PRINCIPALS’ MANAGERIAL SKILLS AS PREDICTORS OF TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated principals’ managerial skills as predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 8,187 teachers in the 269 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample for this study consisted of 796 teachers drawn using a multistage sampling procedure. Two sets of instruments titled ‘‘Principals’ Managerial Skills Scale (PMSS) and ‘‘Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES)’’ were used for data collection. The instruments were validated by three experts, two from the Department of Educational Management and Policy, and one from the Department of Educational Foundations in the Measurement and Evaluation Unit, Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Cronbach's alpha was used for a test of internal consistency of the instruments, which yielded overall coefficients of 0.81 for PMSSQ and 0.84 for TJES, respectively. The researcher, together with five research assistants, collected data for the study using the direct approach method and a 98% return was recorded. Data were analyzed using simple regression to answer the research questions and test hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed, among others, that principals’ human skills and technical skills are strong and significant predictors of teachers’ job self-efficacy in public secondary schools in Anambra State. It was also found that principals’ conceptual skills are moderate and significant predictors of teachers’ job self-efficacy in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that principals should prioritize continuous learning from experts to keep them informed about the progressive trends in the use of technical skills to foster teachers’ self-efficacy.