Abstract
This study investigated principals’ accountability practices and the attainment of secondary school goals in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State. Two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. The population comprised all 16 public secondary schools and 70 administrators in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State. Census approach was adopted in the study. An instrument titled “Principals' Accountability Practices and Secondary School Goals Attainment Questionnaire (PAPSSGAQ).” was used for data collection. The questionnaire was face and content validated by four research experts from the Department of Educational Management and from Measurement and Evaluation, Faculty of Educational Foundation Studies, University of Calabar. The reliability was determined through the Cronbach alpha technique, and the index ranges from .81 to .85. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis at .05 level of significance. The findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between principals' financial accountability practices, leadership accountability practices, and the attainment of secondary school goals in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State. The study concluded that principals’ accountability practices play a critical role in facilitating the effective attainment of secondary school goals in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State. It was recommended that the Cross River State Ministry of Education should institute regular
professional development programmes aimed at strengthening principals’ financial and leadership accountability competencies. These programmes should emphasize transparent financial management. Such capacity-building efforts will equip school leaders with the necessary skills to drive performance improvements.