AN ASSESSMENT OF PRINCIPALS DECISION MAKING STRATEGIES AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS EFFECTIVENESS

ABSTRACT
The leadership roles of the principal as the chief executive in the school is enormous.

He plays a key role in the success and failure of the organizations.

They study therefore investigated principal decision making strategies on teacher effectiveness in secondary schools specifically, the objectives of this study were to determined (i) examine who decision are made by the principals the secondary school level; (ii) asses t at decision making strategies on teacher effectiveness; (iii) What are the problems faced in decision making process in school? (iv) Assess the possible ways in which decision could be made in the secondary school.
The research was a descriptive type using the survey method.

The study sample was drawn from 10 secondary schools in Ijumu Local Government Nigeria.

The respondents were 100 students. 60 were males and 40 females 4 research questions and 2 hypotheses were formulated for the study.

Mean and percentage score was used to answer research questions one to four and independent t-test to test research hypothesis one and two.
The finding of the study showed that:
i. The principals strategies of leadership on teachers effectiveness positively
ii. The principal has positive strategies on teacher’s effectiveness in secondary schools.
iii. The respondents are faced with driver’s problem in the school.
iv. There is no significant difference between male and female teacher’s decision making strategies and leadership problem.
The study recommends that teaching service commission should strict warning against principal who does not respect the dignity of teaching profession secondary school principal should also endeavor to adopt appropriate strategies of leadership in order to carry along with the teachers.
 

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The leadership roles of the principal as the chief executive in the school is enormous.

He plays a key role in the success and failure of the organization.

He is obliged to be an effective head to the able to achieve the objectives.
A leadership strategies is said to be effective if it facilitates accomplishment of the organization objective with minimum unanticipated cost or consequence.

Therefore, for school organization to survive and more importantly to grow, the need then arises for the management to face questions of how the organization will work to see that these objectives are achieved.
One important way by which an organization can achieve these objectives is to address the issue of managing people in the organization coupled with coordinating directing commanding and controlling their efforts which is the major problem facing most organizations today.

Hence, the problem of personnel management would be view with the purpose of adopting an appropriate system of coordinating relationship between men and materials resources.

They should be the primary concern of any organization be it profit oriented, social service, charitable, or even school organization in line with this salami (2002) describe education as “this theory and practice of the organization and administration of the existing educational establishment and system as well as process of seeing to it that the police the principals methods for achieving the fully carried out. In his own research work, Adam (2000) observes that human resources are the greatest assets of an organization.

In educational setting the teacher are regarded as the greatest assets.

This is becomes the teacher determine what goes on, in the classroom.
Abiri (2005) Education has been as a vital tool that brings about rapid development to any nation.

To this end, smooth running of the school system calls for effective leadership.
Maintained that no matter what is done in educational matter what educational policy is made, unless teacher determine, to a very large extent, what happens in the classroom.

Such a great demand for teaching in the school level opens the need for effective management practice.
However, more often than not one hears of growing poor performance of student in our school educational management expert such as Ogunsaju (2000) observed that the poor performance of student can be attributed to the condition of service of teaching as a consequence of bad personnel management practice employed by the government and the school principal.
Realizing importance of manpower in organizations.

Ogundipe (2002) stressed that what determines the success of an organization does not only include the necessary tools, materials and equipment but also the wider organization” in other word, organization of education should included the co-ordination of relationship between education and men; man in the society his behavior, ideas and matter affecting him, the institutions and how education has contributed to help the society grow.
In his explanation on human behaviors to work, Organdie (2000) stressed further that people bring with them variety of experience, skills and knowledge are put together in a job which provides, hopeful, most of the organizational resources for carrying out the work.
The teacher therefore require adequate knowledge of fact and morale to enable him function effectively as interpreter of intent and transmitter of knowledge that guarantees individual development and substance of societal virtue and culture.
Hence, their motivation is imperative in a particular education setting at a point in time.
The same view was shares by Ogunyinka (2008) if the students perform well in the school the society would view the school as being effective the school principals make various democracy makes various decision in the school which their follower’s that is students teaching and non-teaching staff have a follow.

The autocratic strategies of decision making may bring about unnecessary conflicts as consultation is not sought by the administrator from any of his follower’s.
Decisions are solely arrived at by the principals.

This is diametrically opposed to the principal “two good heads are better than one.”
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In Nigeria, lack of job satisfaction characterizes the life of many, employees.

In most organizations this is evident in the poor attitude of many to work among whom teachers are chief.

Hence, we witness great loss in the organizations as a result of poor services, high labor turn-over, psychological withdrawal, disloyalty, low moral.
Abdul Kareem, A.Y (2002), Realizing the significance of democratic principles as against the adverse effect of autocratic principal in decision making.

There is the need for a systematics and pragmatic search into the influence of principal’s decision making strategies on teacher’s effectiveness among secondary school teachers in Ijumu.

It is general agreed that to build a strong, sound and everlasting house for a living, the foundation has to be properly laid.

Observation show that some principals maker irrational decision, when some are subtle in their decision making process.
This research would therefore investigate the influence of principal’s decision making whether it has made or mar the smooth running of secondary schools.
PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the principal’s decision making strategies on teacher’s effectiveness among secondary school teachers in Ijumu.
Specifically, the study intends to
i. Examine how decisions are made by the principals at the secondary school level.
ii. Examine teacher’s perception of the principal’s strategies of decision making about individual characteristics and behaviors
iii. Asses the influence of principals decision making strategies on teacher effectiveness.
iv. Asses the possible ways in which decision could be made in the secondary school and the present method of decision making in the secondary schools.
v. Assess the problems that may arise from the present method of decision making in the secondary schools.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study intent to answer the following question.
i. How are decisions made by principals in Ijumu secondary school?
ii. What influence has principal strategies of decision making on teachers effectiveness
iii. What are the teacher’s perceptions of the principal’s strategies of decision making?
iv. What are the problems faced in decision making process in school?
v. Does democratic principal strategies have influence on teacher’s effectiveness in secondary schools?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
i. There is no significant difference between the principals decision making strategies and teacher effectiveness.
ii. There is significant difference between principal decision making strategies and decision making problem.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The followings are the benefits
1. Correlation between job satisfaction and worker effectiveness
2. I will also afford the principals opportunity of knowing when their teachers are dissatisfied with their jobs
3. It will assist them to determine the type of decision making strategies that could best motivate teacher’s effectiveness in their schools.
i. Among the physical resource in any organizations, employees who constituted the labor force are highly valued simply because of their contributions to the achievement of the organizations goals.

Actually it could be said that there is a direct correlation between job satisfaction and worker effectiveness generally.
ii. If workers are being favorable effect on the school in performance.

It will also afford the principal’s the opportunity of knowing when their teachers are dissatisfied with their jobs, when behaviors such as disloyalty, increasing rate of absenteeism and lassie fare altitude become common phenomena in the organization
iii. The study is of great importance to principals and manager because it would assist them to determine the type of decision making strategies that could be motivate teacher’s effectiveness in their schools. In addition, the study could make its contribution to the scholastic pursuit in effectiveness and decision making strategies.