ABSTRACT
The general purpose of this study was to investigate the school heads skills and school climate that determine academic achievement of public primary school pupils in Delta State. Literature was reviewed under conceptual framework, theoretical framework, related empirical studies and summary of literature reviewed. To guide the study, five research questions were posed and 3 hypotheses formulated. The study adopted correlation research design. The population of the study comprised the primary six pupils in public primary schools in Delta State. The population of the study was 28361 subjects. A multistage proportional 5% sample of the population were used comprising 1040 schoolheads, 700 teachers and 700 pupils selected from a simple random sample of 2 out of 3 senatiruak education zones. The instrument used for data collection was a researcher-developed questionnaire titled leadership skills of the school head and school climate questionnaire (LSSHSCQ) with 60 items. To establish the validity, the instrument was subjected to face- validation by experts. The instrument was given to six experts, four in Administration and Planning in the Department of Educational Foundations, and two in Measurement and Evaluation, from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. And Delta state University Abraka. To ascertain the reliability of the instrument, a trial testing was carried out in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State which is outside the area of this study in order to avoid bias and the reliability estimates obtained were 0.88, 0.80, 0.70, 0.81 and 0.76 while the overall reliability obtained was 0.85. Direct delivery and retrieval method were used to collect data from the respondents with the help of 6 research assistants. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research question 1 and 2 while Pearson Product Movement Correlation Coefficient was used to answer research question 3, 4 and 5. Linear regression analysis was used to test hypotheses 1 and 2 while multiple regression analysis was used to test hypothesis 3. All the three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study revealed that the school heads leadership skills that characterize public primary schools in Delta State include transformational; transactional and Liazzez faire leadership skills. Also, there is an indication that there was a significant relationship between school heads leadership skills and pupils’ academic achievement. It was found that there is a significant relationship between school climate and pupils’ academic achievement. Furthermore, the result showed that there exist a positive low relationship between school climate and pupils’ academic achievement in public primary schools in Delta State These results were discussed in relation to previous finings of similar studies and the educational implications of the findings were highlighted. One of the limitations of the study was that only public primary schools in Delta state were studied and cannot be generalized to include private schools, and schools in others states of Nigeria. Also recommendations that school heads should be appointed on the bases of their transformational and transactional leadership skills and not merely on experience or number of years of service were made.
CHAPTER ONE
Background of the Study
INTRODUCTION
Every successful organization from inception always has a head or director that sees and pilots the affairs of such organization to achieve its set goals and objectives. In the school system, the place of school head cannot be over emphasized. This is because the school head plays an indispensable role in providing a serene environment which enhances pupils’ academic outcomes. According to Sushila (2004), the school head is the leader in a school, the pivot around which many aspects of the school revolve, and the person in charge of every detail of the running of the school, be it academic or administrative. School head is the manager that coordinates and controls the activities of the school (Amoloye, 2004). Buttressing further, the author stated that school heads are very unique in school organizations. Justifying the above views, Mbugua, Miriti, Muthaa & Nkonge (2012) asserted that the school head is the one that is in charge of administration as well as overseeing the discipline and supervision of both the staff and pupils. This may impose some challenges on them.
School heads of the twenty-first century are witnessing challenges with regards to leadership tasks. Such challenges include global competitions, accountability, transformations in the school system, entrepreneurship management; all geared towards effective school administration that targets pupils’ high academic achievement (Caldwell,
2004). Primary school heads perform various tasks such as supervision of instruction, personnel and resource management, curriculum implementation, liaison services for schools, boards and committees, development and provision of instructional materials. The main duty of the school head is to enhance teaching and learning in the school (Adetona, 2003). Stressing further, the author noted that the task of the school head is to produce well educated boys and girls through effective teaching and le1arning. Downey (2014) posited that the school
as an organization consists of school heads as the administrators, the teachers as the technical crew, the parents and guardians, the government, the general public as stakeholders and most importantly, the pupils without which ‘there will be no school. In the context of this study, the school head is the person whose responsibility is to manage, direct and supervise all school activities in order to ensure conducive learning environment for pupils through a well informed leadership.
Leadership is conceived differently by different scholars. Leadership can be used to describe headship as a social entity formed by a group of people seeking common goals (Nwangwu, 2006). Corroborating the above point, Nwaoba (2011) viewed leadership as an avenue for realizing goals and objectives. The author reiterated that leadership is a process aimed at offsetting forces which undermine human cooperation and collaboration. In consonance with the above assertion, Obunadike (2011) defined leadership as the process of supervising and organizing people in order to achieve a particular aim. According to Peretomode (2012), leadership is of huge importance in management and educational administration because of its far reaching effects on the accomplishment of school progammes, objectives and the attainment of educational goals. In the context of this study, leadership can, therefore, be seen as directing, controlling and supervising the activities of the school and of the primary school teachers for the purpose of achieving school goals. The main aim of primary school head is to enhance the academic achievement of pupils through the application of some types of leadership styles and skills.
There are several types of leadership. These, according to Nakpodia (2012), include trait leadership, transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Trait leadership is defined as integrated patterns of personal characteristics that reflect a range of individual differences and foster consistent leader effectiveness across a variety of group and organizational situations (Zaccaro, Kemp & Bader, 2004). On the other hand, Nakpodia
(2012) postulated that transactional leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. It is a type of leadership in which the leader promotes compliance of the followers through both rewards and punishments. The leaders using the transactional approach are not looking to change the future, but to merely keep things the same. These leaders pay attention to followers’ work in order to find faults, deviations or compliance with laid down rules and regulations. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as when projects need to be carried out in a specific fashion. Nakpodia reiterated that in Nigeria, transactional leaders are concerned with processes rather than forward-thinking ideas. These types of leaders focus on contingent reward or contingent punishments. Also, transformational leaders are leaders who engage with followers, focus on higher order intrinsic needs, and raise consciousness about the significance of specific outcomes and new ways in which those outcomes might be achieved. The leader here is proactive and works to change the organizational culture by implementing new ideals (Bernard, 2000). Stressing further, the author stated that transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. This implies that any school head that adopts these types of leaderships will be able to facilitate and enhance pupils’ academic achievement through well informed leadership skills.
The effectiveness of a leader depends on his leadership skills. Nakpodia (2012) opined that leadership skills entail leadership ability, among others which require a certain mindset to lead by example, communicate positively and effectively, being brave and honest, and taking ownership and responsibility over others, while a true leader wins subordinates’ hearth through respect, trust and devotion that naturally comes from them. This means that for proper administration of primary schools, the school head ought to have a cordial relationship with subordinates. As such, a leader should be a peoples’ person whose goal is to
develop leadership skills by learning to respect the team’s capacity, by taking decision of certain issues in the organization and be able to distribute task among members depending on the situation and individual strength (Avasthi, 2006). Similarly, Adegbemile (2011) asserted that communication skill, leadership skills and decision making skills are essential for effective personnel management in organizations. Buttressing further, the author opined that leadership skills needed by school heads for effective school management and enhanced academic achievement of the pupils include: identifying what motivates its staff, recognizing the effort of the staff, motivating and involving staff in decision making on matters concerning them and delegating duties to capable staff and encouraging appropriate skills for professional development. In the context of this study, leadership skills are those indispensable qualities and abilities such as competency and proficiency, respect, trust, honest and devotion which enable school heads to create and foster enabling school climate worthy of enhancing the pupils’ academic achievement.
There exist some forms of school climate. According to Kindiki (2007), the school head is significant in determining the quality of a school. Hoy and Dipaola (2007) highlighted various types of school climates: according to the authors, school may have an open climate, an autonomous climate, a controlled climate, a familiar climate, a paternalistic climate or a closed climate. The author maintained that in the light of the above, it can be deduced that the school head’s leadership style and leadership skill principally determines the kind of climate that prevails in the school. Ordinarily, the main task of the school head is to help create a healthy working environment in which pupils are happy and prepared to learn and teachers identify with the school’s mission and goals. Nwankwo (2014) observed that school climate encompasses the school work; physical layout; historical problems it has encountered; communication systems and exercise of authority of school heads; leadership behaviours; availability of facilities; job design and leader/member relationship. In other words, the
school climate can be referred to as the leadership characteristics which are believed by the researcher to be the foundation of formal and informal norms and values that are typical of individual schools and, therefore, constitute an interest in this study. Leaders in school setting strive for academic success. For instance, schools strive for academic breakthrough which is the hall mark of all educational institutions. This is true because the goal of every academic institution is to harmonize teaching and learning process for the facilitation and enhancement of academic achievement among learners. However, academic breakthrough does not just happen; it is caused by certain tasks aided by certain variables. Ron (2011) stated that there exists certain attributes that successful organizations share with one another. Ron as already cited, observed that there are seven attributes of good climate in an organization and they include; having a clear vision, setting clear goals, recruiting a great team, dividing tasks equitably, holding people accountable, staying the course, having fun. This, therefore, creates enabling school climate worthy of conducive learning outcomes among pupils. This is informed on the fact that when pupils learn under enabling school climate, there is the tendency for them to achieve an enhanced academic breakthrough and achievement.
The school climate in the context of this work focuses on school head’s leadership style and leadership skills with reference to location of schools (Urban and rural areas). Schools are located in urban and rural areas to serve the needs of the locality. Some schools in urban localities have had challenges especially in Warri and its environs. In such schools are pupils that have experienced tribal war, cultism thuggery and kidnapping which invariably constitute unconducive school climate thus leading to pupils’ poor academic achievement. These schools are also hideout for area boys at night. During the day time, footballers practice on the field and use class rooms as toilet. In such schools, gender plays major role as school activities are more effective with male school heads (Oyene, 2009) The
author also observed that urban schools are better equipped, and so academic achievement of the pupils are likely to be better than those in rural areas. However Isah (2011) argued that with the recent urban-rural migration of pupils for the purpose of writing first school leaving certificate exams, it seems that the results of pupils in rural areas are becoming better than those in urban areas statistically. Another very important primary school climate is the school plant. School plant is the totality of the school facilities such as chalk board, teaching aids, serene classrooms and play ground among others available in the school for teaching and learning. In some rural schools situated by the creeks that ‘feed’ the ocean of the Niger Delta in Delta State, School activities are held occasionally. That is, the town crier has to beat gong to notify pupils to avoid empty class rooms. Most classes are under trees. This seems to have triggered numerous problems, some of which are indiscipline, out breaks of violence, dilapidated facilities, and pressures from within and outside, parents’ complaints and pupils’ poor academic achievement among others. Yelkpiero (2012) observed that school plant which is an integral part of school climate provides a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning and also promotes academic excellence.
The schoo1climate to be investigated in this study include school plant cum school heads leadership behaviours or leadership skills, which include: relationship with pupils, relationship with staff, supervisory roles, entrepreneurial administration and global connection or networking activities and demographic variables of age, professional experience and educational qualification. Cotton (2014) stated that strong administrative leadership by school heads is a key component of schools with high student achievement.
Achievement has to do with reaching a required standard of performance. It is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved the set educational goals. Achievement denotes any academic rewards received in class work, examinations or at graduation, awards from participation in school clubs or organizations, leadership positions
or scholarly works related to the major or the job for which one is engaged in (Patti, 2008). According to Merriam (2013), achievement is something that has been done or attained through effort, a result of hard work; the act of achieving something and the state or condition of having attained or accomplished something. The American Heritage TAH (2013) defined achievement as something completed or attained successfully; accomplishment, acquirement acquisition, attainment, effort and a great or heroic deed. This implies that achievement is therefore, the outcome of education. It has to do with carrying out activities for the successful attainment of academic achievement. Academic achievement is the attainment level at which a student functions in his or her school task.
Academic achievement indicates how much knowledge and skills an individual has obtained in various school subjects (Nuhfer & Knipp, 2003). Academic achievement of pupils in this work implies how well a pupil, and invariably, the school performs academically. For decades, the causes of failure and wastage have been widely studied and discussed. Eziuzo (2007) observed that more than 100 million pupils which involve about 60 million girls do not have access to primary education, while about 100million children do not complete the stage of basic education that they started while millions complete it without getting the required knowledge and skills. Supporting the above view, Amaefule (2011) and Akusoba (2013) stated that with increasing number of children out- of -school and low rate of completion in primary schools, the formal school system in developing countries especially Nigeria may continue to be inadequate in overcoming illiteracy as enshrined in the National Policy on Education concerning primary education.
This may not be unconnected with what obtains in Delta State primary schools which have been observed to be performing poorly in the external examinations, and this calls for transformation of the primary education system. Buttressing the above point, Ameh (2013) viewed primary school education in Nigeria as having been established to meet the needs of
those who established them. For instance, the Church needed to produce Priests, Catechists and Evangelists. The merchants and colonial capitalists needed commercial clerks and used education to change the taste of the people and increase their demand for colonial goods. The colonialists needed to produce obedient servants, clerks and interpreters to work for them. The type of education Nigeria inherited from Britain and practised long after independence, and up till date, did not take into consideration local socio-economic needs. Okafor (2007) stated that even after independence, the Nigerian educational system especially primary education is still more British than the British themselves. Experts feared that Nigerian school children were educated for white collar jobs and may not adapt to local needs. The author further stated that schools that isolate themselves from the community produced children who become culturally and intellectually digressed in their communities. One of the consequences of this intellectual digression was noted to be lack of understanding between parents, teachers and school heads in sharing and achieving common goals. Another factor is conflict of roles and expectations between school heads and the community. Akusoba (2013) posited that improving the quality of education for pupils in primary schools is prerequisite for developing the human resource base required to meet the challenging technical demand of the
21st century which ordinarily should commence from the root as indicated by Okafor (2007) who stated that improvement in all education levels should begin at the primary school where children develop basic attitudes to learning.
Nigeria has fully recognized the crucial role of education for national development and has made primary education the basic minimum need for an individual to function effectively in his society and physical environment as enshrined in the Nationa1 policy in Education (FRN, 2004). School heads as key to administration and organization of primary schools, are appointed by government to ensure the realization of the primary school goals. These goals, according to National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) include inculcation of
permanent literacy, numeracy and ability to communicate effectively and to lay a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking. (UNICEF, 2013) observed that interaction with primary school products in developing countries have not shown evidence of manipulative self reliant skills; the ability to communicate effectively, an improvement in scientific and reflective thinking. Agbese (2013) observed that primary school pupils’ performance in public examinations such as the first school leaving certificate and common entrance examinations have been generally poor. Okafor (2013) concluded that primary school teachers in Delta State abandon their classrooms, come late to work and sometimes absent themselves from school without permission. The above scenario apparently implies that primary school head teachers lack effectiveness. It appears that they are no longer dedicated and committed to duty. Such ineffectiveness leads pupils to fail and or drop out of school, and as such affects their overall academic achievement. The continued, noticeable mass failures of primary school pupils in public examinations call to question the effectiveness of school heads in Delta State. Rivkin (2014) Posited that unique matched panel data from the UTD Texas School project permits the identification of teacher’s quality based on pupil’s performance. The author further said that semi-parametric lower bound estimates of the variance of head teacher quality based entirely on within school heterogeneity; indicate that they have powerful effect on achievement.
Successful school leadership is a product of knowledge and understanding of leadership skills with personal attributive abilities to implement the skills. In the absence of effective leadership, goal accomplishment and school effectiveness can never be guaranteed. In the view of Udeozor (2007), educational transformation and effectiveness can only be achieved through the roles of the school heads which is often crucial to the schools’ success. Consequently, school heads are challenged to create the culture of quality that penetrates into every element, processes and the system of the school. It is common to find a school that has
not been performing, to suddenly become transformed, more effective and progressive with a change of school head. This shows that headship is a very crucial factor in school performance. In many occasions, member of community where the schools located agitate for the transfer of staff, head teacher and make choice for the new head teacher to be posted in the school, may be because of the lapses of the former head teacher. Rivkin (2014) stated that the effects of student’s reduction in size are smaller than the benefit on standard deviation of school head quality; this shows his effectiveness in pupil achievement. Irrespective of the above change in school performance as a result of change of school head, it is unfortunate that primary school pupils in Delta State still witness poor performance in external examinations.
Information from the Delta State Ministry of Education (Exams and Records Section) reveals that out 54,882 pupils that sat for the 2014 Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination, only 10,902 (20%) had five ‘c’ passes and above. In 2015 out of the 58,603 pupils that sat for the examination, only, 13,800 (21%) scored five ‘c’ passes and above. Less than 10% of the pupils that sat for the same examination for 2014/2015 passed in English and Mathematics (Without re-sit). It also reported that from 2011- 2015 that pupils’ academic achievements have been in a declining state. From the foregoing, it appears that low academic achievement of pupils has a link with teachers’ poor allowance earning as it has been observed that Nigeria is among the countries that still pay low allowance to its teachers.
With the increase in the minimum monthly teachers’ salary to N7, 500 and N6, 500 for federal and state government teachers respectively, this still remains among the lowest in the world (Udeozor, 2007). Stressing further, the author opined that teachers are squeezed between rising domestic responsibilities and devalued income which makes it impossible for them to influence pupils’ academic achievement positively. The disparity in income among the tiers of government violates the principle of equity. Udeozor (2007) stated also that a
teacher will not be satisfied with his/her income if it is not commensurate with what is paid to other colleagues in similar jobs and positions. This implies that poor, irregular and inadequate salary may be a factor inhibiting the school heads to grow and be productive. This may also affect the school organization and its goals. Ike-Obiora (2007) stated that since behaviour of people in organizational life arises from interaction between their inner motivational needs and the characteristic of the environment, then it follows that organization environment is a key to influencing organizational behaviours. Nwankwo (2014) indicated that school environment has positive relationship with teacher’s productivity and pupil’s academic achievement. Okafor (2007) agreed that school climate and work incentives relate positioning with teachers productivity and pupils academic performance. This implies that the abysmal performance of primary school pupils in their First School Leaving Certificate Examinations may not be unconnected with the poor school heads leadership styles and leadership skills and physical school environment. It therefore becomes necessary to investigate the school head skills and school climate that influence pupil’s academic achievement in other to ascertain which factors to tackle in improving primary school effectiveness in Delta State. Statement of the Problem
The kind of leadership style adopted by a leader greatly determines the nature of achievement in pupils’ external examinations. Experience in Delta State reveals that many schools that were once effective in academic achievement have lowered their standards due to poor leadership styles and skills. Schools managed by incompetent school heads are characterized by confusion and inefficiency in operation. There may be conflicts among staff in such schools due to lack of transformational leaders. Competent schools in contrast, measure up to standards of effectiveness. These schools are marked by mastery of certain essential fundamentals while jobs are well done. School heads with requisite leadership skills such as being able to identify what motivates its staff, recognizing the effort of the staff,
motivating and involving staff in decision making on matters concerning them and delegating duties to capable staff and encouraging appropriate skills for professional development are in position to influence educational outcomes. Also, the school head’s leadership style and leadership skill principally can determine the kind of climate that prevails in the school. Yet, it appears that school heads in primary schools in Delta State were unable to measure up to ideals that can influence pupil’s academic achievement because of lack of these leadership skills. Also, in some rural schools situated by the creeks that ‘feed’ the ocean of the Niger Delta in Delta State, School activities are held occasionally. That is, the town crier has to beat gong to notify pupils to avoid empty class rooms. Most classes are under trees. In many occasions, member of community where the schools are situated agitate for the transfer of staff, head teacher and make choice for the new head teacher to be posted in the school, this may be because of the lapses of the former head teacher. This is suspected to be a factor contributing to decline in pupils’ academic achievement.
School heads that are not effective cannot deal with problems threatening the school system. Primary schools have numerous problems to contend with, some of which are indiscipline, out breaks of violence, dilapidated facilities, and pressures from within and outside, parents’ complaints, pupils’ poor academic achievement. It is against this background that this study intends to investigate the school heads leadership skills and school climate that influence pupils’ academic achievement and to determine whether the presence or absence of these variables, make or mar pupils’ achievement.
In view of the complexity in the educational system, there is need for school heads to understand that successful leadership requires skills and experience. Poor performance in the first school leaving certificate may not be unconnected with poor teacher’s remuneration and poor physical school environment. Delta State primary schools have been observed to be performing poorly in the external examinations, and there is a need for transformation.
Although various studies have been carried out perhaps in some areas or state by other researchers to ameliorate this problem, yet there has not been improvement in the academic achievement of pupils nor has the actual cause of the aforementioned problem been adequately addressed or researched. The consequences of the aforementioned problem is that if it is not properly tackled and addressed, pupils’ academic achievement will continue to decline. It is against this background that this study is designed to find the leadership skills and school climate variables that influence academic achievement of pupils in primary schools in Delta State.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to investigate the school head skills and school climate that determine academic achievement of public primary school pupils in Delta State.
Specifically, the study seeks to:
1. Identify the leadership skills possessed by school heads in public primary schools in Delta State.
2. Find out school climate variables that characterize public primary schools in
Delta State.
3. Determine the relationship between leadership skills of school heads and pupils’ academic achievement in public primary schools in Delta State.
4. Determine the relationship between the school climate and academic achievement of pupils in public primary schools in Delta State.
5. Determine the relationship among leadership skills of school heads, school climate, and pupil’s academic achievement in Delta State.
Significance of Study
The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, the study will validate the System Theory (ST) of Karl Ludwig Von Bertalanffy. Specifically, the study will
lay credence to the tenet of this theory which postulates that parts of a system do not work in isolation; they work within a system. The school is an example of an open system in which two or more persons work together in a coordinated manner to attain common goals. This postulation countered a popular scientific view that a system could be understood first by breaking it down into its components so that each component could be studied and analyzed as an independent entity. The import of this to the present study lies in the fact that the school situation and that of the school head leadership skills could significantly determine academic achievement of pupils. It equally implies that with the seemingly endless challenges schools face today, it is necessary to appoint knowledgeable school heads who can work together in attaining educational goals.
Practically, the study will be of paramount importance to the following individuals and corporate bodies; the school heads, Primary school pupils, teachers, Ministries of Education, Curriculum planners and future researchers.
The findings of this study when publicized through public enlightenment campaigns such as symposia, seminars and workshops would help to identify the various school head skills and school climate that predict pupil’s academic achievement. This is informed on the fact that it would be necessary in rectifying things that could negate academic progress of the pupils and thus foster and promote pupils; academic prowess. This is because any study that reveals the likely factors that could nurse a serene school climate would invariably go a long way to imparting on the school head the appropriate leadership skills worthy of articulation for the promotion of academic excellence.
The study will be of immense benefits to the pupils when made available through radio and television jingles. The findings will significantly facilitate and enhance the academic achievement of pupils. This is because when the teachers and the rest of other stakeholders take cognizance of the findings of this study, the implementation will be very
beneficial to the pupils as it will help to establish a school climate worthy of cordial relationships and conducive learning among pupils.
Also, the findings of this study when made available through academic articles and workshops will help to provide information on how to create an environment or school climate that will promote good interpersonal relationship between the school head and teachers who will stand to also enjoy the reward of peaceful staff co-existence in the environment under which they work. This will enhance instructional performance of teachers.
The findings of this study when made available through written reports and publications such as journals, news papers and magazines will be of significance to the ministry of education. It will provide awareness on the headship models that can stem the tides of pupils’ academic achievement. Based on evaluation of school heads that show inadequacies would undergo some remedial programmes through seminar, workshops and lectures organized in this respect thus will lead to ameliorating the situation. The findings of this study will help governments at different levels in making rational decision on how to improve pupil’s academic achievement.
The result of the study will be of immense benefits to the curriculum planners when made available through written reports, magazines and journals among others. This is because this study shall reveal to the curriculum planners the school climate variables that characterize public primary schools. Therefore, when they have full knowledge of the aforementioned, it will serve as a data base from which planners of the education system would get information in terms of school heads characters, personal values, belief morals and emotions that are necessary predictors to pupil’s academic achievement. This is because the study will serve as an eye opener to them such that they will be able to articulate all the necessary measures and strategies for effective school climate that could be fostered through well informed leadership skills in the education plans to ensure conducive teaching and
learning environment. If the above goal is achieved through the findings of this study, curriculum planners will actually know that their efforts are not in vain and as such strive to make more viable inputs in upgrading the primary education. In order to fast-track the realization of effective and strategic school climate, it is expected that the results of the study will enable the curriculum designers while designing and planning the curriculum to take appropriate steps towards ensuring that school heads are equipped with the procedures requisite for engendering a good atmospheric condition through an informed leadership style and skills.
Finally, the findings from this study will contribute to the literature that is most effective in helping researchers in education to explore factors that may help school heads meet challenges of today’s school administration. They shall benefit from the findings of this study when made available through publications such as journals, news papers and magazines. This study would thus serve as a source of information and bank of knowledge for other researchers who may wish to embark on research from a related perspective in this field when submitted to libraries, published in news papers and magazines, presented in seminars and workshops. It is obvious that this work will provide them direction and guideline for their study.
Scope of the Study:
The geographical scope of the study covers the entire 25 Local Government Areas in Delta State. Although the investigation has general implications for all the primary schools in Nigeria, only the public primary schools in Delta North and Delta South senatorial Zone will be studied. It will be limited to public primary schools that are not less than six years old. In other words, it will include all primary schools that have primary six pupils that are preparing for the First School leaving Certificate (FSLC). The content scope will include leadership skills and school heads leadership styles in terms of location, availability of school plants, school climate, head teacher, leadership behaviours and pupils academic performance. The
population content of this study is comprised of all the primary school pupils in Delta North and Delta South senatorial Zone.
Research Questions:
The following research questions were posed to guide the study.
1. What are the schoolhead leadership skills possessed by school heads in public primary schools in Delta State?
2. What are the school climate variables that characterize public primary schools in Delta State?
3. What are the relationship between leadership skills of school heads and pupils’
academic achievement in public primary schools in Delta State?
4. What is the relationship between the school climate variables and pupils’
academic achievement of in public primary schools in Delta State?
5. What is the relationship among the leadership skills of school heads school climate, and pupil’s academic achievement in Delta State?
Hypotheses:
The following null hypotheses were formulated for the study and were tested at 0.05 level of significance;
HO1: There is no significant relationship between the leadership of school heads and pupils’ academic achievement in Delta State.
HO2: There is no significant relationship between school climate and pupils’
academic achievement in public primary school in Delta State. HO3: There is no significant relationship among leadership skills of school heads, school climate and pupils’ academic achievement in public primary schools in Delta State.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
SCHOOLHEADS’ LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AS DETERMINANTS OF PUPILS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN DELTA STATE.
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