PRINCIPALS’ EMOTIONAL REGULATION AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AS PREDICTORS OF ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined principals’ emotional regulation and social support as predictors of their administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study answered two research questions, and tested two hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted correlational research design. The population and sample comprised all the 267 principals in the 267 public secondary schools in Anambra State. Two researcher-structured questionnaires titled “Emotional Regulation and Social Support Questionnaire (ERSSQ) and Principals’ Administrative Effectiveness Questionnaire (PAEQ)” were used for data collection, after the face and content validation were determined. Cronbach Alpha was used to compute the collected data gotten through pilot test, and yielded reliability coefficients of 0.96 and 0.78 for clusters C and E were, respectively, while reliability coefficient of PAEQ was 0.88. The researcher administered copies of the questionnaires directly on the respondents with the help of five research assistants. Simple linear regression analysis ® was used to answer the research questions, while R was used to determine the extent of the prediction between the independent variables (principals’ emotional regulation and social support) and the dependent variable (principals’ administrative effectiveness) in the study. Findings, among others revealed that emotional regulation, and social support significantly predict their administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State. This implies that principals who actively apply emotional regulatory and social support strategies are more likely to maintain high levels of administrative effectiveness in public secondary schools in Anambra State. It was recommended that PPSSC should integrated emotional regulation skills in their leadership training modules for school administrators, as principals who can manage their emotions are better equipped to resolve conflicts, maintain positive staff relationships, and create a healthy school climate.