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PRINCIPALS^ DECISION-MAKING STRATEGIES AND TEACHERS PRODUCTIVITY IN DELTA STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA
1OSSAI, A. G (PH.D), 2OKOKOYO, ISABELLA EZINWA
Faculty of Education, University of Delta, Agbor.
Delta State, Nigeria.
Dranthonygreat@Gmail.Com
Abstract
This study focuses on principals' decision making strategies and teachers' productivity I public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria. A descriptive research survey was used in this study. All principals and teachers of secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria participated in the study. A sample of 60 principals and 900 teachers was selected. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided this study. Data were collected using the Principals Decision Making and Teachers Productivity Questionnaire(PDMTPQ). The scale was validated by two experts. Reliability co-efficient of 0.82 was obtained using the Cronbach alpha reliability. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and the benchmark for acceptance level was 2.50. Hypotheses were tested using the Z-test with a significance level of 0.05. The results show that principals involve teachers in decision-making in secondary schools, and that principals' decision-making processes influence teachers' productivity. It was recommended among others that teachers need to be more involved in the decision-making process, and administrators should ensure that implementation stages are followed accordingly as agreed by the stakeholders involved in making the decision.
Keywords: Principals, Teachers, School, Decision-Making, Productivity.
INTRODUCTION
A secondary school is an educational institution that aims to achieve educational goals through teaching and learning (FGN 2013). Schools produce solutions, all for well-being and happiness. These solutions include education / training, transport / communication, staff, students / medical staff, children, male student / staff discipline, school equipment maintenance, construction / maintenance, registration, budgeting, purchasing, games, events, etc. The result of this decision is to teach and learn in a beautiful and harmonious environment. In order to get a good education in high school, principals and school administrators need to think, see, think, be patient, unite in integrity, be patient, care and decide. This requires the participation of the authorities in the decision-making process to the extent permitted by the situation (Düze 2011).
The role of decision-making in schools is risky as the relationship between teaching and learning needs to be improved. This includes school teacher interviews, student interviews, teacher interviews, teacher interviews and student experiences. These interactions include changes and adjustments to curricula, activities, and technologies to develop learning and educational goals for the community.
Decision making is choosing between different types of actions. It is an ongoing process that ends with a decision of one or the other. Principals should be involved in defining the role of the principal and how the school's role is implemented. Administrators, teachers, non-academic staff and many other partners are committed to the school's success and participation in decision-making, passion for learning and student success.
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An organization's productivity is its ability to efficiently meet requirements (quality) without using resources (speed). You must manage people and other resources effectively and efficiently to achieve your desired goals within a set time frame. Teacher productivity refers to the rate or degree at which teachers achieve desired goals, their level of knowledge, and their involvement in decision-making to improve performance. When teachers feel they have a good understanding of decision-making, they are motivated and happy to complete these teaching tasks with less pressure and less supervision. The purpose of involving teachers in decision making is to facilitate better decision making, because teachers are close to students and know best how to improve students' learning.
Teachers' thoughts and decision plan, guide teachers' actions and teaching and learning contents. It should also be noted that the anxiety of the teacher and the student is the same: neither the teacher nor the student. To make the right decisions, school leaders must collaborate and support teachers through collaboration and shared decision-making. This will encourage teachers to be involved and committed to using the curriculum and sharing knowledge to achieve high school goals. So, this article looks at principals' decision making strategies and teachers' productivity in public secondary schools in Delta State High Schools,Nigeria.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The subject of this study is based on House's (1971) path-goal theory, which states that both managers and subordinates should participate in the organizational decision-making process. In fact, when goals and leaders (teachers) come together, they have the commitment and belief in their understanding of goals, which makes them effective. Glueck (2006) suggested that when education leaders (principals) engage in dialogue with staff (teachers), there are many opportunities to share ideas and ideas that lead to better decisions. Oduro (2024) also defines good decision making as a product of leadership, cooperation, unity, openness and discussion. This means that cooperative management is a way to encourage employees who will benefit the group's business by recognizing their ideas and efforts in the team and production staff.
DECISION MAKING CONCEPTS
Decision making is based on choosing the best solution from a selection. It is a process where educational leaders (principals) choose the best solution to the problem and reach the goal or use another good way to solve it all. Therefore, school leaders (principals) should have deep decision-making skills and skills to make decisions on specific issues and be able to collaborate with these individuals or members to select available options to solve problems and produce desired results. For this reason, Oviwigho (2006) states that managers should focus on the basic elements of the management process; planning, planning, operations, leadership, coordination, reporting and budgeting, and decision making. In schools, Principals must make decisions so that the school can achieve its goals and meet the needs of school members.
DECISION MAKING STRATEGY
Decision making is necessary for the organization to achieve its goals. Decision making thrives when all members of an organization, regardless of age, qualification or experience, participate in decision making. This means that problems are better resolved when two or more people give advice. School leaders should involve teachers in the decision-making process to ensure that management policies are implemented. Teachers should participate in and encourage discussions on issues related to their work.
According to Mullins (2005), many people believe that employee participation in decision-making is effective and necessary for survival in the global economy. Collaboration of staff is seen as
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one of the most important, and teachers involved in decision-making can solve principals' problems because there are many good skills that can be combined to solve intellectual problems that leaders cannot solve alone.
Many managers share the belief that employees' decision-making processes within the organization will improve if employees are involved in decision-making. For example, absenteeism, truancy, absenteeism, and absenteeism often emerge when teachers become unmotivated and uninvolved in the course of decision making (Tijani, 2020).
Lisa (2019) argues that if leaders feel that employees want to engage rather than share their skills and ideas and not follow their advice, then results will be good. When people participate in the decision-making process, they have many opportunities to express their thoughts, feelings, and current conflicts, disagreements, and agreements. In some schools, women are excluded from the decisionmaking process. According to a report by the United Nations Women's Day Information Service (UNDPI, 2006), women's participation in economic decision-making remains low even in developing countries. This is called 10.99% of the order. The International Federation of Journalists also reports that women now make up a third of journalists, but less than 3% of media executives and politicians. (Tijani, 2020). In fact, teachers express disappointment and frustration over their inability to influence the decision-making process. Regardless of age, experience or length of service, they feel they are not being consulted and unable to make good decisions. They found that when teachers are involved in the decision-making process, their confidence increases and they are treated accordingly. Asiyai (2015) found that Nigerian teachers were willing to participate in a variety of decision-making processes, regardless of age, experience or seniority. He added that working with teachers in the decision-making process can reduce conflict in school management and make schools more cohesive. By participating in the decision-making process, teachers develop a sense of ownership and commitment that leads to positive outcomes.
TEACHERS ARE INVOLVED IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.
Schools are considered more efficient when teachers are independent and involved in school decision-making. Blaze (2012) argued that schools would improve if teachers were more involved in decision making. When teachers are involved in the decision-making process, they can play an important role in the overall success of schools (Tijani, 2020). Also, organizations cannot measure real-world effort without faculty participation. Teachers should not take any opportunity to influence their work. They need to be involved and have a voice in the day-to-day processes of the school (Usman, 2015). Teachers are considered the most important component of student learning, acting as a bridge between students and quality. Involving teachers in decision-making allows principals to solve more problems because many principals will work together to solve problems that the principal cannot solve alone. Teachers are also considered users of the curriculum and face teaching and learning challenges on a daily basis. Therefore, teachers play an important role in making decisions and providing solutions for many schools (Gemechu, 2014).
PROBLEM STATEMENT
In our schools, decision-making problems are increasing due to increased enrollment, lack of funding, overcrowded classrooms, lack of tutors for self-study, and the need for quality education and training for participants. In fact, participation in decision-making is essential for school programs to work effectively and achieve their goals. But in schools, many principals tend to run schools with little or no involvement of teachers in decision-making. A key phrase: "wait your turn"; this resulted in Delta State High School teachers being less satisfied with their teaching work and students' poor
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performance. This worries the study participants. Low levels of education reflect the uneven use of the curriculum and the lack of decision-making capacity of managers. Or is the problem caused by a bad decision? or could some factors be responsible? Therefore, the trust of this study is to examine the extent of principals' decision making strategies and how it impacts on teachers' productivity in public secondary schools in Delta State of Nigeria.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate principals' decision making strategies and teacher's productivity in public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria. Specific Research Objectives include:
1. To study the strategies principals use when making decisions about secondary schools in Delta State.
2. Determine whether Delta State secondary School teachers participate in the decision-making
process.
3. Check out how this decision has impacted on teachers' productivity in Delta State Secondary.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guided the research:
1. What Strategies Do Delta State Secondary School Principals Use to Make Decisions?
2. How are public secondary school teachers involved in decision-making?
3. How do principals' decision making process affect teachers' productivity Delta State public Secondary Schools ?
HYPOTHESES
In this study, the following hypotheses were tested.
1. There is no significant difference between principals and teachers on strategies adopted by principals in decision-making process in Delta State secondary schools.
2. There is no significant difference between Principals and teachers on the level of teachers' involvement in decision making process in public secondary school in Delta State.
3. There is no significant difference between principals and teachers on ways principals' decision making process affect the productivity of teachers in public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used a descriptive design. The study group includes all principals and teachers of secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling was used to select 60 principals and 900 teachers from three Senatorial districts in Delta State. The research tool for this study is a questionnaire called the Principal Teacher Decision Making and Performance Questionnaire (PDMTPQ). In this study, a 5-point Likert scale was used. The agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD) values are 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively. The design and validity of the scale were approved by experts in the Department of Education and Assessment University of Delta, Agbor. The reliability of the scale was confirmed by the test-retest method, and the correlation coefficient was 0.82, indicating the reliability of the questionnaire. Researchers were assisted by two researchers who distributed and collected data from schools. The research questions were analyzed using the mean and
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standard deviation of the 2.500 acceptance rate, and the hypotheses were tested using the z-test at a significance level of 0.05.
RESULTS
Research Question 1: What strategies do principals use in decision making at Delta State secondary schools?
Table 1: Strategies adopted by principals in decision making process
S/N Items Principals 60 Teacher 900
X Std Decision SD Decision
1 Adopt delegation of Authority 3.33 0.14 Agree 3.29 0.11 Agree
2 Maintain open discussion at meetings 3.11 0.14 Agree 3.33 0.11 Agree
3 Principals welcome teachers initiatives 2.96 0.13 Agree 3.31 0.11 Agree
4 Principals welcome constructive criticisms 3.08 0.13 Agree 3.17 0.11 Agree
5 Setting of goals is a collective responsibility 3.02 1.12 Agree 3.26 0.11 Agree
Grand mean/std 3.10 0.64 3.27 0.55
The information in Table 1 shows the management strategies used in decision making. Administrators and teachers agree that the average score for all items is above the standard average of 2.50. This meant that participants agreed that the strategies used by principals in making decisions could be useful to teachers.
Question 2:
How are Delta state public secondary school teachers involved in the decision-making process? Table 2: Delta State Secondary school teachers participate in decision-making in schools.
S/N Items Principals 60 Teacher 900
X Std Decision X SD Decision
1 Teachers take active part in school committee 3.18 0.13 Agree 3.30 0.11 Agree
2 Teachers are involved in planning examinations 3.09 0.13 Agree 3.33 0.11 Agree
3 Teachers contribute to instructional review 3.15 0.13 Agree 3.37 0.11 Agree
4 Teachers are involved in making rules and regulations 3.08 0.13 Agree 3.29 0.11 Agree
5 Teachers take part in capacity development 3.18 0.13 Agree 3.50 0.11 Agree
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Grand mean/std 3.14 0.65 3.34 3.35 0.55
The results show that the mean of all items is above 2.50 . This means that administrators and teachers are involved in Delta State secondary schools' decision-making process.
Research Question 3: How do principals' decision-making process affect teachers' productivity in Delta State public secondary schools?
Table 3: Impact of decision making process on teachers' productivity.
S/N Items Principals 60 Teacher 900
X Std Decision X SD Decision
1 Principals' decision making improve job commitment 3.03 0.39 Agree 3.42 0.11 Agree
2 Principals decision making enhance classroom management 3.30 0.42 Agree 3.40 0.11 Agree
3 Principals decision making improves curriculum planning 3.61 0.47 Agree 3.30 0.11 Agree
4 Principals decision making improves goals attainment 3.29 0.42 Agree 3.30 0.11 Agree
5 Principals decision making enhance innovation 3.19 0.41 Agree 3.39 0.11 Agree
Grand mean/std 3.28 2.11 3.36 0.5 5
The data in Table 3 show the difference between the perceptions of principals and teachers regarding the impact of decision making on teachers' productivity. Administrators and teachers agree that the average score for all items is above the standard average of 2.50.The grand mean scores of 3.28 and 3.36 for Principals and teachers , respectively, indicating that the decision-making process makes teachers more effective.
Hypotheses 1: There is no significant difference between principals and teachers on the strategies adopted by principals in decision making process in public secondary school in Delta State, Nigeria
Table 4: Z-Test of significant difference between the mean scores of principals and teachers on strategies adopted by principals in decision making
Respondents N X SD Z-cal Z-critical Decision
Principals 60 3.10 0.64 0.47 1.96 Accept
Teachers 900 3.27 0.55
Total 960
Significant at 0.05
Z test for the difference between the decision-making strategies of principals and teachers in Table 4. The result indicates that at 0.05 level of significance, the calculated Z-score value of 0.47 was lower than the Z-critical value of 1.96, hence the null hypothesis that stated that there is no significant
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difference between principals and teachers on the strategies adopted by principals in decision making process in public secondary schools in Delta State, is hereby accepted.
Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference between principals and teachers in the level of teachers' involvement in decision-making process in public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria.
Table 5: Significant Differences in Teachers Engagement Determined by the Mean Scores of Principals and Teachers
Respondents N X SD Z-cal Z-critical Decision
Principals 60 3.14 0.65 1.05 1.96 Accept
Teacher 900 3.54 0.55
Total 960
The data in Table 5 refers to the second hypothesis. The data shows a Z-test value of 1.05, which is lower than the critical value of 1.96 with a significance level of 0.05. The null hypothesis that stated that there is no significant difference between principals and teachers on the level of involvement of teachers in decision making process in public secondary schools in Delta State, is hereby accepted.
Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference between principals and teachers on ways principals decision making process affect the productivity of teachers in public secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria.
Table 6: Z-test of significant difference between principals and teachers on ways principals' decision making process affect the productivity of teachers
Respondents N X SD Z-cal Z-critical Decision
Principals 60 3.28 2.11 0.08 1.96 Accept
Teachers 900 3.36 0.55
Total 960
Table 6 shows a summary of Z-test of difference between principals and teachers on ways principals decision making process affect the productivity of teachers. The results show that the Z value of 0.08 is less than the critical value of 1.96 at the 0.05 significance level. Therefore, the null hypothesis is hereby accepted.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Research Question 1 revealed that principals were good at strategies such as giving permission, open discussion at meetings, welcoming teachers, and co-organizing purpose. This is also confirmed by Hypothesis 1, which shows that there is no significant difference between principals and teachers about the principal's decision-making strategies. This means that administrators can share their ideas with teachers and use these ideas for school management. This finding is similar to Glueck's (2006) statement that when educational leaders (principals) and staff (teachers) are involved in collaboration, they can offer advice, solve problems, and negotiate quickly. There will also be better decision making and more success in achieving your goals.
Table II (Survey 2) shows that teachers are involved in the decision-making process. School teachers work with the school board to prepare and administer exams, participate in academic evaluation, and
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participate in the development of school policies and regulations.To give. creative skills. Hypothesis 2 also suggests that there is no significant difference between principals and teachers in the extent to which teachers are involved in the decision-making process. This means that administrators involve teachers in the decision-making process. Indeed, teachers need to be involved in decisions to improve it and work together to achieve goals. This is consistent with Blaise's (2012) assertion that involving senior teachers in decision-making will improve schools. Teachers can play an important role in the overall success of schools when they commit to being involved in the decision-making process (Tijani 2020).
The results of the third question showed that respondents agreed that the principal's decisions affect teachers' productivity. Hypothesis 3 also revealed that there was no significant difference between principals and teachers in the effect of the principal's decision on the teacher. In fact, many managers believe that involving employees in the decision-making process will increase their productivity in the organization. The relationship between teacher productivity and student performance indicates a lack of teacher and student engagement when principals make little effort towards common goals. This is consistent with Mullins (2005), who states that many believe employee involvement in decision-making improves productivity. This reflects the fact that principals cannot work effectively without the cooperation of teachers. This situation demonstrates the need for administrators to involve teachers in the decision-making process because teachers play a vital role in school operations and curriculum management.
CONCLUSION.
Principals and teachers are excellent decision makers and it is clear that most teachers are highly motivated. Involving all school stakeholders in the decision-making process enables principals to engage with other stakeholders and use their knowledge and experience as a resource for school improvement. . Teachers who follow the curriculum play an important role in decision-making. As the saying goes, "two good heads are better than one" and "you never know all". This means that ideas can be shared with the school organization to improve learning. It is a way to measure school performance that can lead to better decisions and better understanding.
RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions are made:
1. Educators play an important role in decision-making and should be able to participate in decisions that support student learning.
2. To improve high school decision-making, administrators and teachers must attend meetings and seminars as needed.
3. Administrators should create an environment where teachers can participate in discussions so that they can participate in the decision-making process.
4. To ensure that teachers are effective and accountable, leaders must ensure that all participants in the decision-making process agree on some common goals.
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