IN-SERVICE TRAINING AS DETERMINANT OF PRINCIPALS’ PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION EFFECTIVENESS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OBOLLO AFOR EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined in-service training as determinant of principals’ personnel administration effectiveness in public secondary schools in Obollo Afor education zone of Enugu State Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Population for the study was 1,562 principals and teachers elicited from all the public secondary schools in Obollo Afor Education Zone of Enugu State. 20% of the population was used to get the sample of 312, made up of 17 principals and 295 teachers. An 18-item instrument titled in-service training as determinant of principals’ personnel administrative effectiveness questionnaire (ITDOPE) was used to collect data. The instrument was validated by three experts, two from Educational Management department and one from Measurement and Evaluation department, all from the Faculty of Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Agbani. Reliability co- efficient of .92 and .86, for clusters A and B and overall reliability of .89 were obtained. Data generated was analyzed using mean rating and standard deviation, while t- test was used to test hypotheses. Findings indicated that delegating authority and responsibilities to staff demonstrates principals’ leadership effectiveness. Also, the study finding revealed that keeping every staff informed on matters affecting them is an indication of secondary school principals’ effective personnel administration in Obollo Afor Education Zone of Enugu State. Among the recommendations was that the ministry of education in Enugu State through post primary school management board (PPSMB) should organize and encourage principals to undergo in-service training in order to update their knowledge in school personnel management for effective educational administration and the achievement of educational goals in the State.