MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS FOR THE REALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES IN ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The study examined the management strategies of secondary school principals for the realization of educational objectives in Enugu State. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses, tested at a significance level of 0.05. Employing a descriptive survey research design, the researcher targeted a population of 8,816 respondents, comprising 295 principals and 8,521 teachers across 295 public secondary schools in Enugu State. A sample size of 1,147 was selected, with the researcher opting to include all 295 principals for manageability. However, a stratified, proportionate random sampling method was utilized to select 10% of the teacher population, drawing from various educational zones. The instrument for data collection was a researcher structured questionnaire titled “Management Strategies of Secondary School Principals for the Realization of Educational Objectives Questionnaire (MSSSPREOQ)”. The instrument was validated by three experts. Cronbach alpha method was used to compute the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded .80 for cluster A and .82 for cluster B with an overall reliability index of .81 which indicates that the instrument was reliable and therefore, considered appropriate for use. The research questions were answered using mean with standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistic. The findings revealed that principals employed instructional leadership and staff personnel management strategies in achieving the educational objectives in Enugu State to a great extent. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that it is advisable to continue fostering professional development opportunities for principals to enhance these skills further. Additionally, establishing collaborative platforms for sharing best practices among principals can amplify the effectiveness of these strategies across educational institutions in Enugu State.