HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES BY PRINCIPALS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated human resource practices by principals in secondary schools in Anambra State. It adopted a descriptive survey design.  The study was guided by two research questions. The population of the study comprised 350 respondents, consisting of 262 teachers and 88 principals. The instrument for the study was a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers titled:  “Human Resource Practices Questionnaire” (HRPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts, from the department of Educational Foundations in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha procedure and internal consistency reliability co-efficient of 0.75 was obtained.   The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. The results of the data analysis revealed that ascertaining the staff need of the school, welfare of the staff, good communication with the staff, choosing of qualified staff, placement and training of staff in relevant skills, encouraging staff participation, motivation of staff are some of human resource practices by principals in secondary schools in Anambra State. Again the study identified challenges principals encounter in human resource practices which include low staff strength, distortion in communication, staff work overload.  Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that school principals should always make use of adequate human resource practices to ensure that the desired school goals are achieved.