PRINCIPALS’ PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND WORK EXPERIENCE AS PREDICTORS OF TEACHERS’ CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study examined principals’ personnel management strategy and work experience as predictors of teachers’ conflict management in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted correlational research design. The population of the study was 6,598 teachers which comprised 1,103 males and 5,495 females in the 267 public secondary schools from the six education zones in Anambra State. The sample of 660 teachers was used for the study. Multistage sampling procedure comprising proportionate stratified and simple random sampling technique was used for the study. Three researcher-developed instruments were used for data collection: Principals’ Personnel Management Strategy Questionnaire (PPMSQ), Principals’ Work Experience Scale (PWES) and Teachers’ Conflict Management Questionnaire (TCMQ). The instruments were subjected to face and construct validation. The data obtained were subjected to test for internal consistency using Cronbach Alpha which yielded coefficients at 0.81 for PPMSQ, 0.77 for PWEQ, 0.78 for TCMQ. Simple linear regression statistical tool was used for the study. The findings of the study revealed that personnel management strategy (r=0.707, p=0.000) and work experience (r=0.715, p=0.000) positively and significantly predicted teachers’ conflict management in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The study concluded that principals’ good practices of personnel management strategy and professionalism through work experience is positively and significantly effective in managing teachers’ conflict in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others principals should be encouraged to gain more experiences in their work and managing conflict and also, develop their skills through professional development programmes, because it builds their capacity and creativity and make them to be more resourcefulness.