IMPACT OF DIVISION OF LABOUR AND HIERARCHY OF AUTHORITY AS A BUREAUCRATIC PRINCIPLES ON PRINCIPALS’ ROLE PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study examined the impact of division of labour and hierarchy of authority on principals’ role performance in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. 2 research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive design was adopted. Population of the study consisted of 275 principals of public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The sample size consisted of 153 principals in public secondary schools in Rivers State. A 13 self-constructed questionnaire instrument tagged Impact of division of Labour and Hierarchy of Authorityon Principals Role Performance Questionnaire (IDLHAPRPQ) was used for data collection. The reliability coefficients of 0.71 and 0.79 were determined using Cronbach alpha. The Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while z- test statistics were used in testing the hypotheses. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female principals in the ways hierarchy of authority affect principals role performance and also, there is a significant difference in the mean scores of experienced and less experienced principals in the ways division of labour affects principals’ role performance in secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study concluded that when principals are given full liberty to manage the affairs of their schools, they will be able to initiate better ideas and innovations that will bring about effective administration. The researcher therefore recommended amongst others that organisational structure of schools in Rivers State should be restructured in a way that the principals will be given more opportunities to initiate their roles in secondary schools.