Principals’ Financial Management Practices as Correlates of Administrative Effectiveness in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State

Abstract

The study examined principals’ financial management practices as correlates of administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study was a correlational research design. The population of the study consist 8,187 teachers comprising 1,500 males and 6,687 females in 269 public secondary schools in the six education zones in Anambra State. The sample of 819 teachers was used for the study. Multistage sampling techniques comprising proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used for the study. Two instruments were used for data collection: Principals’ Financial Management Practices Questionnaire (PFMPQ) and Principals’ Administrative Effectiveness Questionnaire (PAEQ). The face validation was done using three experts. The reliability of the instrument was done using Cronbach Alpha technique and the average coefficients were established at 0.80 for PFMPQ and 0.87 for PAEQ. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistical tool was used to answer the research questions and test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that principals’ cash budgeting and cash control practices have positive and significant relationship with principals’ administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The study concluded that school principals adopt financial management practices to enhance administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Education should encourage and mandate all secondary school principals to undergo compulsory training programme on budgeting practices in order to up-date their skills and knowledge on modern trends of school budgeting for effective administration of public secondary schools in Anambra State.