RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPALS’ WORK ENVIRONMENT, AUTONOMY AND SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AND THEIR ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between principals’ work environment, autonomy and school-community partnership and their administrative effectiveness in secondary schools in South-East Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study while three null hypotheses were formulated. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population of the study comprised all the 1,015 public secondary school principals in South East Nigeria. A sample size of 751 principals was selected for the study using the purposive sampling technique. The purposive sampling technique was considered appropriate because the study required respondents with specific characteristics and relevant administrative experience. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part was titled “Principals’ Work Environment, Autonomy and School-Community Partnership Questionnaire (PWASCPQ)”, while the second part was titled “Principals’ Administrative Effectiveness Questionnaire (PAEQ)”. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by three experts, two from the Department of Educational Management and Policy and one expert from the Department of Educational Foundation, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka The reliability of the instruments was established using Cronbach Alpha Coefficient to determine their internal consistency and an overall reliability coefficient value of 0.82 was obtained for the three clusters of PWASCPQ respectively. In addition, a reliability coefficient value of 0.82 was obtained for PAEQ. The data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to answer the research questions. Simple linear regression analysis was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The finding revealed that a weak positive and significant relationship exists between principals' work environment and their administrative effectiveness in secondary schools in South East Nigeria. Additionally, a moderate positive and significant relationship was found between principals' autonomy and their administrative effectiveness in the same context. Based on the findings, it was recommended amongst others that principals, Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), and community leaders should work collaboratively to establish clearly defined roles and expectations.