an organization. It is defined as a process of choosing from among alternatives or alternative ways of achieving an objective or providing a solution to a problem, (Peretomode, 2012). Williams, Wilson, and Sugarman (1980) categorizes the different decision-making approaches into two schools of thought; incremental and system analysis. However, it was Lindblom (1980) who first introduced and formalized the incremental strategy to decision making. According to Hoy and Miske (2005) Lindblom characterized this method of decision as the science of muddling through. The method suggests that commonplace practice among most managers and administrators is to tackle "a problem by inches, not by yards or miles", (Peretomode, 2012). Lindblom (1980) points out that the approach may be the only feasible approach to systematic decision making when the issues are complex, uncertain, and riddled with conflict. This process, he stated is best described as a method of successive limited comparisons. Deciding does not require objective, exhaustive analysis of alternatives and consequences, or a priori determination of either optimum or satisfactory outcomes. Instead only a small and limited set of alternatives, similar to the existing situation, is considered by successively comparing their consequences until decision maker come to some agreement on course of action, (Hoy and Miske, 2005). # a) Concept of Ethics Ethics is the basic concepts and fundamental principles of decent human conduct. It includes study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, increasingly, also for the natural environment, (Nwaka, 2010). He states that "standard definitions of ethics have typically included such phrases as 'the science of the ideal human character' or 'the science of moral duty' " (Kidder, 2010). Richard and Linda (2006) define ethics as "a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behaviour helps or harms sentient creatures". The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (2015) stated that the word ethics is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group or individual." Richard and Linda (2006) stated further that most people confuse ethics with behaving in accordance with social conventions, religious beliefs and the law and do not treat ethics as a stand-alone concept. The word "ethics" in English can mean several things. It can refer to philosophical ethics-a project that attempts to use reason in order to answer various kinds of ethical questions. It can also be used to describe a particular person's own, idiosyncratic principles or habits, (David, 2014). It may also be used to characterize the questions of right-conduct in some specific sphere, even when such right-conduct is not examined philosophically. However, many people think ethics has to do with a set of social conventions or a religious decree. In professional philosophy it is not typically consider as a definition of ethics. Philosophical ethics could be called the study of what is good and bad. Generally, philosophical ethics concerns itself with discovering a system one may use to determine who or what is good, or with evaluating systems that others have proposed. # b) Unethical Practices in Mission Schools Unethical behaviour in the workplace can be defined as any action that does not conform to the standards of conduct established by the organization. Unethical behaviour can occur in the relationships between employees, in the way an employee goes about his business or how he uses company resources. Unethical behaviour can even break the law in some situations. Thus, an unethical behaviour is an action that falls outside of what is considered morally right or proper for a person, a profession or an industry. Individuals can behave unethically, as can businesses, professionals and politicians, (David, 2014). Over the time, unethical practices have affected the fortunes of our educational system in Nigeria, which is perhaps on its lowest ebb now. The university system, we once prided ourselves with as citadel of learning and centre of academic excellence, has joined the maddening crowd to shed its core values. "A comparison between the universities of the 1960s and 1970s with those of the past two decades will show wide disparity in terms of the quality of both the inputs and the outputs," (Adukwu 2012) The strands of thought that readily comes to mind whenever the issue of Nigeria's educational policy is raised are; decline in standard, deterioration of facilities, examination malpractices, mass production syndrome and the likes. Our present educational system risks the chance of losing their mandate of providing qualitative education if the progressive decline in ethics is allowed unchecked. A closer look at the system reveals an entire gamut of unwholesome and unethical practices bedevilling it. The rot has permeated every facet of the education sector. It cuts across all ages, parents, teachers, government and the society at large. # III. Unethical Practices at the Primary School Acceptance of under aged children for enrolment into nursery and primary schools: It appears that parents are now abdicating their God given roles to teachers as a result of the harsh economic realities of our time. Most of our career nursing mothers are no longer baby friendly. They are not favourably disposed to the age long practice of breast feeding their babies. Upon the expiration of their maternity leave, they usually drop off babies at the crèche or with their nannies at home and return to work. Whence this trend has started, there is no going back, and that marks the beginning of a lifelong journey for such babies. The calibre of teachers in our public primary schools: The calibre of teachers in some of our public primary schools has become a serious source of concern. While their educational qualifications are suspect; their capabilities are questionable. Majority of the teachers produced by teacher training colleges, colleges of education and universities are not knowledgeable in their subject areas. Lackadaisical attitude to work: It has also been observed that teachers in public primary schools deliberately hold back at teaching their pupils on time. They are usually preoccupied with hawking of their wares during official periods. Preponderance of female teachers: Teaching in the schools is now the exclusive preserve of women, especially those within the reproductive age bracket. Overtime, they go on maternity leave; leaving the overcrowded classes to their colleagues, who do not seem to be interested in the job function, but what they can make out of it. Overcrowded public primary schools: Most of our public primary schools are overcrowded, with inadequate classroom blocks and ram shackled furniture. The pupilteacher ratio is unduly high. Extortion of cash: Operating a private school has become a gold mine. Fees in some private schools in the urban areas are far higher than tuition paid in federal universities. Teachers in both public and private schools have devised so many ingenious ways of extorting money from parents. Illegal fees have been introduced in all tiers of education in Nigeria. No to pupil's handiwork, yes to cash: A time there was when pupils were tasked on skills acquisition. Pupils were made to produce something on their own to show as, "handiwork". The essence was to help develop their skills and the psychomotor domain. Such handiworks include needle works, arts and crafts. This noble concept seems to have been taken over by events as pupils are now persuaded to pay cash as against the production of handiworks. # a) Unethical practices at the secondary school Cultism now exists in our secondary schools: Undoubtedly, cultism is one of such social vices confronting Nigerian schools today. There is hardly any academic session without reported cases of cultism and its attendant disruption of academic calendar in many Nigerian institutions. Image hype for schools in order to attract patronage: According to Nwaze (2011), heads and owners of schools are perpetually in a competitive race to create image hype for their schools and attract improved patronage. This is more intense in the case of private schools whose survival or otherwise has a lot to do with general perception of their performance in public examinations such as WAEC and NECO. Extortion of cash: Extortion of cash is not restricted to primary school pupils alone. It is also an issue to contend with in our secondary schools. This comes in the guise of laboratory, practical science and padded WAEC registration fees etc. # The appointment of non-professionals as teachers: Teaching is a profession with imbued work ethics and a code of conduct. Ironically, the recruitment of teachers into primary and secondary schools seems to be an all comer's affair. Graduates of other disciplines have invaded the classrooms. # Knowledge or Information explosion: Our educational curriculum at the secondary level has become rather too unwieldy. # Dearth of quality teaching and non-usage of WAEC Syllabus: According to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), more candidates fail in their examination due to lack of quality teaching compared to what most adults got during their school days. # b) Causes of Unethical Practices According to Ajayi and Adeniji (2009), the major cause of unethical practices in our educational system could be attributed to the following factors: 1. Laxity in Home Control and Parental Supervision: It has always been said that "charity begins at home", but contrary to this assertion, today's parents have abandoned their primary responsibilities of raising their children in the way they themselves were raised. Instead, they run after material wealth and fame leaving the responsibility of child discipline entirely in the hands of the school. This is more apparent in the education system where students are regarded as adults who need little or no supervision. asserted "there was shortage of everything except the pupils" in all our educational institutions. This could be said to be the genesis of indiscipline in our educational institutions. Other areas where government promotes unethical behaviours and indiscipline in schools include using students in politics and encouraging them to be partisan and undue interference in students' union matters. Ignorance is another major cause of unethical behaviours. MacDo (2006), revealed that the ignorance that the acts are unethical and not knowing the seriousness of the consequences when caught, are causes of unethical behaviours. Competition for scarce resources, power or position can cause individuals to engage in unethical behaviours. Hosmer (2007) emphasized that an attempt to improve their corporate competitive positions made managers to take immoral actions (Hosmer, 2007). Bazerman and Banaji (2014) felt that the cause of the unethical behaviours in organizations is the presence of a "few bad apples" among organizational actors. The primary cause of unethical behaviours can be traced to lack of maintaining the type of consistent leadership that is necessary for running an ethical organization. This exposes the employees to opportunities that make them engage in unethical behaviours. # c) Consequences of Unethical Practices A holistic review of ethical issues in our educational system shows that the sector has received serious battering which has greatly dented its credibility, damaged its image, reduced its effectiveness and has not helped to allow it make the expected impact that it ought to make on character formation, positive lifestyles and the development of our country. It would not be wrong to aver that the moral decadence, depravity, exuberance and turpitude, which seem to pervade the school system, have been vicariously nurtured by our indolent parents and the school system, these are steadily being transmitted into the society of which the students and teachers are part of and are re-packaged to be re-cycled into every facet of our life, (Kanu and Ursula, 2012). On the whole, our value system has been seriously jaundiced, perverted, inflected with gross immorality, circumventing alibis and short-cuts, damaging inundated with false pretences, negative lifestyles and foul-plays. Relating consequences of unethical practices to real business world Wole (2012) argue that organizations that practice unethical conduct face severe and long-term consequences, such consequences are hidden but it has negative impact to the organisation in long-term profitability and even in sustainability. The first of these consequences as stated by Ridley (2008) is obviously reputational damage, which affects an organization's ability to attract new and repeat business. Unethical practices also create a plethora of problems related to employees and employee productivity. Honest employees will battle to work in an unethical business environment, with increased absenteeism and lack of productivity the inevitable result. A recent Harvard Business School study showed, for example, that corruption in an organization has a marked negative impact on employee morale. And employee morale is directly linked to employee commitment and ultimately to company performance. An unethical work environment can provoke honest employees to leave, (Farrel, 2006). In situations where unethical behaviour is rife, organizations often opt for intrusive surveillance within the workplace, and an increasingly elaborate framework of rules. Such an approach represents not only a significant direct extra cost to the business, but also contributes to a paranoid, adversarial and thus dysfunctional work environment: one that promotes poor productivity and attempts by employees to assert their freedom by acting in ways that are hostile towards the company's best interests. # d) Management Options for Unethical Practices Teachers face many unethical challenges each day in the school. When faced with these unethical challenges, how do teachers respond to it? Professions such as law and medicine have created codes of ethics to communicate the responsibilities of a profession and to improve personal beliefs, values, and morals. These codes help define a professional's responsibilities to the people they work with and for. Many organizations have review boards that monitor and enforce codes of professional standards (Webb, 2007). Similarly, school administrators also have codes of ethics that can guide their decision making during their day-to-day professional challenges. Teachers face a variety of unethical and moral challenges throughout their teaching careers; however, educators do not have a common board that governs its members' unethical behaviour. Instead, there are numerous educational organizations that have written their own specific codes for ethical behaviour. The Council for Exceptional Children (2013) has developed a code of ethics for educators who work with persons with exceptionalities. Additionally, the National Education Association (NEA, 2005) has developed a code of ethics for educators with various roles in the teaching profession. Other organizations have similar codes; most states have also developed codes of ethics for educators within their state. The goal of all of these guidelines is to provide professionals with direction for resolving the unethical challenges they faced each day in the school. The educator, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and nurture of the democratic principles. Essential to these goals is the protection of freedom to learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal educational opportunity for all. The educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards. What is considered unethical often comes down to determining what is in the best interest of the teacher and student. "Behaving ethically is more than a matter of following the rules or not breaking the law-it means acting in a way that promotes the learning and growth of teacher/students and helps them realize their potential" (Parkay, 2014). When educators or students engage in unethical behaviour it can damage a good teacher-student relationship. Unethical behaviour can ruin trust and respect between teachers. In extreme situations unethical behaviour can result in a teacher losing his or her teaching position or certification. Resolving unethical challenges requires difficult educational decisions that do not always have a clear-cut "right" answer. In fact, it appears that teachers are poorly prepared to handle ethical challenges they might encounter. Although teachers may be aware of the more obvious or illegal unethical situations such as dating students, sexual harassment, communication of false information, they appear to be less prepared for subtler situations, (Keith-Spiegel, Whitley, Balogh, Perkins, & Wittig 2012). # e) Appraisal The conceptual framework for this study was based on concept of decision making. The concept stated that decision making is s process of choosing from among alternatives or alternative ways of achieving an objective or providing a solution to a problem. The literature revealed that ethics is the basic concepts and fundamental principles of decent human conduct. It includes study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, increasingly, also for the natural environment. Ethics is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group or individual. The literature also revealed that unethical behaviour in the workplace can be defined as any action that does not conform to the standards of conduct established by the organization. Unethical behaviour can occur in the relationships between employees, in the way an employee goes about his business or how he uses company resources. Unethical behaviour can even break the law in some situations. The literature also revealed that causes of unethical practices in our educational system could be attributed to the following factors: laxity in home control and parental supervision, school factor, teacher factor, societal factor, technological factors, government influence, Job pressure, Ignorance is another major cause of unethical behaviours etc. The literature revealed that create policies and practices, develop people's understanding, put controls in place, build a culture of transparency, openness, and communication, creating a code of conduct, leading by example, reinforce consequences, show employees appreciation, welcome an ethics speaker, create checks and balances etc. are management options for unethical practices. However, studies have not shown how teachers gender influence unethical practices as well as teacher's years of service influence their perception on the consequences of unethical practices. The literature reviewed focused more on business organization in general, thus, no single study has been carried out on unethical practices and management options in mission schools as perceived by teacher, hence this study. # IV. # Methods and Procedure a) Research Design The study is a descriptive survey which adopted the ex-post-facto design. Descriptive survey is conclusive in nature, as opposed to exploratory. This means that descriptive survey gathers quantifiable information that can be used for statistical inference on targeted audience through data analysis. As a consequence, this type of survey takes the form of closed-ended questions, which limits its ability to provide unique insights. Thus, this study measures the significance of something about a group of respondents and the population they represent. However, no variable was manipulated. # b) Population Size The population of the study consists of 1,117 teachers in 40 mission schools in Delta state as at 2014/2015 academic year. # c) Sample and Sampling Technique The sample used for this study was 456 teachers drawn from the population of the study which represented 40% of the entire population. The sampling procedure used was simple random sampling technique. This was done by assigning a unique number to each member of the population. Each number was then placed in a bowl and mixed thoroughly. The blindfolded assistant researcher then picks numbered tags from the bowl. All the individuals bearing the numbers picked by the assistant researcher were the subjects for the study. The instrument was subjected to screening by the researcher's supervisor and three other experts in Department of Measurement and Evaluation. The items were examined to find out if they were adequate for the study. Based on their suggestions, comments, recommendations, corrections on spelling errors, grammatical errors as well as addition of new items were made and the questionnaire was approved as valid through face and content validity. # f) Reliability of the Instrument To ensure that the instrument measured considerably and consistently what it intended to measure, it was subjected to a split-half reliability test using 30 teachers from Delta State public secondary schools, to carry out the pilot study. The instrument was administered to the respondents after which the items were divided into halves of odd and even numbers. The scores were computed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Statistics and a Co-efficient of 0.83 was obtained which showed high reliability, thus the instrument was used for the study. # g) Administration of the Instrument The instrument was administered by the researcher and some colleagues to the respondents. 456 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the teachers in the mission schools out of which 445 copies were properly filled and retrieved. The presence of the researcher enhanced the responses of the respondents in filling and completion of the questionnaire. # h) Method of Data Analysis The responses from the respondents were carefully converted into mean scores for the purpose of answering of the research questions raised while t-test was used to test the hypotheses formulated. For the research questions a mean score of 2.50 was the benchmark for agreeing, any score below is said to disagree. V. # Presentation and Discussion # a) Demographic Variables The respondents in the study were represented according to sex (male or female), location (urban or rural) and years of teaching (experienced or less experience). The distribution of teachers' sex above shows that out of 456 respondents, 213 representing 46.7% were male teachers, while 243 representing 53.3% were female teachers. The distribution shows that out of 456 respondents, 319 representing 69.9% were urban teachers, while 137 representing 30.1% were rural teachers. The distribution shows that out of 456 respondents, 284 representing 62.3% were experienced teachers, while 174 representing 37.7% were less experienced teacher. # Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XVII Issue IV Version I Year ( ) Data in Table 6 shows mean scores analysis on unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. The result of the study has revealed that respondents agreed on teachers awarding unmerited score to students, sexual harassment, students' truancy, teachers do not cover scheme of work and students cheating during examination with mean scores of 3.03, 3.90, 2.51, 3.51 and 2.55 respectively. However, respondents disagreed on falsification of students' data, communicating false information, improper use of school property, teachers deliberately extort money from students, using official time for personal business, teaching students without proper preparation and teachers lie in order not to carry out their duty with mean scores of 2.12, 2.42, 2.35, 2.17, 2.30, 2.22 and 2.32 respectively. From the data analysis therefore, unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; teachers awarding unmerited score to students, sexual harassment, students' truancy, teachers do not cover scheme of work and students cheating during examination. Research Question 2: What are the causes of unethical practices in Delta State mission schools? Data in Table 7 shows mean scores analysis on causes of unethical practices in Delta State mission schools. The result of the study revealed that respondents agreed on freedom granted by the parents to their children, parents allow their wealth to be the pride of their children, lack of parental supervision, students' improper dressing and students' laziness with mean scores of 3.08, 3.19, 2.92, 3.11 and 3.32 respectively. However, respondents disagreed on greed on the part of the teachers, teacher/students ratio, teachers' laziness, physical environment of the school and inadequate exposure of students to reading materials with mean scores of 2.16, 2.05, 2.43, 2.21 and 2.48 respectively. Thus the causes of unethical practices in Delta State mission schools include; freedom granted by the parents to their children, parents allow their wealth to be the pride of their children, lack of parental supervision, students' improper dressing and students' laziness. Research Question 3: What are the consequences of unethical practices Delta state in mission schools? Data in Table 8 shows mean scores analysis on consequences of unethical practices in Delta State mission schools. The result of the study revealed that respondents agreed on dented the credibility of education, damaged the image of mission schools, increased student's absenteeism and provoke honest teachers to leave the school with mean scores of 3.12, 3.03, 3.90 and 2.51 respectively. However, respondents disagreed on ineffective character formation, increased teacher's absenteeism, lack of productivity on the part of the teacher and dysfunctional work environment with mean scores of 2.42, 2.25, 2.17 and 2.31 respectively. Thus, the consequences of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; dented the credibility of education, damaged the image of mission schools, increased students' absenteeism and provoke honest teachers to leave the school. Research Question 4: What are the management options for unethical practices in Delta state? Data in Table 9 shows mean scores analysis on management options for unethical practices in Delta State mission schools. The result of the study revealed that respondents agreed on provision of ethics training programmes for teachers/students, appointment of ethics specialist who plays a role in top management decision making in all schools, preparation of codes of ethics in schools, parents should supervise the activities of their children at home, training people within the school community to act ethically and reinforce consequences for unethical practices with mean scores of 3.10, 3.01, 2.64, 3.22, 2.70 and 2.50 respectively. However, respondents disagreed on reporting perceived unethical school practices to outside authorities and abide strictly to, only the good sides of technological innovations with mean scores of 2.11 and 2.20 respectively. Thus the management options that can be adopted to manage unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; provision of ethics training programmes for teachers/students, appointment of ethics specialist who plays a role in top management decision making in all schools, preparation of codes of ethics in schools, parents should supervise the activities of their children at home, training people within the school community to act ethically and reinforce consequences for unethical practices. # VI. # Discussion of Findings a) Perception of Male and Female Teachers on Identifiable Unethical Practices in Delta State Mission Schools The result of the study has revealed that the aggregate mean scores of 2.53 and 2.39 for female teachers and male teachers respectively shows that there is a difference between the perception of male and female teachers on identifiable unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. This is true because the aggregate mean scores of female teachers exceeded the benchmark mean score of 2.50 but male teachers were less than 2.50. Hypothesis tested shows that there is a significant difference between the perception of male and female teachers on identifiable unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. # b) Urban and Rural Teachers on the Causes of Unethical Practices in Delta State Mission Schools The result of the study revealed that the aggregate mean scores of 2.44 and 2.39 for urban teachers and rural teachers respectively revealed that there is no difference between urban and rural teachers on the causes of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. This is true because the aggregate mean scores did not exceed the benchmark mean score of 2.50. Hypothesis tested shows that there is no significant difference between urban and rural teachers on the causes of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. This finding agrees with Oziambo (2013) who stated that teacher professional misconduct was prevalent in both rural and urban settings in Rukwa Region with some variation in terms of type, cause, and frequency. Secondly, the variation of teacher misconduct in schools was greatly influenced by teacher's sex, work experience, and level of education. In view of the research findings recounted, the paper concludes that teacher misconduct is a problem of great concern in both rural and urban schools that affects teachers' work performance, the teaching, and learning process, and the quality of education at large. But this finding disagrees with Uyo, (2004); Akpan, Okey and Esirah, (2005) who opined that teachers perceived unethical practices were high in urban schools. Lathrop and Foss, (2000); Onipede, (2003) who stated that teachers perceived unethical practices as a common feature of rural schools. This finding also disagree Adeyemi (2010) who stated that there is a significant difference in the perception of teachers of examination malpractices in urban and rural secondary schools in the State. Rural schools had a higher mean value (56.1) than urban schools (24.7). This indicates that examination malpractices were in a greater dimension in rural schools than in urban schools in the State. # c) Experienced and Less Experienced Teachers on the Perception of the Consequences of the Ethical Practices in Mission Schools The result of the study revealed that the aggregate mean scores of 2.59 and 2.60 for experienced and less experienced teachers respectively. This result revealed that there is no difference between experienced and less experienced teachers on the perception of the consequences of the ethical practices in mission schools. This is true because the aggregate mean scores exceeded the benchmark mean score of 2.50. Hypothesis tested shows that there is no significant difference between experienced and less experienced teachers on the perception of the consequences of the ethical practices in mission schools. # d) Male and Female Teachers' Perception On the Management Options for Unethical Practices in Mission Schools The result of the study revealed that the aggregate mean scores of 2.75 and 2.72 for male and female teachers respectively. This result revealed that there is no difference male and female teachers' perception on the management options for unethical practices in mission schools. This is true because the aggregate mean scores exceeded the benchmark mean score of 2.50. Hypothesis tested revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female teachers' perception on the management options for unethical practices in mission schools. # e) Findings The following findings were arrived at: 1. Unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; teachers awarding unmerited score to students, sexual harassment, students' truancy, teachers do not cover scheme of work and students cheating during examination. 2. Causes of unethical practices in Delta State mission schools include; freedom granted by the parents to their children, parents allow their wealth to be the pride of their children, lack of parental supervision, students' improper dressing and students' laziness. 3. Consequences of unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; dented the credibility of education, damaged the image of mission schools, increased students' absenteeism and provoke honest teachers to leave the school. 4. Management options that can be adopted to manage unethical practices in Delta state mission schools include; provision of ethics training programmes for teachers/students, appointment of ethics specialist who plays a role in top management decision making in all schools, preparation of codes of ethics in schools, parents should supervise the activities of their children at home, training people within the school community to act ethically and reinforce consequences for unethical practices. VII. # Conclusion Mission schools in Delta state face some unethical practices which have affected the administration of the school. These unethical practices in Delta state mission schools have dented the credibility of education, damaged the image of mission schools and provoke honest teachers to leave the school. However, provision of ethics training programmes for teachers/students, appointment of ethics specialist who plays a role in top management decision making in all schools are some management options that can be adopted to manage unethical practices in Delta state mission schools. # VIII. # Recommendations The following recommendations were made by the researcher: 1. Mission schools should from time to time conduct seminars and workshops for school heads and teachers. The seminars and workshops will be designed in as such a way as to emphasize the negative effect of unethical conduct and practices in the school. 2. Mission schools should enact law that is centred on punishing any teacher who engage in unethical practices in the school. 3. Mission schools should establish codes of conduct to guide teachers' behaviours within the school. 1S/NoName of SchoolsNo of Teachers 2S/NoName of SchoolsNo of Teachers40% of Teachers 3SexNumberPercentage (%)Male Teachers21346.7Female Teachers24353.3Total456100 4LocationNumberPercentage (%)Urban Teachers31969.9Rural Teachers13730.1Total456100 5Years of TeachingNumberPercentage (%)Experienced Teachers28462.3Less Experienced Teachers17237.7Total456100 6S/NoUnethical Practices in Mission SchoolsMeanSDRemark1.Falsification of students' data2.120.53-2.Teachers awarding unmerited score to students3.030.75+3.Communicating false information2.420.61-4.Sexual harassment3.900.97+5.Improper use of school property2.350.59-6.Teachers deliberately extort money from students2.170.54-7.Students' truancy2.510.62+8.Teachers do not cover scheme of work3.510.87+9.Using official time for personal business2.300.58-10.Teaching students without proper preparation2.220.56-11.Students cheating during examination2.550.64+12.Teachers lie in order not to carry out their duty2.320.58-KEY: += Agreed= Disagreed 7S/NoCauses of Unethical Practices in Mission SchoolsMeanSDRemark1.Freedom granted by the parents to their children3.080.77Agreed2.Parents allow their wealth to be the pride of their children3.190.79+3.Lack of parental supervision2.920.73+4.Greed on the part of the teachers2.160.54-5.Teacher/students ratio2.050.51-6.Students' improper dressing3.110.78+7.Teacher's laziness2.430.61-8.Students' laziness3.320.83+9.Physical environment of the school2.210.55-10.Inadequate exposure of students to reading materials2.480.62-KEY: += Agreed-= Disagreed 8S/NoConsequences of Unethical Practices in Mission SchoolsMeanSDRemark1.Dented the credibility of education3.120.78+2.Damaged the image of mission schools3.030.75+3.Ineffective character formation2.420.61-4.Increased students absenteeism3.900.97+5.Increased teachers absenteeism2.250.56-6.Lack of productivity on the part of the teacher2.170.54-7.Provoke honest teachers to leave the school2.510.62+8.Dysfunctional work environment2.310.58-KEY: += Agreed-= Disagreed 9S/NoManagement Options for Unethical Practices in Mission SchoolsMeanSDRemark1.Provision of ethics training programmes for teachers/students3.100.77+2.Appointment of ethics specialist who plays a role in top management decision making in all schools3.010.75+3.Preparation of codes of ethics in schools2.640.66+4.Reporting perceived unethical school practices to outside authorities2.110.53-5.Abide strictly to, only the good sides of technological innovations2.200.55-6.Parents should supervise the activities of their children at home3.220.80+7.Training people within the school community to act ethically2.700.67+8.Reinforce consequences for unethical practices2.500.62+KEY: += Agreed-= Disagreed © 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US) © 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US) 1 Unethical Practices and Management Option in Mission Schools as Perceived by Teachers in Delta State ## Source: Field Survey d) Research Instrument The instrument used for the study was a selfdeveloped questionnaire titled "Unethical Practices and Management Options in Mission Schools as Perceived by Teacher, (UPMOMSPT)". The instrument consisted of two sections. Section A was used to sought for demographic data e.g. gender, while section B consisted of 38 items and respondents were required to rate in four-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA)=4, Agree (A)=3, Disagree (D)=2, and Strongly Disagree (SD)=1. * Anglican Grammar School, Ubulu-Uku 22 * Anglican Grammar Sch., Okpara Water-Side 23 * Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ozoro 22 6. Anglican Girls Grammar School Anglican Grammar School, Akwukwu-Igbo 36 5 Anglican Girls Grammar School * Agbor 23 9 Baptist Girls High School 35 27 Ebelogu Grammar School * Ika Grammar School 38 * James Welch Grammar School, Emevor 36 * MaryMount College 28 Boji-Boji Owa * Our Lady's High School, Effurun 30 18 Ovu G/S, Ovu-Inland 27 17 Mater Dei Model School Ashaka * St Columba's Grammar School, Agbor 25 22. St Georges' College, Obinomba 26 23 St Augustine's College St Kevin's Grammar School, Kokori 35 20 24 Ibusa * St Patrick's College, Asaba 41 26 St Roses Girls Secondary School Ogwashi-Uku 39 * St Vincent's College, Okwagbe 23 28. St, Brenda's College, Bomadi 29 29 * Malachy's Grammar School, Sapele 19 36. St. Mary Magdalene, Ashaka 27 37. St. Mulumba's Secondary Com AmbroseSt St ; St College St ; St St. Paul's Grammar School, Ebu 40 39 Onicha-Ugbo * Theresa's Grammar School St 38 1117 Ughelli * Source: Delta State Post Primary Education Board Asaba June 2015 * Africa Church Grammar School Ekakpamre 18 2 Anglican Grammar School, Ubulu-Uku * Okpara Water-Side 23 9 4. Anglican Girls Grammar School, Asaba 36 14 5. Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ozoro 22 9 6. Anglican Girls Grammar School Anglican Grammar School, Akwukwu-Igbo 33 Anglican Grammar Sch. * Utagba-Uno 27 11 12 Ebelogu Grammar School 38 15 Ika Grammar School * James Welch Grammar School, Emevor 36 * MaryMount College 28 11 Boji-Boji Owa * Notre Dame College, Ozoro 14 6 17. Our Lady's High School Mater Dei Model School 27 12 Effurun * G/SOvu -Ovu 28 11 * St Augustine's College Ibusa 35 14 * Abavo 26 10 21. St Columba's Grammar School St Charles College Agbor 25 10 * StGeorges 'College Obinomba 26 10 * St Martin's De Porres College, Onicha-Olona 30 12 25. St Patrick's College, Asaba 41 16 26 St Kevin's Grammar School, Kokori 24 16 * Enda's Grammar School, Agbarho 35 14 33. St. Ita's Grammar School, Sapele 16 6 34 StVincent's College St ; St ;St St ; St Brenda'College St ; St St. Mulumba's Secondary Com. Sch., Okpanam 23 456 1117 St. Ambrose College St. Pius X th G/S, Onicha-Ugbo. 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