EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES OF PRINCIPALS IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

The future of a country depends on the quality of education given to its citizens, because, education assures the future of the society and provides continuity. For this reason, educational managers responsible for educational institutions have important responsibilities in ensuring quality outputs. This is so because educational system is in continuous interaction with social, political, cultural and economic systems which surround it. The emphasis by the public nowadays according to Wayne and Miskel (2008) is on efficiency, academic achievement and employment skills which require effective leadership from the principal. Ukeje (1991) argued that Nigeria is reaching a period where teaching is fast becoming the last hope for the hopeless, that is a profession for those who have nothing else better to do. This posses a challenge for dynamic instructional leadership in Nigerian secondary schools where the head is expected to create a conducive atmosphere that will give both staff and students hope and encouragement.

Leadership has been identified by researchers as a crucial factor in instructional effectiveness. It is a major factor in determining the success and progress of an institution. It is the key to success in every organization because it can either influence the climate of the school positively or negatively. Without effective leadership, even an institution full of talented teachers will surely drift without purpose. It is therefore the key to achieving collective excellence. It is the leader who most greatly affects the organisational climate and provides direction, motivation and inspiration for the school.

In other words, the success of any institution depends largely on the ability of the leader to maintain a conducive environment for the development of its members. Instructional leadership differs from that of a school administrator or manager. Principals who pride themselves as administrators are too preoccupied in dealing with strictly administrative duties compared to those who are instructional leaders (Brookover and Lezotte 1982). It is through instructional leadership that the principal can ensure that standards are not only maintained, but also improved upon to achieve expected objectives. This requires that a leader must have mission and vision to effectively utilize both human and material resources to achieve the expected goals.

Based on this reasoning, the principal who is regarded as the instructional leader must come to grips with the proper management of all affairs related to academic activities, so as to promote teaching and learning in the school. The principal is the person responsible for managing the instructional activities of the secondary school in Nigeria with the resources available at his disposal to ensure the achievement of secondary school educational goals and objectives. He is the chief executive and responsible for all that happens in his school. This is to say that the principal is the key person responsible for creating conducive school climate and learning environment that encourage the professional development of teachers and academic performance of students. He sets clear goals, allocates resources, manages curriculum, monitors lessons, evaluates teachers, organizes and implements plans, policies and programmes meant to achieve school objective (Fagbamiye 2004). His role is both complex and demanding that, it is by his action or inaction that the educational goals have to be judged (Udoh and Akpa 1990). It is therefore, expected that the principal as the school instructional leader will engage in a variety of effective instructional leadership practices that are concerned with the elements of the instructional processes.

EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES OF PRINCIPALS IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS