Strategies for Effective Coordinating and Stimulating of Staff in Secondary School Management

SA’ADATU BELLO
Department of Educational Foundations
Federal College of Education, Yola
ABSTRACT
There were two challenges to the management of secondary schools the Northern Senatorial Zone of Adamawa State which the paper identified. They are coordinating activities and stimulating staff for optimum performance. Two purposes of the study were outlined. Two research questions were formulated to guide the study. The area of the study was the Northern Senatorial Zone of Adamawa. The Zone comprised 5 Local Government Areas, namely, Mubi North, Mubi South, Maiha, Michika and Madagali. A structured questionnaire, developed by the researcher and validated by 3 experts in educational management, was pilot tested on 22 respondents using the test re-test method of estimating reliability. The two tests were separated by a space of 2 weeks. The two results were correlated and the Pearson r was 0.87. The instrument was then administered on a sample of 474 respondents, made up of 302 teachers and 172 administrators. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study has found that regular supervision of staff and students, as well as workshops and laboratories, participation of staff in policy and decision-making, creating a line structure and promoting communication are methods or strategies for coordinating school activities. The study also found that coordination among various units in the school is also a vital strategy for effective public school management. Other findings of the study are that delegation of responsibility, promotion of staff; prompt staff development and appreciation of skills and abilities are methods for stimulating staff towards optimum performance. Yet other methods are award for excellence, guiding teachers and involvement of staff in decision making for greater performance. To enhance school administrators’ management skills, the study recommended among others, government needs to provide a conducive school environment so that administrators can functionally utilize their knowledge and skills. Government needs to train administrators in order for them to improve their management skills and knowledge. The society needs to support the administrators especially in the area of enforcement of discipline in schools. Teachers need to stand by the administrators, for together, they are able to achieve, to a large extent, the aims of the schools.