THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND THE COUNSELORS’ MORALE

This study of four suburban schools, two high schools, and two elementary schools, investigated how the leadership behaviors of the principal can affect the morale of the teaching staff. Questions answered included the role of participatory management and its relationship with the level of morale, differences between elementary and secondary teachers in their preference for certain leadership behaviors, differences in principal’s perceptions of his/her leadership behaviors and the perceptions of teachers, differences in principal’s perceptions of the level of morale of the staff and the perceptions of teachers, and identification of behaviors of the principal that contribute to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction of the teaching staff.

The methodology used was survey, interview and observation. data was collected through the academic year, 1987-1988. Data sources included recorded observation by the researcher, interviews of principals and teachers, and questionnaires completed by principals and teachers.^ Significant findings of the study include: (1) The school whose teachers perceived themselves to have the highest morale was the school whose teachers also perceived themselves to have more participation in the organization of the school. (2) The only difference between secondary and elementary teachers in their preference for certain leadership behaviors was that secondary teachers preferred more control over the review of overall policies.

(3) In all schools the principal perceived the character of the relationship between principal and teachers as more participative than what teachers perceived. (4) In all schools the principal perceived the level of morale higher than what teachers perceived. (5) Characteristics and behaviors of the principal that teachers stated made their jobs more satisfying were support for teachers’ concerns, positive feedback and encouragement, concern for the school’s success, visibility, dedication toward the achievement of success of the school, involving teachers in decision-making, good communication, consistency, pleasantness, honesty, consideration, and strength of character. (6) Characteristics and behaviors of the principal that teachers stated made their jobs dissatisfying included a lack of visibility, a lack of teacher involvement in decision-making, being too directive, being unsupportive of teachers’ concerns, not listening to teachers’ input, making snap judgments, being inconsistent in judgement, and a lack of communication and enthusiasm.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people, Sergon (2009). As seen by the employees, it includes the total pattern of explicit and implicit actions performed by their leader (Davis, 2013). The conditions of teachers’ working life are influenced by the administration and leadership provided by principals, and it is widely assumed that school leadership directly influences the effectiveness of teachers and the achievement outcomes of students (Hallinger and Murphy, 2012).

According pretomode (2010) leadership is the component part of management which is concerned with facilitating the accomplishment of the objectives of an organization through the systematic management of constraints and careful utilization of the available limited resources which include human, material, equipment, suppliers, finance, space and work techniques or technology.

Balogun (2012) noted that leadership action is directed towards the analysis of policies, the identification of options and to a substantial degree, the implementation of programmes as well as the efficient allocation of resources in addition to all these calculated decisions, a typical administrative action takes in to consideration the enduring and the goals of the organization as well as the environment within which the action take place. 

Ozigi (2009) defined a leader as an individual who directs the affairs of an organization in such a way as to achieve goals and objectives and who can get things done quickly by men. 

In the words of John Vieg in Olewe (2010), leadership is a determined action taken in pursuit of conscious purpose. It is the systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources, aimed at making those things happen which we went to happen and simultaneously preventing development that fail to square with our intentions. 

Education is more of a government enterprise, although some individuals are striving within their power to get schools back in the hands of private individuals. One recognition therefore should be accorded education by Nigerian educational administrators of which principal form a part of. According to the National Bureau of statistics, the teacher plays a vital role in education. In order to make children learn, the teacher arouses their interests and engages them in the classroom activities.

A teacher is a person who has undergone a professional training in the field of education in order to teach or impart knowledge to the students in the society. The teacher has many roles to play in the education of the child, he or she guides, directs and exposes the students to a variety of learning experiences which will help them to develop their talents. 

The principal is the co-ordinating agent who ensures that teaching and learning are well organized and supervised to suit the age of the learner. Leadership is an integral part of any organization, it is crucial for maintaining and expanding the relevance efficiency and productivity of complex establishments. Hence, the impact of principal in the secondary schools system cannot be overemphasized. The survival of any educational organization such as primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and other higher institutions largely depend on qualitative service available. The principal also called the principal is the administrative head of a secondary schools. He or she sees to the day to day activities in the school, co-ordinates, directs and controls other teachers in the school going by this definition, it is evident that a head teacher occupies very sensitive position and therefore his or her administrative behaviours can impact positively or negatively on the school system.

Teachers on the other hand faced with many challenges and problems in the classroom situation. Nonetheless, their performances will affect the students either positively or negatively. Teachers motivate, direct and enhance pupils reaction in the classroom, and the teacher has great effect on the students learning. The future of the children is in the hands of teacher, they should make learning enjoyable thereby increasing result to be obtained within the schools. He must guide their activities and behaviours. 

The secondary school education has its important specific objectives to achieve within the broad National Education framework. The recent turn of events in the local government really affected the administrative behaviours of head teacher on teachers in government secondary schools in Enugu East local government need critical investigation into the administrative behaviours being exhibited by principal in the different secondary schools within the local government. 

The ministry of Education organizes workshops, seminars, conferences which address some aspects of secondary education where some of the principal and teachers attend and are reminded of the need to exhibit proper administrative behaviours that will impact positively on the secondary school system in Enugu State. 

The principal skills and insights will enable him to provide the needed leadership for teachers under his care. This is because teachers make the school what they are, and the quality of our education depends upon their competence. The teacher is part of the social fabric and it is essential that he concentrates on the vital skills of being a teacher, and on understanding the consequences of his action. Also, the teacher role varies from being the instructor to being the partner of the students. He understands the students because of his sensitivity to their needs. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem 

Leadership is the interpersonal influence towards attainment of specific goals in specific situations; without leadership, schools were nothing but masses of students. Management of teachers in the school context involves the skillful control and guidance of teachers in order to achieve the school desired outcomes. Schools which consistently perform well tend to have sound and efficient leadership.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the roles expected of teachers are so many and it is therefore incumbent on principal to provide proper leadership to enable the teachers perform their task adequately. Because of this lack of co-ordination the leadership style in Oji River Local Government Area has created obvious problems. 

Conversely, the head teacher’s performance in secondary schools in Oji River local government is seems to be very poor as compared to their counterparts in other local governments and indeed other states. This research work is geared towards achieving a practical analysis of secondary schools in Oji River with a view to identifying the leadership styles of principal in them and proffering useful suggestions on how best to ensure that there is optimal service delivery.

Purpose of the Study

The study focuses on the relationship between the school principal’s leadership behaviour and the counsellors’ morale in secondary schools in Oji River local government area of Enugu state. Specifically, the study is designed to:

i)  To examine how autocratic leadership style used by principal influence counsellors’  levels of job performance in government secondary schools in Oji River LGA.

ii) To assess how democratic leadership style used by the principal  influence counsellors’  job performance in government secondary schools in Oji River LGA. 

iii) To establish how Laissez-faire leadership style used by the principal influence teachers job performance in government secondary schools in Oji River LGA.

iv) To investigate how principal’ Leadership style influence teachers working conditions in the schools.

Research Question

The following questions are addressed as a guide for carrying out this work. 

i) How does a principal’ autocratic leadership style influence government secondary schools counsellors’  level of job performance in Oji River LGA? 

ii) To what extent does principal’ democratic leadership style influence government secondary schools counsellors’  level of job performance in Oji River LGA? 

iii) In what way does principal laissez-faire leadership style influence government secondary schools counsellors’  level of job performance in Oji River LGA? 

iv)  How does principal’ Leadership style influence teachers working conditions in the schools.

Significance of the Study

The result of the project will be of inestimable benefit to the government, school administrators, principal, teachers, students, parents and society. The government would benefit from this project in that it will help to shape its future policy formation as it affects administration, and in channeling and directing their attention towards education especially in secondary schools. 

Education administrators will benefit from the outcome of this project in that they will use suggestions preferred here to improve the performance of secondary schools and determine how to direct or administer educational programmes. 

principal will benefit mostly from this project in that, it will help them to examine their performance thereby exposing them to their strengths and weakness and help them make amends where necessary. 

The study will also help to modify the unscrupulous attitude of some teachers that lead to abuse and neglect of teaching activities. It is fashioned to be of immense benefit to the entire society, research students, students of secondary schools who will be our future hope and leaders, parents etc all stand to benefit from this work.

Scope of the Study 

This project work is designed to find out the leadership style of principal as a determinant of teacher performance in secondary schools in Oji River local government area. It covers both male and female teachers in eleven (11) government secondary schools in Oji River local government area of Enugu state