Principals' time management in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

AbstractThis study examined principals' time management in secondary school in Ondo State. A total of 500 teachers were sampled from public secondary schools in Ondo State, using multi-stage, and simple random sampling techniques. Data were gathered using self-constructed questionnaire. One research question was raised and answered, while two hypotheses were generated. The hypotheses were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistical method. The research question was subjected to descriptive analysis using mean rating and standard deviation. The study established the skillfulness of principals in allocating time to school administrative activities. The finding showed that principals' time management was adequate and that they spent their time doing worthwhile assignments. The study revealed that students' enrolment and location of schools were not important in time management skills of the principals. This study would add to principals' concept of time as a resource that could be well managed. The principal would be sensitive to work with time, and this would enhance the level of competence and improvement in their administrative task. It was concluded that leadership today should be skillful in the management of time; giving priorities to core administrative duties, and making adequate planning of time. It was recommended that principals should always give priorities to core administrative duties in their time allocation. The principal should always exhibit the skill of time management regardless of the location of their schools and the students' enrolment.Keywords: principal, time management, students' enrolment, school location, time schedule,INTRODUCTIONLeadership in school organizations has received the attention of researchers across ages. The school principal can be described as an intermediary and interpreter of policy, aims and objectives between his school and community, government, and other public and private agencies. The principal occupies a crucial position, therefore his managerial effectiveness is an indicator of the schools' prospects for achieving the educational goals and objectives. School administrators' managerial abilities should reflect on their time management skills. Time management skills are essential for effective people. According to (Manktelow n.d) the heart of time management is concentration on results, not on being busy. Akomolafe (2005) was of the view that the judicious use of time is an asset to school organization. It is very essential to manage the activities while following time management principles and skills. Poor time management is often a symptom of over confidence. The absence of personal time management is characterized by last minute rush to meet deadlines, and meetings are either double booked or achieved nothing (Akomolafe 2005). Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and systems that work together to help get more value out of time with the aim of improving the quality of life. According to Akomolafe (2011) time management is the art of arranging organizing, scheduling, and budgetting one's time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity. Time management can be seen as making use of one's time, so that the person involved can handle all his responsibilities, without giving to the misery of procrastination. Time management could be perceived as the development of a process and tools that helps someone to be more productive and efficient. Thinking about time management is to ensure that objectives are accomplished within a time limit. The review of literature reveals various researches in time management. Cole (1990) stated that time wasting arise from: prolong unnecessary meeting with colleagues, interruption from own staff, colleagues or both, unnecessary memorandum and other paper work, and also time loss due to travelling between jobs. Calabrese (1977) in his study confirmed that school size, location and experience of principals affected their time utilization. …