Extent To Which School Leadership Affects Teachers Job Satisfaction In Public Primary Schools In Oshimili South Local Government Area Of Delta State

ABSTRACT

This study ascertained the extent to which school leadership affects teachers job satisfaction in public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Three research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all the three hundred and forty-four (344) public primary school teachers from the 21 public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State out of which one hundred (100) teachers were randomly selected from 10 public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State to represent the entire population. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. 100 copies were distributed and 88 copies were retrieved. Data was analyzed using frequency, percentage and mean statistics. Based on the analysis, it was found that school leadership negatively affect the effective delivery of teaching by the primary school teachers, primary school teachers motivation to use instructional materials and primary school teachers motivation to stay on their job in Oshimili South. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that school leaders at the primary school level should ensure that teachers are treated with love and care for effective delivery of teaching and for enhanced job satisfaction and primary school leaders should ensure provision of instructional materials in order to motivate teachers to use them leading to enhanced job satisfaction.

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Leadership is key in achieving set goals and objectives in every organization. That means that no organization can ever succeed without effective leadership which can be seen in the way subordinates are satisfied. Leadership is one of the main concepts analyzed in different fields of the social sciences. This means that the idea of leadership, just like the ideas of democracy, love, and peace, are formed according to how the individual perceives them (Northouse, 2017). In other words, leadership is like beauty, it is hard to define but understood immediately when it is brought up.

School is one of the places where leadership is provided. School leadership can be seen as leadership provided in schools by either head teachers or other levels at different levels. The school leader is the person who plans and maintains program development, allocates resources, improves the performances of employees and students by encouraging them, and guides them in order to meet the objectives of the school. Upon determining the objectives of the school, school leaders ensure that these objectives are stated and agreed upon with the students, teachers, and school environment. Furthermore, these leaders manage the out-of-school activities as well. They direct the employee and student activities in other areas of the school, encourage local organizations to work with the school, and also collaborate with families and business organizations (Busher, Harris & Wise, 2015). In conclusion, school leaders undertake the main responsibility of ensuring that student success is at its maximum potential. Their style of leadership determines the extent to which teachers are satisfied with their job.

Job satisfaction is an employee’s general view towards the components of a job and whether or not the employee likes the job (Shields, 2017). In this case, job satisfaction is a mixture of (i) emotional, (ii) cognitive, and (iii) behavioral characteristics (Willson, 2019). Job satisfaction is seen as a person’s happiness while doing his or her job (Highland, 2016). Defining job satisfaction is as hard to identify as the feeling of happiness. It is unknown what makes anyone happy, and if one thing makes one person happy it is still unclear if that can be the source of happiness for someone else. The difficulty of identifying job satisfaction can be explained by this uncertainty. Schultz and Schultz (2015) and Verner (2018) defined job satisfaction to be the positive and negative emotions of a person’s feeling towards his or her job.

According to the two-factor theory of Herzberg (2016), the leadership approaches of leaders affect the job satisfaction of teachers. This is due to the fact that interacting with administrators is an important part of the work done by teachers at school, and they contribute to teachers’ experiences in a positive or negative way.

Statement of the Problem

The role played by school leadership in teachers’ job satisfaction cannot be over-emphasized. This is because leadership especially in schools provides an avenue for teachers to enjoy their or get tired of their job. Leadership as the foundarion upon which the success or failure of every organization depends. Effectiveness of school leadership results in the progress of an organization while failure of the leadership tends to affects the organization in all ramification. A school without a leader can be liken to a car without a driver. This is because they ensure that everything planned activities of an organization such as a school are followed accordingly so as to achieve the desired goals and objectives.

In Nigeria, teachers and indeed the teaching profession have been relegated to the background. Teachers are no longer accorded the usual respect in the society even from their own students. If the teacher should win back his respect, it is necessary to improve his condition. Ajayi (2018) posited that motivational tools such as teachers’ salaries, allowances, promotion and other benefits need to be paid promptly as that would enhance his productivity which may in turn leads to the transformation of secondary education in Nigeria. In most Nigerian private schools, teachers are over – loaded with subjects and at times forced to teach subjects which they are not qualified. This makes them to under-perform hence the falling standard. In Nigeria, teachers are being looked down upon even in communities where they serve. Gone are the days when the teacher was looked upon as the light bearer of the society and was well respected by the people as a whole. In the 1970’s and 80’s the Nigerian teacher was trained in various fields of human endeavours.

The leadership style of educational leaders goes a long way in determining the job satisfaction of teachers. From experience, some school leaders tend to be very harsh on their teachers making them to be dissatisfied with their job. And when a teacher is not happy with things going on in the school especially as regards to the leadership style, he or she tends to perform below expectation.

School leadership has become a priority in education policy agendas internationally. It plays a key role in improving school outcomes by influencing the motivations and capacities of teachers, as well as the school climate and environment. Effective school leadership is essential to improve the efficiency and equity of schooling.

There are concerns across countries that the role of a school leader as conceived for needs of the past is no longer appropriate. In many countries, principals have heavy workloads; many are reaching retirement and it is getting harder to replace them. Potential candidates often hesitate to apply, because of overburdened roles, insufficient preparation and training, limited career prospects and inadequate support and rewards.

          Over the years, teachers leave teaching job for different careers which many attributed it to the kind of leaders present in the educational system. Many people tent to see teaching profession as a stepping stone to a better job. This has greatly affected the standard of education in the country and Delta state in particular.

It is in the light of the above that this study is carried out to ascertain the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction in public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction in public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Specifically, the study seeks to ascertain:

1. The extent to which school leadership affects the effective delivery of teaching by the primary school teachers in Oshimili South.
2. The extent to which school leadership affects primary school teachers’ motivation to use instructional materials in Oshimili South.

• The extent to which school leadership affects primary school teachers’ standard of living in Oshimili South.

Research Questions

The following questions were raised to help the researcher in carrying out the study:

1. To what extent does school leadership affect the effective delivery of teaching by the primary school teachers in Oshimili South?
2. To what extent does school leadership affect primary school teachers’ motivation to use instructional materials in Oshimili South?

• To what extent does school leadership affect primary school teachers’ motivation to stay on their job in Oshimili South?

Significance of the Study

The study could be of huge importance to students, teachers, school management, the field of Primary Education and researchers as a whole.

The study could help to educate the pupils on the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction which will help them to understand that leadership has a big role to play in ensuring that teachers are happy and doing what they ought to do.

Teachers through this study could get to understand that school leadership affects their job satisfaction which could enable them to spell out those areas that the leadership need to look into so as to motivate them to effectively deliver their lesson using instructional materials.

The findings of the study could help to call the attention of school management on the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction which could enable them look for better ways to encourage the teachers to stay on their job and effectively deliver teaching contents.

Finally, the study could add to the literature in the field of Primary Education which could serve as a reference material to scholars and researchers as whole.

Scope of the Study

This study is carried out to ascertain the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction in public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State ascertain the extent to which school leadership affects teachers’ job satisfaction in public primary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The study is delimited to the extent to which school leadership affects the effective delivery of teaching, by the primary school teachers, motivation to use instructional materials and standard of living.

Pages:  38

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.