HEADMASTERS’ COMPETENCES AND THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

HEADMASTERS’ COMPETENCES AND THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background to the Study

Education is the organized systematic and conscious behavior by which society transmits its culture through teachers to learners. The need for the educational system in Nigeria is the acquisition of appropriate knowledge, skills, and competencies to contribute to the development of the Nigerian society.

Management is an integral part of any organization. The survival of any organization is dependent largely on the quality of management or administrative services available. The administrative of secondary school is concerned with the systematic arrangement of human and material resources and programmes that are available for education and carefully using them systematically within defined guidelines or policies to achieve educational goals.

The principal is the administrator in secondary school. He or she has the responsibility of administering the school programmes to achieve the expected teaching and learning objectives. They are those who carry out or implement policies and programmes as soon as, and after they are formulated by educational managers.

The school is an organization administered by an educational administrator. Educational administration is the application of the various principles and theories of management or organization to education, aimed at the enhancement of teaching and learning (Peretomode, 1991).

The principals of secondary school in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area are concerned with the administration of the schools, that is, implementation of educational policies and programmes in schools within the zone. The ultimate aim of the principals is the improvement of teaching and learning. In the course of performing this onerous task, the principals may sometimes be faced with some administrative problems that may affect the implementation of planned strategies which includes management of school personnel, management of school finance, and management of community-school relation and management of school plant. Maintenance of discipline in the school judicious management of resources and providing effective supervision.

In order to achieve the above aims, Akpan (1994) made it clear that the administrator must adopt a management style, develops an organizational structure, plans and executes an overall strategy for the content and delivery of instruction; plans for controls the fiscal resources necessary, and plans for and controls the personnel resources to Staff Education Programmes.

For the school principals to perform the above tasks effectively, there should be little or no constraints. An ideal environment and the competences of principals of secondary school are what is required for effective performance. But in secondary schools in Oruk Anam Local Government Area, the reverse is the case. This is due to the fact that school principals find it difficult to manage the above administrative problems effectively.

It is, therefore, the intention of this research work to find out the influence of principals competences on the management of administrative problems in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

        Any careful observer of the school system in Nigeria and in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area, in particular, may agree that education is no more what it used to be. Today, the educational establishment is fraught with such administrative problems as lack of proper management of school resources, ineffective supervision of school personnel and lack of maintenance of discipline.

        Poor management of these administrative storms in our schools has resulted in the emergence of many social vices in the school system. Each year examination malpractice is gaining sophistications in different dimensions and has become a way of life in our school system. The issue of cultism is another serious social vice that is destroying the school system.

        The questions that bother my mind are: Does the principals’ resourcefulness influence management of school resources?

        Do the Headmasters’ administrative styles influence the management of school discipline? The problem of the study is therefore to investigate headmasters’ competencies and management of administrative problems in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

1.3    Purpose of the Study

1.     To determine whether principals’ administrative styles influence the maintenance of school discipline.

2.     To determine whether principals’ resourcefulness influence the management of school resources.

3.     To determine whether principals’ supervision competency influence the management of teaching leaning in schools.

1.4    Research Questions

                The following research questions are formulated to guide this investigation:

(i)                  Do the headmasters’ administrative styles influence the maintenance of school discipline?

(ii)                 Do the headmasters’ resourcefulness influence the management of school resources?

(iii)                Do the headmasters’ supervisory competency influence the management of effective teaching-learning in schools?

1.5    Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are formulated to guide the study:

(i)                  Headmasters’ administrative styles do not influence the maintenance of school discipline.

(ii)                 Headmasters’ resourcefulness does not influence the management of school resources.

(iii)                Headmasters’ supervisory competency does not influence the management of effective teaching learning in school.

1.6    Significance of the Study

The finding of this study would be of immense benefits to the school system. Headmasters as the chief executive in the school system will find the study useful in that would be guided to channel their resourcefulness towards the effective and prudent utility of the school resources.

Headmasters will also be guided to adopt administrative strategies that would enhance the maintenance of school discipline. Teachers would also find the findings of this study uses as they would guide to find their roles in the management process. Students, in particular, will benefit from the result of the study because if effective management of school resources is provided in addition to the provision of effective school discipline, the pupils would be properly taught. This would improve students’ academic performance.

The Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) of the respective schools will benefit in that they would be properly directed on areas for contributions towards the attainment of the educational goals of the children. The findings of this study will assist the government in contending wastage in human and material resources. The government would be guided to plan well for schools.

1.7    Delimitation of the Study

The study is delimited to public primary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area. The study only investigated headmasters’ competencies and management of administrative problems in the primary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

1.8    Limitations of the Study

        The factors that limited the smooth conduct of this study were: the uncooperative attitude and unwillingness of some of the headmasters to respond to the research instrument in time. shortage of literature on headmasters’ competencies and the management of administrative problems in primary schools posed a problem in the area of the literature review. The increase in the cost and scarcity of fuel throughout the state during the period of the study posed a problem on transportation to and from the various primary schools for data collection.

1.9    Definition of Terms

(i)     Headmasters’ administrative style – This refers to the headmasters being a democratic autocratic or lease affair in their administration.

(ii)    Headmasters’ resourcefulness – This is used to refer to the headmasters being innovative, adopting maintenance culture as well as being able to make decisions.

(iii)    Headmasters’ supervisory competency – This is used in the work to refer to how the headmasters supervise teaching and learning activities in the schools.