CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to Study
The quality of Educational outcome is the product of effective and efficient utilization of human, material, financial and time resources. Of these, the contribution of the human resources particularly the principals and teachers cannot be overemphasized. The Principals and teachers are the active agents of production who utilize the other resources and skills in a manner that can produce the desired results. The attitude of Principals towards their teaching staff was well articulated by the Federal Government in the National Policy of Education(2004) which states that ‘The success of any system of education is hinged on proper planning, efficient administration. Administration is a function of organization and structure, proprietorship and control, inspection and supervision.’ For teachers the policy also states that ‘teachers are the main determinants of the quality of education.’ Furthermore, UNESCO (2000) was categorical in stating that, improving the quality of education depends first, on improving the quality of educational administrators and, also improving the status and work conditions of teachers.
Nigeria’s educational system is presently undergoing various reforms. Among the reforms is the introduction of Universal Basic Education which shall be of nine-year duration comprising six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary education. It also includes adult and non-formal education programmes at primary and junior secondary levels for the adults and out of school youths (FGN 2004). The reform aims at providing free and compulsory education for all Nigerian children. This reform initiative no doubt requires significant capacity development on the part of all education stakeholders. It requires high levels of motivation and commitment on the parts of individual to solving the often complex problem associated with the implementation. In Education, any discussion on reforms of teaching and learning focuses attention on school principals who as leaders of schools are responsible for ensuring effective learning culture in the schools.
The importance of the role of principals on the school organization cannot
therefore be over looked. Principals are very unique is school organizations. This was confirmed by Amoloye (2004). He called them school managers. The job of managing according to him, involves amongst other things, the provision of leadership for men and women, coordinating both human and material resources to ensure the achievement of organizational goals. In the school system, the principal as an administrator influences his teachers to achieve the goals and objectives of the school and also to provide job satisfaction. The fundamental goal of the school is to enhance the teaching and learning process. Hence, the school Principal should endeavor to influence the behavior of the
teachers in order to achieve the goals of the school.