LEADING PREDICTOR OF SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IN NIGER STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA

Abstract

In educational leadership, management skill, personal skill, social skills and characteristics were classified amongst the leadership attributes determining the effectiveness of secondary schools. Despite their important in the discipline, there was less substantial study regarding to these predictors in Niger state secondary schools. The study is aimed at finding out the leading predictor of school effectiveness among the variables of leadership attributes in the context of Nigeria. Therefore, researcher investigated how the teachers (senior and assistant senior masters) perceived the most predicting variable among the predictors (management skills, personal skills, social skills and characteristics) of school effectiveness in Niger state senior secondary schools, Nigeria. Sample of 272 respondents from the teachers (senior and assistant senior masters), was selected randomly from the total population of 460 in the senior secondary schools of Niger state. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher from the exiting developed instruments; such instruments are School Effectiveness Index (SEI) and Leader. Attributes Inventory (LAI). School Effectiveness Index (SEI) was used to measured school effectiveness while Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI) was used to measure the dimensions of leadership attributes (Predictors of school effectiveness).The analysis of the data revealed that social skills and characteristics is the leading predictor among the predictors of school effectiveness in Niger state secondary schools with (β = .340, P = .000).Therefore, in other to improve on the other predictors (personal skills and management skills) in Niger state secondary schools; it is necessary to develop a standard, organized and sensible package for refining their predicting effects by looking at the items that were measured in the questionnaire, thus may eventually improve the level of school of effectiveness in Niger state secondary schools.