TIME MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AS CORRELATE TO SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS’ EFFECTIVENESS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate Time Management practices as Correlate to School Administrators‟ Effectiveness in Secondary Schools in the South West Region of Cameroon.
Five of planning for school meetings and administrative effectiveness, the relationship between planning timetables and administrative effectiveness, the relationship between assigning
responsibilities and administrative effectiveness, the relationship between management strategy and administrative effectiveness and the relationship between pedagogic supervision and administrative effectiveness. Five research questions as well as five research hypotheses were formulated from the research objectives. Four theories will guide the study- the pickle jar theory, goal setting theory, maslow hierarchy of need theory and the performance theory. The descriptive survey research design will be used for the study that will give the study the
opportunity to use both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population will constitute 170 secondary Schools in Fako, Meme and Manyu division in the South West Region of
Cameroon. Both the stratified and purposive sampling technique will be used for the study. 170 questionnaire will be delivered by the researcher and collected. Data obtained will be analyzed using frequencies, percentages and tables. The spearman rank correlation coefficient will be used to test hypotheses. To prove authenticity, ethical considerations will be taken into account and in this regard a research authorization will be obtained from the Faculty of Education, University of Buea whereby the Vice Dean in charge of research will draft a letter introducing the researcher to the principals of the schools under studies.

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Introduction

The efficient and effective management of any organisation lies in the ability of the top management to put in place time management measures that would ensure constant administrative effectiveness and a comfortable working relationship between management and the followers. According to Nwabueze (2016), time is the most crucial resource to be considered in the performance of any activity. Similarly, Adeoji (2016) opined that time determines the imperativeness of any other resources in accomplishing organisational objectives and goals. This is to say that time is an indispensible resource that every manager needs to have and effectively manage to achieve the goals and objectives of an organisation.
Previous studies have been able to show the connection between principals‟ time management and school outcomes as well as the challenges they face in the use of time. For instance, Grissom, Leob, and Mitani, (2013) in their study stated that there is a relationship between principals‟ time use and school outcomes and they recommended that principals should properly manage their time. Similarly, Hallinger and Murphy (2013) in their study pointed out that finding time to perform multifarious tasks is one of the greatest challenges of leadership for school improvement in the principals‟ job. This is to say that effective time management constitute a huge challenge to educational administrators (principals) and time
management have been seen in other studies to contribute to school improvement. However, little have been done concerning identifying the time management practices used by principals, the functions that use most of their time and challenges they face in effectively manage their time.

Searching for a broader understanding of school leadership practice and the connection between leadership practice and school improvement, several recent studies in other different contexts have focused on how principals allocate their time within the work day (Camburn, Spillane & Sebastian 2010; Grissom et al., 2013). With the several functions and roles of a principal as listed in (Decree No 80/293 art 6) which are; administrative, financial and pedagogic roles, ensures the application of time tables, syllabuses, and school legislation, supervision, presides over meetings, sign and certifies all outgoing documents and many others. , it therefore becomes imperative for principals to adopt effective time management practices.

This is so because the timely discharge of administrative tasks and responsibilities is of great concern to administrators and managers in various sectors of the economy including the education sector. Time has been argued to be a scarce resource and principals must make decisions about how to allocate their time in their competing job demands Akinyemi & Ajayi (2020). In support of this, Khan, Khan, Din and Khan (2016) in their study opined that time is one of the resources that an administrator needs to achieve proficiently in order to attain organizational goals. The outcome of a school is one of the indicators that characterized an effective school. Therefore, the connection between time management practices and administrative effectiveness motivates the present study. Time management and its relationship to administrative effectiveness have largely been ignored in school leadership research within the school context. Lack of time has always been used as an excuse by educational administrators for not meeting their expected targets Akua (2016). Therefore, this study aims at investigating time management practices as correlate to school administrators‟ effectiveness in secondary schools in the South West Region of Cameroon.

The study will be organized into five chapters. The first chapter will consist of the background to the study, statement of problem, research objectives, questions and hypotheses, justification of the study, significance of the study, delimitation of the study, operational definition of key terms and chapter summary.

Background to the Study