CORRELATES OF PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP CAPACITY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ JOB EFFECTIVENESS IN ABEOKUTA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT
OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA
A BSC RESEARCH PROJECT
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Leadership capacity is the ability
and manifestation of competence of leaders in the discharge of their duties and
skillful performance of functions in accomplishment of school objectives.
According to Lambert (2000), leadership capacity is the broad-based, skillful
participation in the work of leadership that leads to lasting school
improvement. Achieving educational objectives therefore, is a function of the
capacity of the principal of the schools Peleyeju, 2007. If the principal lacks
competencies in managerial function of school organization, such always results
in poor job effectiveness which in turn affects students’ academic performance.
Educational expectation In
Nigeria today has posed many questions in the heart of our leader regarding the
poor leadership qualities, capacities and output of secondary schools’
standard. Principals’ leadership qualities include good sense of humor, self
discipline, initiative, integrity, academic and professional qualification,
motivational and human relation skills and so on Obadara, 2006. The societal
expectation seems higher on the leadership capacities in many parts of Nigeria
educational sector. Leadership capacity has been described by researchers as
the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and
support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Alan Keith (2004)
states that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to
contribute to making something extraordinary happen. Principals’ leadership
capacity can be measured from various dimensions; from the perceptions of
school vision, capacity building and collaboration in policy making,
motivation, curriculum leadership and school discipline delegation, executive
behavior, managing time, resourcefulness, communication and leadership
principle. For instance, the dimensions of principals’ leadership capacity has
been viewed by many researchers as parts of the variables that affect teachers’
job effectiveness in educational sectors Peretomode 2007 . Hunter-Boykin and
Evans (2005) further contends that perceptions about principals as leaders by
their teachers indicate an important dimension to evaluate the leaders
capacities. According to him, understanding how teachers perceive their principals
leadership capacities has a great significance and providing evidence for
improvement of school leadership. Public opinion poll has also revealed the
teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ capabilities and their working
conditions is effective in determining the organizational climate and culture
of a school. Such perceptions will also impact on the performance of the
school.
School system’s accomplishment of
its goal seems to be dwindling over the years, based on observation of
students’ poor performance, students’ poor attitude to learning, and general
apathy of teachers to their work. It appears the roles of school leaders are
becoming more cumbersome with the introduction of the new technology,
inadequate resources available for the job at hand, and the need for curriculum
innovation to meet the global trend. However, the school leadership seems to be
saddled with more roles and assignments to meet the challenges ahead. The
question one would ask at this point is whether the principals have ability to
supervise and perform the functions associated to such titles for the overall
process of education system.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
In spite of the different approaches
adopted by different researchers over the years to improve the standard of
education in Nigeria, educationists are still struggling towards getting an
antidote for improving the standard
of education. In a study conducted by Peleyeju (2007), only organizing and
supervising managerial capacity skills of the principals’ account for poor
academic achievement of secondary school students in Lagos state, Nigeria,
without any due examination of the indirect relationship of these factors of
teachers’ motivation on their effective job performance. Consequently this
study attempts an examination of the extent to which principals’ leadership
capacity factors influences teachers’ job effectiveness in secondary schools in
Abeokuta North Local Government, Ogun state.
1.3
Hypotheses
The hypotheses formulated for the
study are stated as follows:
HO1:
There will be no significant relationship between principals’ academic
qualification and teachers’ job effectiveness.
HO2:
There will be no significant relationship between principals’ length of
services and teachers’ job effectiveness.
HO3:
There will be no significant relationship between principals’ gender and
teachers’ job effectiveness.
HO4:
There will be no joint significant relationship between principals’ academic
qualification, length of service, gender and teachers’ job effectiveness.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to
investigate the correlates of principal’s leadership capacity and secondary
school teachers’ job effectiveness.
As a result of the above, the
researcher will be paying attention to identifying the leadership capacity
prowess obsessed by the principals of junior secondary schools. The outcomes of
the research will be used to determine the influences of principal leadership
competences on their teachers’ job effectiveness.
1.5 Scope of the Study
This study focuses only on
leadership capacities and how they affect teachers’ job effectiveness in
selected secondary school in Abeokuta North Local Government of Ogun State
Nigeria.
The principal leadership
capacity skills were limited to three such as academic qualification, gender
and length of service.
Teacher’s job effectiveness was
considered in terms of their ability in development of lesson, class control,
class arrangement, clarity of voice, appropriate use of language, suitability
of assessment and questioning techniques.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The results of this study will
provide the basis for developing the appropriate managerial prowess and
strategies that will be emulated by school principal and secondary school
teachers towards job effectiveness, so that, low motivating factor, inability
for the principal to delegate duties, poor teacher’s welfare, freedom of
expression and decision making these days will be checked.
More so, the study will assist the
government to improve in service training of principals, so as to help the
principals understand their roles and capacities as the head. It will also help
them to understand the fact that their managerial abilities go a long way in
affecting the teacher’s attitude to work and subsequently the cognitive and
affective development of the students.
This study will particularly
showcase the influence of the leadership competence of school principals on
secondary school teachers’ job effectiveness. Thus; the information derived
will accustom them with the cause of poor principals’ leadership capacity and
the teachers’ non-dedication to work. The research findings will also stimulate
government to adopt certain policy decisions in the terms of principals’
leadership capacity as regards the findings of the research.
1.7
Operational Definition of Terms
·
Leadership capacity; This
refers to principals’ academic qualification, gender and length of service.
·
Secondary school:
This refers to the second tier of the 6-3-3-4 system of education operated in
Nigeria.
·
Teachers job effectiveness: Ability
of teachers to develop lesson, class control, class arrangement, clarity of
voice, appropriate use of language, suitability of assessment and questioning
techniques.
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