PRINCIPALS' PATH-GOAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES AS PREDICTORS OF TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

The study determined principals’ path-goal leadership practices as predictors of teachers’ job satisfaction in public secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 15,321 teachers (9,543 females and 5,778 males) in the 296 public secondary schools in Enugu State. The sample for this study consisted of 767 teachers (289 males and 478 females) drawn using a proportionate stratified sampling technique. Two sets of instruments titled ‘‘Path-goal Leadership Practices Questionnaire (PGLPQ)’’ and ‘‘Teachers’ Job Satisfaction Scale (TJSS)’’ were used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts, two from the Department of Educational Management and Policy, and one from the Department of Educational Foundations in the Measurement and Evaluation Unit, Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Cronbach's alpha was used for a test of internal consistency of the instruments, which yielded overall coefficients of 0.80 for PGLPQ and 0.77 for TJSS, respectively. The researchers, together with five research assistants, collected data for the study using the direct approach method and a 98% return was recorded. Simple regression was used to answer the research questions and test hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed, among others, that principals’ path-goal leadership practices are a strong and significant predictor of teachers’ job satisfaction in public secondary schools in Enugu State. It was also found that principals’ path-goal leadership practices are a strong and significant predictor of teachers’ job satisfaction in public secondary schools in Enugu State. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that Enugu State Post Primary School Management Board should organize periodic workshops, seminars and other forms of training sessions that focused on path-goal leadership practices for principals to further refine their skills and knowledge for continuous improvement of teachers’ job satisfaction.