Principals’ Conflict Management Skills as Predictors of Teachers’ Job Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State

Abstract

The study examined principals’ conflict management skills as predictors of teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study was a correlational research design. The population of the study was 267 principals in the 267 public secondary schools from the six Education Zones in Anambra State. The entire population of 267 principals was used for the used. Census sampling technique was used for the study because the population was small and manageable by the researcher. Two researcher-structured instruments were used for data collection: Conflict Management Skills Questionnaire (CMSQ) and Teachers’ Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ). The instruments were subjected to face and construct validation. Face validation was done by three experts, while construct validation was carried out by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) approach. The reliability of the instrument was done using Cronbach Alpha method and the average coefficient values 0.82 for CMSQ and 0.85 for TJPQ were obtained and considered highly reliable and suitable for the study. Simple linear regression statistical tool was used to answer the research questions and test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that principals’ conflict management skills are positive and significant predictors of teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that the school principals should develop the habit of being a good and active listener in order to build trust, reduce misunderstanding and improve their relationships with their staff in schools for improved teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State.