TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION
2.2 COMMUNICATION AND THE ROLE OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
2.3 COMMUNICATION AND VISION OF LEARNING
2.4 COMMUNICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL CULTURE
2.5 COMMUNICATION ON THE PROMOTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS CONDUCIVE TO STUDENT’S LEARNING
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 STUDY POPULATION
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.5 DATA FOR THE STUDY: INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.1 INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.2 VALIDITY OF INSTRUMENT
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS (QUESTIONNAIRE)
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Skillful communication has been broadly accepted as an important leadership attribute across disciplines. Scholars have focused much attention on the study and practice of communication skills in fields, such as business, medicine, and social services (Aspegren, 1999; Goby & Lewis, 2000; Makoul, 2001). McEwan’s (2003) research identified the role of communicator as the number one most important element of highly effective principals.
However, more study is needed in the area of communication skills specifically for school leaders (National Association of Secondary School Principals & National Association of Elementary School Principals, 2013).
School administration today manage people, data, and processes.
Principals are tasked with setting goals and motivating constituents to meet these goals. The quality of personnel, teachers, and principals has a significant impact on student test scores (Cullen, Levitt, Robertson, & Sadoff, 2013). According to a 2005 study by Marzano, Waters, and McNulty the quality and performance of a school’s teachers and principals accounted for nearly 60% of the school’s total impact on student achievement. The principal’s impact is of significance due to the actions that they take to hire teachers, create the school-wide conditions that support student learning, and directly influence teacher effectiveness.
For schools to be effective a high level of satisfaction must exist among all the players of the school. Faculty and staff must have a role in the decision making process in the school. Students must believe in the faculty and feel good about what the school is doing. No change or improvement can take place without the teacher. The principal who does not organize and use his/her staff will truly be lonely and unsuccessful. These people have skills and knowledge in specific subject areas as well as a basic need to be a part of something. It is a mistake when the principal does not cultivate these individuals to assist in planning (Brown, 1985).
According to Beck and Murphy (1993), “Principals were assumed to be more like business executive, using good management and social science research to run schools effectively and efficiently.” Cordeiro (1994) claims that most research on the principal ship has not captured the themes which bind successful principals together with their schools; however, she encourages principals to be generalists, developing their abilities to collaboratively distribute and coordinate leadership opportunities. Strengthening aspiring principals’ conflict resolution skills, face-to-face communication skills, as well as the emotional demands of the principalship are key issues in effective and successful school principal (Anderson, 1991).
A profile of an effective principal can be created by considering his or her role in human relations. Effective principals recognize the unique styles and needs of teachers and help them achieve their own performance goals. They encourage and acknowledge good work by teachers (Murphy, 1983).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The effective school models focus on shared visions and goals, effective communication, high expectations of all learners, accountability, learning communities, and a stimulating and secure learning environment. Lack of effective communication between the school leader and the other participants, including teachers, students, and parents, impedes the school’s performance. According to Patrick and Frankel (2004), communication encompasses more than speaking. It is also written communication as well as communicating with behavior. The personal communication skills of the school leaders, including verbal and non-verbal ones, open door policies, and regular meetings, can pave the road to effective communication with the other participants. Much has been studied about the diverse channels of communication that school leaders use with teachers to share objectives, visions, and goals at school.
Today’s school administrators (e.g principals) face heavy workloads that require working at a rapid pace that is both hectic and taxing. “On average, elementary school principals work fifty-one hours a week [and] high school principals average about fifty-three hours a week.” (Lunenburg, 2010). Principals are also facing increased responsibilities for instructional and community leadership roles. Moreover, Mendels (2012) believes that today’s principals need to be focused on instruction and not building management.
Managing this overwhelming list of demands requires building principals to have exceptional oral communication skills (Tobin, 2014). They spend upwards of 70–80% of their time in interpersonal communication, most of which is face-to-face and by telephone (Tobin, 2014).
Add to this the volume of daily e-mail communication and this role becomes even more complex (Lunenburg, 2010).
Teaching and leading in a school with at least half the student population living in poverty increases this challenge where the element of home support for students has often been eliminated from the equation (Payne, 2005).
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the usage of effective communication for a successful school administration in an information age. The specific objectives include the following:
1. To ascertain how the vision of learning be shaped by the effective communication of a school administration.
2. To investigate what role does the effective communication of the school leader play in developing school culture
3. To find out what tools of effective communication used by leaders promote instructional programs conducive to student’s learning
4. To determine how can effective communication of the school leader promote the professional growth of the staff members.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The relevant research questions related to this study include the following:
1. How can the vision of learning be shaped by the effective communication of a school leader?
2. What role does the effective communication of the school leader play in developing school culture?
3. What tools of effective communication used by leaders promote instructional programs conducive to student’s learning?