Collaborative Leadership and Administrative Effectiveness of Principals in Public Senior Secondary Schools in Rivers State

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between collaborative leadership and administrative effectiveness of principals in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Ten research questions and ten corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. The study was anchored on the Transformational Leadership Theory, and Path–Goal Theory. A correlational survey research design was adopted. The population comprised 5,676 teachers in 367 public senior secondary schools across the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State. A sample of 361 respondents was selected using proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using self-structured questionnaires titled “Collaborative Leadership Questionnaire” and “Administrative Effectiveness of Principals in Senior Secondary Schools Questionnaire.” The instrument was validated by experts and its reliability was established using the test-retest method, yielding reliability coefficients of 0.91 and 0.79. Data were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using t-transformation at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed positive and statistically significant relationships between collaborative leadership and all ten dimensions of administrative effectiveness. All ten null hypotheses were rejected because the calculated t-values, ranging from 22.92 to 31.02, exceeded the critical value of ±1.96. The strongest relationship was between collaborative leadership and innovation management (r = .856), while the weakest was between collaborative leadership and time management (r = .774). The study concluded that collaborative leadership is significantly and positively associated with the administrative effectiveness of principals in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. It therefore recommended, among other measures, that principals should strengthen participatory decision-making, involve teachers in resource management effectiveness and policy implementation to enhance school administration