THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL LEADERS ADMINISTRATIVE STYLE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In Nigeria, education is a tool for achieving national development. The National Policy on Education lays forth the country's educational objectives in terms of their relevance to individual and societal requirements (FRN, 2014). In this context, the National Policy on Education established targets and objectives aimed at facilitating the country's educational progress. The school principal plays a vital role in promoting these goals and objectives. Providing effective managerial abilities and techniques in the art and science of governing secondary schools is one of these tasks, as is improving teacher job performance, which might improve students' academic success. Many educators are concerned about how well the principal is in performing these functions (Fika, Ibi and Aji, 2015). In Nigerian schools, senior secondary education lasts three years and is only available to pupils who have finished the Basic 9 education program. It's hardly surprising, then, that excellent secondary school management is in high demand in Taraba State, Nigeria. However, it appears that a huge number of school principals have not examined their administrative methods as drivers of students' academic success in the State and across the country. As a result, some of them appear to have a tough time leading their schools efficiently (Akininbagbe, 2002). Because educating a nation remains a critical strategy for societal development in the developing world, research on human capital development agree that a nation's human resources, not its capital or natural resources, ultimately decide the pace of its economic and social growth. The formal education system comprising elementary, secondary, and university education is the most important institutional mechanism for generating human capital (Nsubuga, 2003). Because education is a long-term investment, there is a strong link between education and socioeconomic productivity. According to Muthondu (2007), the world is changing at a breakneck pace, making it nearly difficult for anybody, regardless of gender or chosen administration style, to possess all of the necessary information, insight, or power to accomplish success. The previous system of government, which handed authority and a title to one or a few persons, most of whom were males, is gradually becoming dysfunctional and being phased out. Potential leaders of either gender should prepare themselves to adapt to a changing society and make every effort to educate and model the administrative style that will most successfully lead the institution to its objectives. The supply of physical facilities, classroom size, effective school discipline rules, administrative assistance, and effective leadership are all elements that influence students' exam performance. This is supported by research from Botswana, Nigeria, and Papua New Guinea (Muli, 2005). Good administration offers the essential leadership, clarity of direction, and incentives for students' successful performance. Human resources are the most significant resources in any business, according to Okumbe (1998), and hence the firm's success is totally dependent on how well its personnel are handled. This implies that a continual effort is required to accomplish integration, in which all members are active and collaborate with a shared aim of attaining the organization's objectives. It's critical to think of school administration as a social activity. In a social system, there are two types of phenomena: independent and interacting. The institution, its functions, and expectations that are in accordance with the system's aims make up the first class. The persons who occupy the system, with their personalities and dispositions, make up the second class (Okumbe, 1998). A school is made up of the principal, teachers, non-teaching personnel, and students who work together to achieve defined objectives. Effective administrative and efficient management abilities are necessary to keep a school organization together (Farrant, 1997). Effective school management has been extensively cited as a feature that distinguishes achievers from non-achievers. Visionary leadership that inspires and persuades rather than orders people towards similar goals will result in dramatic improvements in the workplace. Principals, according to Bukar, Ibi, and Abdullahi (2015), are actively involved in influencing the actions of students and schools toward goal setting and goal accomplishment. In view of the aforesaid, the study looked into the administrative styles of school principals as they relate to student academic achievement in Nassarawa State senior secondary schools.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over the years, it has been noticed that stakeholders' reactions to successful administration methods among secondary school principals in Nassarawa State, Nigeria, have been mixed. However, it appears that many of these principals have not viewed their administration techniques as a factor in their kids' academic achievement in the state. The experiences and administrative methods that principals demonstrate are a big source of concern for parents since they are discovered to have a direct impact on the overall performance of children as well as instructors, who are both monitored and supervised by a principle. The declining performance of pupils in senior secondary schools in essential subjects of the school curriculum in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) has been a cause of worry for stakeholders and parents in the education industry. This might be due to a variety of factors. The observed poor administrative style utilized by school principals, which has been demonstrated to have a direct influence on pupils' academic achievement, was probably one of them.The problem of this study therefore was to examine the impact of school leaders administrative style on students’ academic achievement in government secondary schools.

1.3       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to examine the impact of school leaders administrative style on students’ academic achievement in government secondary schools. Specifically, the study seeks:

i.          To identify different administrative style used by school leaders of government secondary schools.

ii.        To determine the factors affecting school administration as regards  to choice of leadership style.

iii.      To determine the effect of administrative staff on students’ academic achievement

iv.      To proffer ways administration can improve students’ academic achievement in government secondary schools.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTION

The research is guided by the following question:

i.          What are the administrative style used by leaders of government secondary schools

ii.        What are the factors affecting school administration as regards to choice of leadership style?

iii.      What are  the effect of  administrative staff leadership style on students’ academic achievement?

iv.      What are the ways school administration can improve students’ academic achievement in government secondary schools?

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will enable various governments become very much aware that the importance of administration and administrative staff in secondary schools. The research study will have some significance to schools and institutions combating with administrative challenges. The study will create awareness to the general public on the effect of administrative staff in government schools and the challenges they face.  This study provides insight with the realization of the relationship of school administration and students’ achievement.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study borders on the impact of school leaders administrative style on students’ academic achievement in government secondary schools. The study will consider principal leadership style and factors that determines their choice administrative style. The study is delimited to selected public secondary school Keffi Local Government Area in Nassarawa State.

1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  selected secondary school in  Keffi Local Government Area in Nassarawa State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other secondary school in other States within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Finally, respondent could not return all the questionnaires distributed to the researcher and this has only made the researcher to only work with the ones that got to him. Howbeit, despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8  DEFINITION OF TERMS

  Administration: The term ‘Educational Administration’ is very comprehensive. It is concerned with the formulation, execution and appraisal of educational policies. A school comes into being through the process of organizing. Then comes its administration. Running or functioning of the school is the job of the head of tire institution. 'This does not mean that only the Head and none else is responsible for administration. In fact, administration is a job of many minds and many heads.  All combined into one. The Head of the institution is the leader who is to make all other follow him. Thus educational administration is more or less a co-operative undertaking and in the language of economic it is a nonprofit making enterprise’. Education administration has been defined variously. Some of the important definitions are given below: American Association of School Administration describes administration as “the total of the processes through which appropriate human and material resources are made available and made effective for accomplishing the purpose of an enterprise.”

 Academic achievement: Also known as (academic) performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals. Cumulative GPA and completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement.

Academic achievement is commonly measured through examinations or continuous assessments but there is no general agreement on how it is best evaluated or which aspects are most important—procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts (Ward, Stoker; and Murray-Ward, 1996). Furthermore, there are inconclusive results over which individual factors successfully predict academic performance, elements such as test anxiety, environment, motivation, and emotions require consideration when developing models of school achievement. Now, schools are receiving money based on its students’ academic achievements. A school with more academic achievements would receive more money than a school with less achievements (Ziedner, 1998).

Management:

F.W. Taylor - “Art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that it is done the best and cheapest way”.

Henry Fayol – “To Manage is to forecast, to plan, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate and to control”.

Peter F. Drucker –”Management is work and as such it has its own skills, its own tools and its own techniques”. Management is the art of getting things done through and with people.

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