PRINCIPAL MANAGERIAL SKILLS AND TEACHERS’ JOB EFFECTIVENESS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
background to study
The efficacy of teaching is defined as the use of skills and various teaching tactics to communicate information to learners (students) in order to accomplish educational goals and objectives within the school system. Ko, Sammons, and Bakkum (2013) defined teaching effectiveness as the capacity to increase students’ accomplishment scores while taking a baseline measure of the students’ intake into consideration. Thus, the efficiency of instructors is determined in connection to students’ development as evaluated by subsequent achievement of learning outcomes.
Effective instructors develop connections with their students that foster a sense of security and engagement. Additionally, competent instructors monitor students’ progress on a continuous or progressive basis and utilize the data to enhance their instruction. As a result, the instructor is required to maximize the learning environment (Peretomode 2004). A teacher’s teaching abilities must be enhanced and his or her knowledge and methods updated in order to remain successful and relevant in the educational system (Nkang2002& Al and Malik, 2012). Thus, among other things, teaching efficacy is determined by student accomplishment.
The quality of education is seen in students’ accomplishment, which is significantly impacted by teachers’ performance (effectiveness), which is strongly influenced by principals’ managing abilities. This fact demonstrates that management abilities are those that a principal must possess in order to effectively manage teachers, pupils, and other material resources inside the school system (Kochlar 2005, Sya, Joni and Mohammed 2018).
Mintzberg (2010) defines a manager as “someone who has influence over others in an organization” in Paturusi (2017). It might be the president, prime minister, administrative official, headmistress/master, director, or chief executive officer of an organization, among others. In this scenario, the principal is the secondary school’s management. A principal must possess a number of characteristics in order to successfully manage a secondary school. The principalship in secondary education dates all the way back to 1887, when the government started financing, establishing, and owning certain secondary schools in response to the 1887 Education Ordinance (Muraina 2014, Ibia 2011).
The management abilities of administrators are critical in enhancing the efficacy of teachers’ actions. Fagbamiye (2004) said in Egboka, Ezeugbor, and Enueme (2013) that the principal is primarily an organizer and implementer of educational plans, policies, and programs. Thus, a significant component of a principal’s managerial abilities is comprised of the following: communication skills, supervisory skills, interpersonal interaction skills, disciplinary skills, and time management skills.
Communication skills are critical for a school manager to have when it comes to the information management system at that level of education. Cole (2004) and Nwaoku (2005) argue that information should flow easily downhill, upward, and sideways so that management and employees are informed and productive while also fostering good connections between people and units of the organization. The principal is supposed to handle information effectively among staff members and pupils in the school system.
Onuma (2016) said that monitoring fosters teachers’ professional development. Principals, on the other hand, are the general instructional supervisors of school programs. This ability contributes to teachers’ efficiency in the classroom and the academic achievement of the school.
Interpersonal interaction ability is critical to the organization’s effectiveness in achieving its goals. According to HosseinpourTamimi, HosseinpourHarshami, and Jafarzadeh (2014), the key to a good work environment is fostering healthy interpersonal relationships among coworkers, subordinates, and superiors. Interpersonal skills include communication, the ability to influence others, conflict management, the ability to motivate others, and group skills such as empowerment, team building, and transfer of authority (Khan, Khan, Din & Khan, 2015).
Disciplinary ability is critical for the organization’s efficiency, since higher profits are obtained in a climate free of conflict and rancour. In situations of disciplinary violations, the management (principal) must choose the most suitable type of consequence (Kamete 2014). When there is discipline in an organization, there is self-control and obedience to established norms and regulations. This contributes to a positive work environment and increased productivity.
In school organization, time management ability refers to the accuracy with which time is controlled effectively via the use of a timetable. The term “timetable” refers to the exact arrangement of planned activities inside a given time period with the purpose of fulfilling the school system’s academic objectives. Time management, according to Akomolafe (2011) in Akomolafe (2013), is the skill of planning, organizing, scheduling, and budgeting one’s time for a specific activity in the educational system in order to generate more effective work and production. Thus, this ability should be held by the principal if the administration’s primary emphasis remains on teaching effectiveness and academic accomplishment in the classroom.
The Problem’s Description
Teachers’ success is measured in terms of topic understanding, classroom management, cordial relationships with students, and class discipline, among other factors, in order to accomplish the anticipated learning results; therefore, school effectiveness. Whereas the lack of these characteristics results in decreased teacher effectiveness, as seen by tardiness to class and work, poor lesson presentation, irregular and unauthorized movement from duty station, intolerance, and absenteeism, among other indicators. However, it has been observed that principals’ managerial skills can help sustain teachers’ effectiveness in the school system, particularly when the principals demonstrate managerial skills such as communication, supervision, interpersonal relationship management, disciplinary management, and time management.
According to studies, the majority of instructors have a lackadaisical approach toward teaching, a strained connection between students and teachers, poor student evaluation, and tardiness to class. These sentiments indicate that such instructors are inefficient and unproductive in carrying out their official responsibilities. The researcher is about to evaluate the impact of principals’ management abilities on teachers’ teaching efficacy in public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State’s Etinan Local Government Area.
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