ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between
leadership style of principals and job satisfaction of teachers in secondary
schools in Benin metropolis. The idea was to identify leadership styles of
principals and the effect of those styles on the job satisfaction level of
secondary school teachers. The rationale for the study was simply an
observation that some secondary school principals seem better in their
leadership styles, while others are not. This seemed to have a great impact on
teacher’s job satisfaction level. Data was collected using a questionnaire that
was randomly distributed to public schools drawn from Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba-okha
Local government areas of Edo state. The major findings of this investigation
were that, there is no significant relationship between the principals
leadership style and job satisfaction of teachers in secondary schools. The
study was concluded with findings, recommendations and suggestions for further
studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract vi
Table of
Contents vii
List of
Tables x
List of
Figures xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study 1
Statement of
the Problem 8
Research
Questions 12
Hypotheses 12
Purpose of
Study 13
Significance
of Study 14
Scope and
Delimitation of Study 15
Definition
of Terms 16
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Concept of
Definition of Leadership 18
Importance
of Leadership 22
Leadership
Versus Management 25
Leadership
Process 33
Types of
Leadership 36
An Overview
of the Historical Antecedence of Leadership Theories 39
Leadership
Approaches and Models 43
Scientific
Management Approach 44
Leadership
Theories 46
Leadership Styles 68
Other
Schools of Thought on Leadership Styles 85
Relationship
Between Leadership Styles and Job satisfaction 92
Leadership
and the Educational System 102
Concept and
Definition of Job Satisfaction 103
Theories of
Job Satisfaction 110
Leadership
Style and Job Satisfaction 118
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction 124
Population
of Study 124
Sample and
Sampling Technique 124
Instrumentation 125
Validity of
Instrument 125
Method of
Data Collection 125
Administration
of Questionnaire Design 126
Method of
Analysis 126
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION
Response
Rate 127
Data
Analyses 128
Testing of Hypotheses 129
Discussion
of Findings 135
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary 141
Conclusion
and Recommendations 143
References 145
Appendix 156
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Response
Rate 127
Table 2: Distribution
of Respondents by Gender 128
Table 3: Distribution
of Schools by LGAs 128
Table 4: Relationship
between Principal’s Transformational leadership
Behavior
and job satisfaction of teachers 129
Table 5: Relationship
between Principal’s laissez-faire leadership
Style
and job satisfaction of teachers 130
Table 6: Relationship
between Principal’s autocratic leadership
Style
and job satisfaction of teachers 131
Table 7: Relationship
between Principal’s democratic leadership
Style
and job satisfaction of teachers 132
Table 8: Relationship
between Principal’s idiographic leadership
Style
and job satisfaction of teachers 133
Table 9: Relationship
between Principal’s Nomothetic leadership
Style
and job satisfaction of teachers 134
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Managers
Versus Leaders 26
Figure 2: The
differences between Leadership and Management 27
Figure 3: Ryan’s
Model on Leadership versus Management 29
Figure 4: The
leadership process (based on R.B. Dunhem and J.L. Purce) 34
Figure 5: Dr.
Roger K. Allen’s Table on Types of Leaders 39
Figure 6: Transformational
Leadership Style Model 78
Figure 7: Model of
Job Satisfaction 109
Figure 8: Determinants
of Satisfaction and Disaffection
(Rice
& Byaest, 2003) 110
Figure 9: Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs Model 112
Figure 10: Herzberg
Two-factor Theory 115
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to Study
The quality of Educational outcome is the product of effective and
efficient utilization of human, material, financial and time resources. Of
these, the contribution of the human resources particularly the principals and
teachers cannot be overemphasized. The Principals and teachers are the active
agents of production who utilize the other resources and skills in a manner
that can produce the desired results. The attitude of Principals towards their
teaching staff was well articulated by the Federal Government in the National
Policy of Education(2004) which states that ‘The success of any system of
education is hinged on proper planning, efficient administration.
Administration is a function of organization and structure, proprietorship and
control, inspection and supervision.’ For teachers the policy also states that
‘teachers are the main determinants of the quality of education.’ Furthermore,
UNESCO (2000) was categorical in stating that, improving the quality of
education depends first, on improving the quality of educational administrators
and, also improving the status and work conditions of teachers.
Nigeria’s educational system is
presently undergoing various reforms. Among the reforms is the introduction of
Universal Basic Education which shall be of nine-year duration comprising six
years of primary education and three years of junior secondary education. It also includes adult and
non-formal education programmes at primary and junior secondary levels for the
adults and out of school youths (FGN 2004). The reform aims at providing free
and compulsory education for all Nigerian children. This reform initiative no
doubt requires significant capacity development on the part of all education
stakeholders. It requires high levels of motivation and commitment on the parts
of individual to
solving the often complex problem associated with the implementation. In
Education, any discussion on reforms of teaching and learning focuses attention
on school principals who as leaders of schools are responsible for ensuring
effective learning culture in the schools.
The importance of the role of
principals on the school organization cannot
therefore
be over looked. Principals are very unique is school organizations. This was
confirmed by Amoloye (2004). He called them school managers. The job of
managing according to him, involves amongst other things, the provision of
leadership for men and women, coordinating both human and material resources to
ensure the achievement of organizational goals. In the school system, the
principal as an administrator influences his teachers to achieve the goals and
objectives of the school and also to provide job satisfaction. The fundamental
goal of the school is to enhance the teaching and learning process.
Hence,
the school Principal should endeavor to influence the behavior of the
teachers
in order to achieve the goals of the school.
Transformational approaches to
leadership have been advocated for effective management of the school system. A
transformational leader is the leader who inspires people to excel and
articulates meaningful vision for the organization. A leader acts in both
formal and informal ways to motivate and build employee commitment in the
organization. Olaleye (2001), Leithwood, Tantzi and Steinbach (1999) have cited
empirical evidences suggesting that transformational leadership contributes to
a range of organizational outcomes including motivation, commitment and
capacity for teachers to develop new
approaches to education and most importantly, job satisfaction. School
principals are expected to exhibit this leadership qualities to enhance
teaching and learning in the school. The success of a leader depends on the
readiness, the willingness, commitment and the ability of the followers to
follow as well as the ability, the style, skills and behavior of the
leaders.
Consequently the success of
educational administrators depends on their effectiveness as well as their
efficiency and the ability to bring about job
satisfaction of teachers. This will in turn speed up the actualization of the
goals and objectives of the school. The school as an institution is a
routinized pattern of social positions established by the society to accomplish
certain imperative functions in order to ensure its survival. The school has
become an institution devoted to educating young minds through a well
structured, systematic pattern of training. Education business is one of the
largest concerns of the society. The importance attached to education is
predicated on its role in the formation of human capital in effecting national
development. The failure or success of education is affected largely by its
managerial efficiency and effectiveness. Educational systems are social
systems. Peretomode (1991) emphasized that, the human component of the social
system is very vital to the attainment of its goals and objectives. He also
pointed out that, the behavior of individuals is shaped by two important
factors viz: the uniqueness of the individual and the sociological attributes
of the environment (organization or setting). The
role of the Principal is an important unit, the analytical sub-unit of an
educational institution. A role is the dynamic aspects of positions, offices
within the institution. In short, it is a position within an institution
associated with a set of rights and obligations. Roles may vary in scope
ranging from functionally diffuse to functionally specific (Coladarci and
Getzels, 1995). In a school setting, greater cognizance is given to the role of
the principal which stands out as top rated in the school’s organogram.
Therefore, there are certain expected behavioural patterns for persons
occupying these roles. Expectations are preconceptions people have about how
anyone in particular position, within the school system, should behave.
Traditionally, the
Principal is the middle manager suggested in William Whyte’s 1950’s classic The
Organization Man – an overseer of buses, boilers and
books. Today, in a rapidly changing era of standards-based reform and
accountability, a different conception has emerged– one closer to the model
suggested by Jim Collins’ 2001 Good to Great,
which draws lessons
from
contemporary corporate life to suggest leadership that focuses with great
clarity on what is essential, what needs to be done and how to get it done.
This shift brings with it dramatic changes in
what public education needs from principals. They can no longer function simply
as building managers, tasked with adhering to district rules, carrying out
regulations and avoiding mistakes. They have to be (or become) leaders of
learning who can develop a team delivering effective instruction.
Wallace’s work since 2000 suggests
that this entails five key responsibilities of a principal:
. Shaping a vision of academic success for all
students, one based on high standards.
. Creating a climate hospitable to education in order that safety, cooperative spirit and other
foundations of fruitful interaction prevail.
. Cultivating leadership in others so that teachers and other adults assume their part
in realizing the school vision.
. Improving instruction to enable teachers to teach at their best and
students to learn at their utmost.
. Managing people, data and processes to foster school improvement.
The
Principal remains central source of leadership influence
The study of job satisfaction is very
crucial to the improvement of productivity and welfare of workers in secondary
schools, in developing cities effectively, the Principal must be committed to
the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of these individuals. Job satisfaction which is relevant to this
study is the collection of feeling and beliefs that people have about
their current job. Teacher’s levels of degrees of job satisfaction can range
from extreme satisfaction to extreme dissatisfaction. In addition to having attitudes about their
jobs as a whole, Teachers also can have attitudes about various aspects of
their jobs
such as the kind of work they do, their coworkers, supervisors or subordinates
and also their salary (George et al., 2008).Job satisfaction is a complex and multifaceted concept which can mean different
things to different people. Job satisfaction is usually linked with motivation, but the nature of
this relationship is not clear. Satisfaction is not the same as motivation. Job satisfaction is more of
an attitude, an internal state. It could, for example, be associated with a
personal feeling of achievement, either quantitative or qualitative (Mullins,
2005). Job satisfaction represents a feeling that appears as a result of the
perception that the job enables,
the material and psychological needs .Job satisfaction can be considered as one of the main factors when
it comes to efficacy and effectiveness of the school system. Effective
leadership and employee job satisfaction are two factors that have been
regarded as fundamental for the school’s growth. In similar vein, teachers with
high job satisfaction are likely to exert more effort in their assigned tasks
and pursue the school’s goals and objectives. A school that fosters high employee
job satisfaction is also more capable of retaining and attracting employees
with the skills that it needs. The concept of Principals’ leadership in general and his style in
particular is intertwined in the above assertions as he acts as a major catalysts
in the attainment of the goals and
objective of the school. It is also assumed that the Principals overall
efficiency and effectiveness sets the tone for the level of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction of the personnel within the school system. This assumption is
going to be placed under empirical testing. Hence, this research seeks to find
out the relationship between principal’s leadership behavior and Teachers job
satisfaction in secondary schools within Benin metropolis.
Statement
of Problem
Education in Nigeria is an instrument for
effecting national development. The country’s educational goals have been set
out in the National Policy on Education in terms of their relevance to the
needs of the individual and the society (FGN, 2004). Towards this end, the
National Policy on Education set up certain aims and objectives, which were to
facilitate educational development in the country. In fostering these aims and
objectives, the school principal has important roles to play. Amongst this
roles include providing effective leadership in secondary schools, thereby
enhancing better job performance among teachers. How effective the principal is
in performing these roles has been a matter of concern to many educationists
(Aghenta, 2000; Ige, 2001). It is therefore not surprising that there is
mounting pressure on effective leadership among Principals of secondary schools
in Benin metropolis. It seems however that many Principals have not considered
their styles of leadership as determinants of teachers’ job performance in
their schools. Hence, some of them seem
it difficult to effectively administer their schools.
Also, Previous investigations on teachers' job satisfaction
revealed that lack of effective leadership skills negatively affected teachers’
job satisfaction .Some secondary school teachers had expressed dissatisfaction
with their work due to unconducive environment created by administrative flaws.
It also has been revealed that teachers feel dissatisfied in school
environments that do not
provide opportunities for teacher development. For several decades , secondary
schools in Edo state were plagued with a series of strike actions carried out
by teachers. When compared with their colleagues in other professions, teachers
were not getting the kind of satisfaction they ought from teaching. It was
evident that some teachers abandoned classrooms for other jobs because of a
lack of interest and satisfaction.
In his
reflection on “becoming a teacher and the challenges of teacher education” Afe
(2003) revealed that 62.94% of 570 teachers sampled in Edo state engaged in
menial jobs to support their salary,78.82% regretted being teachers, while
82.35% said they were not satisfied with the teaching profession. In the words
of Anyaegbu et al. (2004), teachers had often lost hope and interest in their
job. The British Columbia Teachers’
Federation - BCTF (2000) revealed that in the year 2000, an estimated 500,000
teachers went on strike in Nigeria, for lack of pay increase and poor working
condition. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (2001) propounded that the strike
action in 2001 was due to grievances against the Federal and State governments,
accusing them of being insensitive to the needs of teachers. In 2002 and 2003,
teachers embarked on strike action, joining the Nigerian labor congress for a
hike in petrol and poor conditions in their work place (Nigeria Union of
Teachers, 2003).Not only were Nigerian teachers not satisfied but parents and
stakeholders were also frustrated by this lack of teachers’ interest in their
job (Asagwara, 1997).
The relationship between principals’ leadership style and teacher’s
job performance has been a subject of controversy by researchers (Nwadiani, 1998;
Adeyemi,2006). The controversy was centered on whether or not the style of
leadership of principals influences the level of job performance among teachers. Common observation in the school
system shows that
the style of leadership of a principal could have serious impact on teachers’
job performance. The problem of this study therefore is to determine what relationship exists between
Principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ job satisfaction in senior secondary school in Benin metropolis.
Educationists have also observed that
becoming a teacher in Nigeria is fraught with dilemmas and problems. For
example, Ozigi (1992) found in his study that teachers are unhappy, frustrated,
uninspired and dissatisfied. This is majorly attributed to the leadership style
of the Principal. In addition, Ogonor (1997) described the job design of the
school teacher as such that it tends to generate monotony and boredom. It is
crucial to note that the Principal’s leadership style is very paramount to the
intellectual, psychological and social state of the teaching staff, which in
the long run determines the success of the teaching-learning process and the
attainment of the school’s goals and objectives.
Unfortunately, research findings
indicate an increased pattern in the negative behavior of Principals towards
their staff which has led to a high level of dissatisfaction and frustration
amongst teachers in their jobs.
It is in view of the need to redress
this re-occurring mishap that this study seeks to investigate the relationship
between Principals leadership style and Teachers job satisfaction in Secondary
schools in Benin Metropolis.
To guide this study, the following
research questions were asked:
Research
Questions
1.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals transformational
leadership style and job satisfaction of teachers?
2.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals Laissez –faire leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers?
3.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals Autocratic leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers?
4.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals Democratic leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers?
5.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals Idiographic leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers?
6.
Is
there any significant relationship between Principals Nomothetic leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers.
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were
formulated to guide the study:
1.
There
is no significant relationship between Principals transformational leadership
style and job satisfaction of teachers.
2.
There
is no significant relationship between
Principal’s Laissez-faire leadership style and job satisfaction of
teachers
3.
There
is no significant relationship between Principals Autocratic Leadership style
and job satisfaction of teachers
4.
There
is no significant relationship between Principals Democratic Leadership style
and job satisfaction of teachers
5.
There
is no significant relationship between Principals Idiographic Leadership style
and job satisfaction of teachers
6.
There
is no significant relationship between Principals Nomethetic leadership style
and job satisfaction of teachers.
Purpose
of Study
The study focused on the
relationship between Principal’s leadership style and teacher’s job
satisfaction. There have been strong feelings about the types of leadership
styles and the need to review them. Onwana (1998) asserts that some external
factors, such as bad roads (leading to the schools), lack of funds, lack of
qualified staff, poor infrastructures and instructional materials deter the
efforts of teachers and principals. Aka (2001) blames it on dubious legacies of
military rule and the neglect of education in the second republic. Olumfemi
(1976) focuses attention on poor payment of staff and lack of instructional
materials as responsible for low job satisfaction of teachers, while Fafunwa
(1974) pointed accusing fingers at lack
of financial assistance.
The purpose of this study
therefore was to determine whether there is a relationship between Principals’
leadership styles and teachers’ job satisfaction in the secondary schools
within Benin metropolis.
Significance
of Study
Though some studies have been done on the relationship
between principals’ leadership skills and teachers’ job satisfaction (Bolger, 2001;
Verdugo, Greenberg, Henderson, Uribe, Jr., & Schneider, 1997), many of the
school teachers were still not satisfied
with administrative governance of some
school principals and their dissatisfied state (Bogler , 2002).
This
situation still calls for more studies in this area. This study will contribute to the
body of knowledge and information in the area of effective Principalship for
Secondary school teachers in Benin City in particular and in Edo state in
general. It is also anticipated that this study will help educators see the
need for adjustments and flexibility in school administration.
Similarly, the study will be of great
importance to officials of Ministry of Education and School Boards in Benin
City, in recognizing the determinants of job satisfaction amongst their staff.
It is intended that this study will provide some insights for researchers in
the field of educational leadership in advancement of knowledge and in their
search for solutions to some of the administrative problems besieging the
secondary schools in Benin metropolis.
In addition and most importantly, the
study will be of great assistance to school administrators in identifying and
adopting the different techniques of good leadership and in also identifying
the different forms of incentives that should be provided for the staff in
order make them more fulfilled and satisfied on their jobs.
Finally, the instrument used in this
study can be developed further with the aim of attaining a positive
Principal-Teacher relationship in Secondary schools.
Scope
and
Delimitation of Study
This study focused on the descriptive
analysis of the relationship between Principal’s leadership styles and
teacher’s job satisfaction in Secondary schools in Benin metropolis.
Therefore, the scope covered
secondary schools in the various Local government areas within the city which
are: Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba-okha Local government areas.
Definition of Terms
Leadership Style: Chermers M. (1997) describes leadership style as a leader’s style of
providing direction, implementing plans,
and motivating people. Based on the above definition, leadership style may be described as the way a leader influences
his followers either by commanding or motivating them to achieve set goals.
Principal: In
the school system, a Principal is the chief executive of the school and
occupies the apex position in the organization. He is the line officer
responsible for the major decisions and activities necessary for the
achievement of goals of the school.
Job Satisfaction: This can be seen as an emotional
state that results from various independent aspects of the work environment
namely; work itself, supervision, and characteristics of co-workers,
opportunity for promotions and pay.
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