From the analysis of data obtained, it was found out that out of that there was a sharp difference between the views of principals and those of their teachers on whether principals were instructional or administrative leaders of their schools. While principals held that they were both instructional and administrative leaders of their schools, teachers indicated that principals were more inclined to administrative duties than instructional duties. Some findings that were obtained in the research were.
1. Based on the finding on table 3 it clearly revealed that the principals saw themselves as both instructional and administrative leaders but exercised more of administrative task than instructional role.
2. On table 4 the teachers viewed the principals to be more of administrative leaders than instructional leaders.
3. Based on the finding on table 5 it is indicated that that student performance depends on the effectiveness of the teachers.
4. On table 6 the finding reveals that principals do not provide the required and adequate textbook to their teachers.
5. Another finding indicates that teachers make all necessary adjustment on any changes in the content of courses as directed and communicated by the principals.
4.8 Discussion of findings
From the analysis of data obtained, it was found out that out of that there was a sharp difference between the views of principals and those of their teachers on whether principals were
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instructional or administrative leaders of their schools. While principals held that they were both instructional and administrative leaders of their schools, teachers indicated that principals were more inclined to administrative duties than instructional duties.
It was also found out that result principals’ instructional role did not impact positively on the teacher’s task performance. This further buttressed the view held by the teacher’s that principals were more inclined to administrative duties than instructional duties.
It was also found out that there was a sharp departure between the response of principals and those of their teachers on whether the principals provide adequate teaching materials to their teachers. While principals held that they provide adequate teaching materials to teachers of their school, the teachers held the view that they were not provided with adequate and required teaching materials.
The result also indicated that the principals communicate government policies with regard to the changes in contents of the courses to teachers and also teachers were found making all the necessary adjustment to any changes in the contents of courses to teachers and also teachers were found making all the necessary arrangement to any change in the content of courses or subject as communicated and directed by the principals.
The result further indicated that both abrupt changes in schools calendar and lack of autonomy in the use of educational levies did impede effective supervision of instructional programme by principals.
With respect to research question one, the result of the findings reveal that, principals regarded themselves both as instructional and administrative leaders. On the contrary teachers viewed them as more administrative leaders than instructional leaders because their administrative roles
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outweighed the instructional roles in the schools the implication is that, the school administration is run effectively at the expenses of academic programmes.
Similarly, going by the research question two, the principals asserted that their roles has significant effects on the teachers and students performance but the teacher contradicted this by saying that principals roles has little or no significance on their task performance due to their emphasis on administrative tasks rather than instructional role which contributed a lot to non-covering of school syllabus by the teachers.
With respect to research question 3, principals revealed that they did provide teachers with required and adequate teaching facilities. Here the principals were trying to back government interest while the teachers said that they were not provided with required and adequate teaching facilities. The implication of this is that the students would not get the required knowledge compared to their counterparts that are provided with adequate teaching facilities.
With consideration of the research question 4, the results obtained from the two (2) set of respondents indicated that teachers and students respected and abided by the instructions and directives of their principals. This implied that teachers were more committed to classroom and extra-curricular activities which has a positive impact on student’s academic performance.
The result obtained from research question five (5), reveals that both two sets of respondents indicated that abrupt changes in school calendar and lack of autonomy in the use of educational levies did impede effective supervision of instructional programmes by principals. Those factors have contributed negatively to both instructional and administrative leadership roles of principals.
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CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the summary of the research findings, discussion, conclusions and recommendations.
5.2 Summary of the research
This research work on the role of principals in the management of secondary school, a case study of some selected secondary school in kebbi state which involve an intensive study which cover the following.
- The position of secondary school and its strategic importance in the national educational system, the leadership of the principal, his role and responsibility as the head of the secondary school. The way he manages the school which he occupies, the problems and poor academic performances of the schools in kebbi state. We outlined various objectives of the study of the principal roles which are as follows:
i. To find out how the roles of the principals in the school may impact on the student academic performance.
ii. To find out the effect of the principal roles on the teachers and students performance.
iii. To assess the extent at which the principal provide adequate teaching facilities to teachers for the promotion of instruction in order to improve student performance.
iv. To find out the effect of government abrupt changes in schools calendar to the roles of the principal.
Some research questions were also investigated for the study which is listed below;
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1. What is the perception of the principals on their roles (instructional or administrative leaders?)
2. Do the principal roles have effect on the teachers and students performance?
3. To what extent do principals provide adequate teaching facilities to the teachers?
4. Do government policies in terms of abrupt changes in school calendar and unscheduled holiday affect the roles of the principals in their respective schools?
In chapter two (2) the concept of the principal and the roles they are expected to play were discussed, some of which are:
1. Obtaining and developing of teaching personnel and supporting staff.
2. Curriculum development and programme instruction.
3. Provision of school services, facilities and equipment in good time.
4. Financial responsibilities.
5. Responsibility for education of the institution.
On the other hand the roles of the principal in the management of the school covers many area which include, Leadership, teacher evaluation, student discipline, hiring of new staff, parent community relations, delegation and several others. Some factors were used in judging an effective school principal like;
i. Excellent achievement by the student in the examination ii. Excellent performance in debate, drama, sport e.t.c iii. The success of the past students.
The principal is also incharge with the duty of presenting curriculum to his staff, distribution of teaching task, provision of material for teaching, scheduling time table. Also the
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contribution of other researchers into the subject matter on the principals roles were collected and discussed.
In chapter three (3) research design, population of the study (population size) which consist of principals and teachers of kebbi state was computed using sample and sampling techniques, also a questionnaire was designed for this study, there were sixteen (16) items covering principals view on how they perform their instructional leadership, principals were expected to react to these items along a five point scale of SA-Strongly Agree, A- Agree, ND- Not decided, D- Disagree, SD-Strongly Disagree, the same method was also used for the teachers except there was only eleven (11) items covering the teachers view on how the principal perform their instructional leadership. The statistical method use was percentage, frequency, and mean (x).
Problem encountered during the distribution of questionnaires and getting them back include lack of finance to the school where they were distributed, lack of co-operation by some teachers and busy schedules claimed by the principals, but through dedication and hardwork it was a success.
In chapter four we presented our data analysis and interpretation base on the responses we gathered on our research questionnaire, the research question was on how principal regard themselves as instructional or administrative leaders. It is been found from the data that majority of the principals saw themselves as both instructional and administrative leaders but exercise more of administrative task than instructional role while teachers viewed principals as more of administrative leaders than instructional leaders. It was also observed that student performances depends on the effectiveness of teachers and teachers reveal that principals do not provide required and adequate teaching material for them.
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The data also indicates that teachers make all necessary adjustment on changes in the content of courses as directed and communicated by the principal, the result also obtained reveal that both set of respondents indicated that abrupt changes in school calendar and lack of autonomy in the use of educational levies did impede effective supervision of instructional programmes by the principals. Those factors have contributed negatively to both instructional and administrative leadership roles of the principals.
5.3 Conclusion
The study was basically carried out to investigate and analyze the roles of principals of secondary school from the above findings, the following conclusions were drawn.
One of the major functions and responsibilities of principals is to improve and facilitate efficient curriculum implementation, enhance teaching and learning activities of the school as well as deploy financial and material resources of the schools in order to meet learners’ needs. But it was found out that principals were more concerned with the administrative duties. The instructional activities including curriculum development, teaching and supervision of instruction were created with less vigor by principals.
Also, teachers’ task performance positively related to principals’ instructional leadership roles.
Teachers had excellent capacity in the area of vision for the school, time management and active involvement in school operations, building consensus to resolve conflicts between students. But it was found out that those principals instructional role did not impact positively on the teacher’s task performance.
Teachers were also sponsored by the government to attend seminars and workshops but principals do not sponsor teachers in this regard because of the lack of autonomy in the use of educational levies and inadequate funds allocated to schools by the government. Finally, it was
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also concluded that abrupt changes in school calendars did impede effective supervision of instructional activities by the principals.
5.4 Recommendations:
In the light of the findings from data obtained from the two sets of questionnaires, the following recommendations were offered;
1. The study recommends that principals should try as much as possible to give much emphasis on instructional activities in the schools.
2. It is recommended that principal should give equal attention to both instructional and administrative duties so as to ensure smooth running of schools activities.
3. It is recommended that government should provide adequate teaching facilities to schools, so that teachers will carry out their task effectively.
4. The study also recommends that principals should have firm grip of their school curriculum in order to be able to offer useful advice or assistance to the teachers since one can only give what he has.
5. It is also recommended that principals should collaborate with their teachers in diagnosing students learning needs, so as to overcome the problem of students’ poor academic performance.
6. It is also recommended that principals should try as much as possible to communicate any changes in school curriculum to their teachers to ensure effective curriculum implementation.
7. The study also recommends that government should workout modalities for ensuring social and religious festivals did not affect school academic calendar.
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8. It is also recommended that government should give the principals the autonomy to use educational levies, since the principals are in a better position of knowing what schools are lacking and government should monitor how the levies are spent.
9. It is recommended that teachers should maintain loyalty and obedience to their principals and dedication to task performance.
The forgone recommendations if adopted would go a long way to improve the roles of principals in the management of secondary schools in kebbi state and also improve teacher’s performance which key figure for improving the student performance.
57 REFERENCES
Adewole, A. (1987), the Role and Place of Administration “A Paper Presentation to the post Primary Principal, Yola Adamawa State.
Andrews, R. and Berubu, W. (1991), “The Principal as Instructional Leader, Designer, Teacher
and Steward” Journal for Council of Supervisors and Administrators of New York City, Oceanside.
Barth, R. S. (1991). Improving School from within: Teachers, Parents and Principals can make the difference, San Fransisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Bederian, A. (1987) Practice of Management Ibadan, Ibadan University Press.
Cheng, Y. C. and Townsend, T. (2000), School Effectiveness and School Based on Management.
a Mechanism for Development, London, Palmer Press.
Common Wealth Secretariat, (1993), Better Schools Resource Materials for School Heads, module three: Personnel Management, London, Paren and Satcey.
Datta, A. (1986), Education and Society: Sociology of African Education, London, Macmillan Publishers.
Ekpo, A. I. and Ogbodo, C. M. (2005), “Principals Managerial Effectiveness and Teachers’ work Performance in Akwa Ibom State Secondary Schools”, Delsu Journal of Education Research and Development, Volume II.
Evans. R. (1995), The Human Side of School Change, San Fransisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Evans, V. and Hunter- Boykin, H. S. (1995), The Relationship Between High-School Principals’
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Leadership and Teachers Moral, Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 2.
Fasasi, Y. A. and Babyemi O. N. (2006), Educational Management: Thought and Practice, Ibadan, Codat Publications.
Getzel and Cuba, (1957), Education Administration as a Social-Process, New York, Hamper and Raw Publishers
Heald, D. and Moore, S. A. (1964),The Teacher and the Administration Relationship in the School System, New York, Macmillan Company ltd.
Hencley, M. L. (1965), Secondary Schools Administration, Theoretical Tank of Professional Practice, USA, Illocisms Publishers.
Hicks, H. G. (1976) The Management Organization, New York, McGraw- Hillco.
http://www.academicleadership.org, Teacher perception of Principal Leadership, Retrieved on
8th March, 2008.
http://www.novationsjournal.org, the role of the Principal in Teacher Professional Development, Retrieved on 8th March, 2009.
http://www.saskschoolboards.org, Introducing Principals to the role of Instructional Leadership,
Retrieved on 29th March, 2009.
http://www.skagirwatershed.org, Concepts of Leadership, Retrieved on 29th March 2009.
Lipham; J. A. (1964), Leadership and Administration, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Ngu. S. M. (1988) Management Theory and Practice of Educational Composition in Nigeria, Zaria, University Press Zaria.
Nwanchukwu, C. C, (1987), Theory and Principle of Management, IIbadan, African Publishers.
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Obi, E. (2002),Motivation and Organizational Behavior, Dynamics of Educational Administration and Management, Onitsha, Mexs Publishers ltd.
Ogunsaju, D. O. (1984), Role Perceptions of the Principals and Teachers of Secondary Grammar Schools in Kwara State, Ph. D Thesis, ABU
Ozigi, A. O (1977), A Handbook on School Administration and Management, London, Macmillan Education Limited.
Ozigi, A. (1978), Learning and Teaching: Principles and Practice of Education for Nigerian Teacher Training Colleges, London, and Oxford University Press.
Ozigi, A. O. (1994), School Administration and Management, Columbia, Ohio State University Press.
Peretomode, V. F. (1991), Educational Administration: Applied Concepts and Theoretical Perspectives, Lagos Joja Educational Research and Publishers Limited.
Scotti, J and William, H. (1987), Analysis of Organizational Incongruity: Using Teachers’
Perceptions of the Principals’ Leadership Behaviors, New York, Jommy- Prince Press.
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Yuki, G. (1998), Leadership in Organization, Upper Sadie River, N. J. Prentice Hall.
60 APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR PRINCIPALS
We are final students of the department of Curriculum studies (Education Economics), Faculty of Education and extension services, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, undertaking a research work on “The roles of principals in the management of secondary school the research is based on some selected schools in birnin kebbi, kebbi state”.
Kindly assist us to provide information by filling/ticking the appropriate spaces provided below. We assure you; that the information given to us will be treated confidentially and will only be used for the purpose of this research work.
ANAS SULEIMAN 1011406078 MOHAMMED MAMMAN SANNI 1011406202 ABUBAKAR YAHAYA 1011406174 AMINU BALA NGASKI 1011406132 HAFSAT ABDULLAHI 1011406178 Part I: Personal and school data
1. Name of school……….
2. Sex.
a. Male ( ), b. Female ( )
61 3. Age:
a. 20-30 years ( ) b. 30-40 years ( ) c. 40-50 years ( ) d. 26-30 ( ) e. 41 and above ( )
4. Highest educational Qualification:
a. ND ( ) b. NCE ( ) c. B.sc/BA ( ) d. B.Ed/B.Aed/B.sc ED ( ) e. other specify ………
5. Years of experience as a school principal
a. 1-5 years ( ) b. 6-10 years ( ) c. 11-15 years ( ) d. 16-20 years ( ) e. 21 years and above ( )
6. years of experience in teaching profession
a. 1-5 years ( ) b. 6-10 years ( ) c. 11-15 years ( ) d. 16-20 years ( ) e. 21 years and above ( )
7. Do you make up for missed classes?
a. Yes ( ) b. No ( )
8. Which of the following consume most of your time?
a. Classroom teaching ( ) b. Administrative tasks ( ) 9. Are your teachers punctual on assembly ground?
a. Yes ( ) b. No ( )
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10. Have you ever presented a paper at a seminar/workshop on the development of classroom instruction in your school?
a. Yes ( ) b. No ( )
Part ll Principals’ Instructional Role
Read carefully and tick in the appropriate cell to indicate your view on each item on how you perform your instructional leadership.
Key:
SA- Strongly Agree A- Agree
ND- Not Decided D- Disagree
SD- Strongly Disagree
63 Table 3.3: questionnaire for principals
S/N ITEMS SA A ND D SD
1 Principal assign teacher to appropriate subjects 2 Principal assign teachers to appropriate class
3 Principal provide adequate and up to date textbook for teachers
4 Is the school timetable is effectively planned
5 The principal is skillful in the use of scarce human and material resources for the improvement of school instructional programme
6 Principal communicate government policies with regards to change in content of courses to teachers and students 7 Principal monitors staff attendance in the school and
classes
8 Principal supervise classroom teaching
9 Principal occasionally compare student notebooks with record of work to ascertain job done.
10 Principal recommends staff for training/workshop with the aim of improving classroom instruction
11 Principal work with teachers to address student learning needs
12 Principal supervise the conduct of examination to reduce the examination malpractice.
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PART lll: FACTOR THAT COULD IMPEDE THE INSTRUCTION ROLE OF PRINCIPAL IN SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
This section contains the other possible factor that can impede the instructional role of principals in school management. Please read carefully and tick ( ) in the cell you deem appropriate.
S/N ITEMS
1 Non-provision of instructional materials to school by government makes effective supervision and execution of instructional programme in school by principal ineffective.
2 Most parents in kebbi state do not provide the required textbook and materials for their children and this makes it difficult to organize instruction in the school.
3 Lack of autonomy for principals in the use of educational levies makes the principals uninterested in the supervision of instructional programme.
4 Abrupt changes in the school calendar, series of forced holiday resulting from social, religious festival to impede effective supervision of instructional programme in the school.
65 APPENDIX II
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS
We are final year students of the department of curriculum studies ( Education Economics), Faculty of Education and Extension Services, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, undertaking research work on “The roles of principals in the management of secondary school, the research is based on some selected schools in birnin kebbi, kebbi state”.
Kindly assist us to provide information by filling/ticking the appropriate spaces provided below. We assure you that; the information given to us will be treated confidentially and will only be used for the purpose of this research work.
ANAS SULEIMAN 1011406078 MOHAMMED MAMMAN SANNI 1011406202 ABUBAKAR YAHAYA 1011406174 AMINU BALA NGASKI 1011406132 HAFSAT ABDULLAHI 1011406178 PART l: PERSONAL AND SCHOOL DATA
1. Name of school………
2. Sex
a. Male ( ) b. Female ( )
3. Age
66
a. 20-35 years ( ) b. 26-30 years ( ) c. 31-35 years ( )
d. 36-40 years ( ) e. 41 and above ( )
4. Highest educational qualification:
a. ND ( ) b. NCE ( ) c. B.sc/BA ( ) d. B.Ed/B.Aed/B.sc Ed ( )
e. other specify ……….
5. Years of experience as a school teacher
a. 1-5 years ( ) b. 6-10 years ( ) c. 11-15 years ( ) d. 16-20 years ( ) e. 21 years and above ( )
6. Length of time you stayed in the present school
a. 1-5 years ( ) b. 6-10 years ( ) c. 11-15 years ( ) d. 16 years and above ( )
7. Numbers of period taught per week at the present school
a. 1-3 period ( ) b. 4-7 period ( ) c. 8-10 period ( )
8. Is there adequate maintenance of equipments in your school?
a. Yes ( ) b. No ( )
9. If yes how regular?
(a) Monthly (b) Termly (c) Yearly
10. Indicate duty post held in the present school.
a. Game master ( ) b. Class master ( ) c. House master ( ) d. Food master ( ) e. Head of department ( ) g. Vice principal ( )