Leadership Styles of Social Studies Teachers and Academic Achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Social Studies in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State Nigeria

Edward Ogar Odey,Esther Edward Odey

doi:10.4314/gjedr.v20i2.1

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine leadership styles of Social Studies teachers and academic achievement of junior secondary school students in Social Studies in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State-Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. The simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the six public secondary schools used for the study. A sample of two hundred junior secondary school three students (JSS 3) was drawn from the population and used for the study. Three research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Data were collected using two researcher made instruments tagged “Social Studies Teachers Leadership Styles Questionnaire (STLSQ) and Social Studies Achievement Test (SOSAT) The Data Collected was analysed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Fisher Least Square Difference (SLD) was used in the multiple comparism. The findings of the study revealed significant differences in the academic achievement of students based on their teachers’ leadership styles. Students taught by teachers with autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles had a lower LSD value compared to students taught by teachers with democratic leadership styles. Students taught by teachers with democratic styles performed academically higher than those taught by teachers with either autocratic or laissez-faire leadership styles. Based on this, it was recommended amongst other things that Social Studies teachers imbibe more of democratic rather than autocratic or laissez faire leadership styles in their classroom and that educational administrator should organize workshop and seminars for teachers on proper classroom management.

Highlights

There is no gainsaying the fact that the ultimate realization of the aims and objectives of education is a function of teachers’ variables
Behaviours displayed by teachers in the classroom environment during the communication process in teaching activities show their classroom leadership styles (Odey and Odey, 2019)
According to Paun (1999), studies conducted in the field of classroom management present the teacher authoritative, democratic and Laissezfaire leadership styles

Summary

Introduction

There is no gainsaying the fact that the ultimate realization of the aims and objectives of education is a function of teachers’ variables. Teachers are classroom leaders and may apply different classroom leadership styles (Ekici, 2004).leadership style(s) in the classroom cannot be overemphasized in teaching and learning It goes a long way in determining performance of both the teachers who is the boss, director, manager administrator and organizer (Amadikwe, 1991). It is important to keep rules to a minimum and liberalizing them as students become more independent and responsible over time Developing these personal qualities and using research-based principles for managing the classroom will set the stage for student socialization and will go a long way toward minimizing the need for disciplinary interventions. Social Studies teaching require teachers who can create and implement various creative curriculum plans that actively involve students in the learning process. Arising from the above, the researcher sought to find out the differences that may exist in junior secondary school Social Studies academic achievement based on the their teachers’ leadership styles

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion