IMPACT OF PRINCIPALS’ MANAGEMENT STYLES ON THE MAINTENANCE OF AMENITIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

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IMPACT OF PRINCIPALS’ MANAGEMENT STYLES ON THE MAINTENANCE OF AMENITIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This research titled “Influence of Principals’ Leadership Styles on the Maintenance of Facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria” set to determine the influence of principals’ democratic leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state, determine the influence of principals’ autocratic leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state, assess the influence of principals’ instructional leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state, determine the influence of principals’ transformational leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state, ascertain the influence of principals’ charismatic leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State. Research questions and hypotheses were set according to the stated objectives. A Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The instrument used for collecting data from the respondents was questionnaire with the Likert five points scale options of Strongly Agreed, Agreed, Undecided, Strongly disagreed and Disagreed. The instrument was submitted to the supervisors of this research work for verification and it was successfully vetted and validated. The instrument was obtained at the reliability coefficient of 0.79. The respondents comprised 294 teachers, 28 principals and 8 Supervisors. The data were analyzed and interpreted through the use of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 alpha level of significance level and the reason for the use of this analysis of variance was because there were more than two categories of respondents. Out of the seven hypotheses tested, two were retained while five were rejected. The results showed that the application of democratic and autocratic leadership styles of principals have influence on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state while the other leadership styles such as instructional, transformational, charismatic, situational and inspirational have not influenced on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna state. It is therefore recommended that the principals of secondary schools should try to maintain the use of democratic and autocratic leadership styles interchangeably for the good maintenance of facilities in the schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The primary purpose of the teaching and learning process is to bring about in the learners desirable attitude through critical thinking. This process does not take place in a vacuum but rather in an environment structured to facilitate learning. The management of academic and administrative affairs of school traditionally falls within the purview of the principal. Unerringly, formal education in Nigeria is rapidly changing and technically tailored towards meeting certain set goals such as “education for all” (Nwaogu, 1991). The requirements of these various goals from the school mangers are centered on the advancement of teaching and learning through the implementation of performance based management which is led by a management team with the principal at the fulcrum.

Given this onerous task, the principal as a matter of fact, must understand the role of school managers to effectively manage to meet the overall objectives of the school system. It is in line with this assertion that Ukeje (2000) maintains, “the unsatisfactory performance often experienced in school by students and educational program is always attributed to lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate and accurate statistics, inadequate funding, embezzlement, bureaucratic bottleneck and poor attitude to work”. Generally, the principal‟s responsibility in the management of educational facilities entails bringing together individuals as a group that will control, coordinate and articulate activities to achieve tangible and holistic learning for the overall benefits of the society (Omokorede, 2011).

Nwagwu (1978) and Ogunsaju (1980) maintained that “the quality of education that children

receive bears direct relevance to the availability or lack thereof facilities and overall atmosphere in which learning takes place”. The school facilities consist of all types of buildings for academic and non – academic activities, equipment for academic and non – academic activities, areas for sports and games, landscape, farms and gardens including trees, road and paths. Others include furniture and toilet facilities, lighting, acoustics, storage facilities and parking lot, security, transportation, I.C.T, cleaning materials, food services and special facilities for the physical challenged persons. All these facilities cannot function effectively without proper maintenance. The type of leadership which principal operates therefore determines how best such facilities can be maintained. The school facilities may also consist of not only the physical structure and the variety of building systems such as mechanical, plumbing, electrical and power,

telecommunications, security and fire suppression systems. The facilities also include furnishing, material and supplies, equipments and information technology, classrooms, administrative buildings, library, building grounds such as athletic fields, play ground, areas for outdoor learning, vehicular access and parking among many others.

Uko (2001) asserts that “the leadership styles of principals dictate the pace of the entire school system in terms of discipline, teacher‟s commitment to work, school facilities management and students academic performance”. Asiabaka (2008) states that “the provision and management of school facilities must take into cognizance modern views of the teaching learning process which have moved beyond memorizing to involvement of teachers and students in applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating to stress the need for flexibility in time and space”. The maintenance of school facilities is the sole responsibility of the principal. Whatever the leadership style he applies, he should be conversant of the management strategy that will assist in ensuring sustainability of the school facilities because such facilities have direct relationship with students‟ academic performance. Ogunsaju (1980) recommends that “a strong relationship exists between the physical environment and students‟ academic performance”.

The International Facilities Management Association (2003) described facilities maintenance as the practice of co-coordinating the physical workplace with the people and the work of the organization by integrating the principles of business administration and architecture with the behavioral and engineering science. In educational institutions, facilities constitute essential inputs which create favorable learning environment, facilitate interaction and enhance achievement of educational objectives (Oyesola, 2007). Uko and Ayuk (2014) opined that “in essence, school curriculum would not be meaningful and functional if required facilities are not provided in adequate quality and quantity at appropriate times through the principals‟ administrative finesse”.

For effective maintenance of school facilities to prevail, the principal as a leader and administrative functionary should adopt the most appropriate style of leadership that will interestingly bring positive impact not only on the school physical facilities but also on the entire programmes of the school. Specifically, this research will focus on: Democratic, authoritative, charismatic, situational, transformational, transactional and contingent leadership styles of principals and find out how such styles of leadership affect school facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The poor facilities maintenance linked to leadership style of school principals. There are however, serious negative consequences to students when school facilities are not properly managed. First in the ranking is poor academic performance. Danesty (2004) pointed out a clear picture of the need for effective facilities maintenance in schools where he discovered that “there is a nexus between learning and school facilities as available and good condition will exude academic excellence”. Often times, in Nigeria, parents‟ preference of their wards are informed by the quality of school facilities. Dike (2005) recommends that “schools run the risk of losing students to other well-equipped institutions when their schools lack the required facilities or available facilities are not properly managed.

However, if school facilities are poorly maintained, this could lead to health and sanitary condition problems. For instance, if the toilets are broken down and students defecate indiscriminately, epidemics and other contagious disease may occur to endanger not only the lives 0of the student but also the staffs, the immediate neighborhood and the nation at large

(Oladipo& Oni, 2010). Lyons (2012) also documented that “the incompetency of most school principals has resulted in the poor maintenance of school facilities which has woefully affected students‟ academic performance”. Onyeile (2013) states that “in many cases the laboratories do not exist or are in advanced state of disrepair, resulting in the poor performance of students in

West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO)”. Kenezevich (1975:563) discovered that “the physical needs are met through provision of safe structure, adequate sanitary facilities, a balanced visual environment, appropriate thermal environment and sufficient shelter space for work and play”. The learners‟ emotional needs are met by creating pleasant surroundings, a friendly atmosphere and an inspiring environment. The head of an institution should therefore make it a point of duty to appoint people whose task is to check all these facilities and equipment and submit their report to the authorities for adequate attention. In that case, maintenance culture should be part and parcel of our secondary schools in Nigeria.

Sometimes, the type of leadership style principals adopt may affect the school facilities both negatively and positively. In most cases, if principals fail to adopt the appropriate leadership style in the administration of the school, the result may be that the entire school programmes will be negatively affected including the schoolfacilities. Therefore, this research intends to investigate the influence of principals‟ leadership styles on the maintenance of school facilities in kaduna State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This study is set to:

determine the influence of principals‟ democratic leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;
find out the influence of principals‟ authoritative leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;
ascertain the influence of principals charismatic leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;
ascertain the influence of principals‟ transformational leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;
find out the influence of principals‟ situational leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;
investigate the influence of principals‟ transactional leadership style on the maintenance

of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State; and

determine the influence of principals‟ inspirational leadership style on the maintenance of facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna State;