PRINCIPALS’ COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND TEACHERS PRODUCTIVITY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL

Abstract

The topic research on was “influences of communication on teachers productivity in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State”. A-24 item questionnaire was developed by the researcher and administered to 410 respondents male and female secondary school principals and teachers in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. Means and standard  deviation were used to answer the four research questions whereas the t- tests standards was used to test two research hypothesis that guided the study. It was the opinions of the male and female secondary school principals and teachers that the medium of communication in schools includes face to face conferences, staff meetings, notice boards, circular letters and oral announcements. The opinions of the male and female secondary school principals and teachers shows that the obstacles to effective exchanges of ideas and information in schools includes misconception of information by the teachers, principals and students, inappropriate encoding and decoding of information, noise around the school environment among others. The opinions of the male and female secondary school principals and teachers shows that the strategies to promote effective communication in schools are allowing free flow of information, the maintenance of open door policy by the principals, the use of information communication technology (ICT) in the storage and retrieval of information owning others highly advocated from the findings of this study. Finally, there was no significant different in the mean opinions of the male and female teachers and principals on the problems and the measures that enhances effective communication in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

From the time immemorial, communication has been an everyday process in all fields and between all people. It is a fundamental tool of relating to different people. Hicks and Gullet (1975) have broadly stated that communication necessitates co-existence of people in the world. They further say that through communication, people share knowledge and combine efforts and this enables them to develop and expand their store of knowledge, technology and culture. Communication serves as a linking process by which parts of a system are tied together. The importance of communication to human life cannot be overemphasised, for without communication, no society can exist, no social structure can form or endure, since communication is the fundamental social process permeating all aspects of social life. Michael (1992) in his study on Development and Communication explains that without communication no organised action is possible. Social systems can only form and endure if the participating persons are linked to each other by communication.

The survival of any organization depends on effective communication. Effective communication is therefore a prerequisite for a school to achieve its objectives. Without effective communication among the school administrators, teachers and students, disharmony and poor working environment may result. Luthans (1989) in his studies has pointed out that organization ineffectiveness arises partly out of the difficulty in the exchange of information between the members at various. Some managers believe that poor communication wastes more time and money than any other organizational problem, as communication has such a vital influence on the success of any organization.

A Principal in any given secondary school is responsible for the day to day running of a school and its success in academic performance. The responsibility of motivating the staff and improving the academic performance and general standards within the school lies solely on him or her. When they perform their duties well, the academic performance is likely to improve, (Muyiera, 2002). Doobs (1961) stated that the communicator (Principal) must be located with respect to his position in the communication network. He may initiate a communication, act as an intermediary between a communicator and audience or at first function as an audience and later retransmit the communication he or she has received. A principal is charged with monitoring communication. He or she stays informed about who is communicating with whom and about what in regard to the school setup. The Principal monitors communication networks both formal and informal that operates in school and community to ascertain message distortion of one kind or another. He or she also seeks facts, perception and ideas from other people. He needs to encourage accurate and full communication throughout the school organization.

The mode and way of communication used in a given school will affect the way people interact, and it will have an impact on the general atmosphere of the school, which in turn will affect the general quality of instruction that teachers receive, (Muyiera, 2002). Communication directs the behaviour of people in an organization. The Principal therefore through appropriate communication pattern, should be able to realign and modify the attitude of teachers, students and the whole school community towards achievement of set targets in a school. The management process that a Principal is involved in, basically revolve around communication. Effective communication as one of the aspects of management plays a paramount role towards the success of any organization, school or institution. Any communication barrier therefore may interfere with the accomplishment of the set objectives of a school. It is on this basis therefore, that this study sought to examine Principals’ communication strategies and teachers’ productivity in public secondary school.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Education system in Nigeria has experienced frequent management problems that have been linked to communication. In the management schools in Nigeria, two important variables are employed, that is, human resources management and effective communication in a particular cultural setting. Managing human resources in the school is not an easy task. For a staff to able to give learning instructions, effective communication process is needed for a desired output. Human resources person must have the skills, knowledge and teaching methods which are carried out through communication in the system. Hence, to guide the investigation communication and human resources management and their compliance with culture in Nigeria schools system. This study will therefore examine Principals’ communication strategies and teachers’ productivity in public secondary school.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to investigate how communication influences teachers productivity in Secondary Schools in Enugu State with particular reference to Nsukka Education Zone. Specifically, the study aims is to:

1. Identifying the communication strategies that are used by the male secondary school principals to enhance teachers productivity in their schools.
2. Finding out the types of communication problems used by female secondary schools principals to enhance teachers productivity in their schools.
3. Identifying those factors that militate against effective communication in school.
4. Finding out the strategies that promote effective communication in secondary schools administration in Nsukka Education Zone.

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