Abstract

The increasing complexity of security challenges confronting schools has heightened the need for educational institutions to develop adaptive capacities that ensure the continuity of teaching and learning during periods of disruption. This study investigated security education and school safety management as predictors of school resilience in public secondary schools in Edo State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional correlational survey design. The population comprised 9,270 principals and teachers in 324 public secondary schools, from which a sample of 1,032 respondents was selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using the Security Education, School Safety Management and School Resilience Questionnaire (SESSMSRQ). The instrument was validated by experts in Educational Management and Measurement and Evaluation, while Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.91 confirmed satisfactory internal consistency. Of the 1,032 questionnaires administered, 996 were validly completed and analysed. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while hierarchical multiple regression was employed to test the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that public secondary schools in Edo State exhibited a high level of school resilience (Grand Mean = 3.50, SD = 0.80). The hierarchical regression analysis further showed that security education and school safety management significantly predicted school resilience after controlling for selected school characteristics (ΔR² = .452, p < .001), with school safety management emerging as the stronger predictor. The study concludes that strengthening security education and institutionalising comprehensive school safety management are essential for enhancing organizational resilience in public secondary schools. It recommends sustained investment in security education, integrated safety governance, stakeholder collaboration, and resilience-oriented leadership practices to promote safe, adaptive and sustainable school systems. INTRODUCTION Education remains one of the core public investments nations make in advanci