Influence of School Management Practices on Teachers’ Attrition in Private Secondary Schools in Rivers State

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of school management practices on teacher attrition in private secondary schools in Rivers State. Four objectives, four research questions and four corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 3021 teachers which comprised 1427 male teachers and 1594 female teachers. The sample size consisted 353 teachers comprising 186 female and 167 male teachers. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamene’s formular. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample of the study. The Instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled, “Influence of School Management Practices on Teachers’ Attrition Questionnaire (ISMPTAQ). The instrument was face and content validated by the researcher supervisor and two other experts in Measurement and Evaluation. The internal consistency of the instrument was determined using the Cronbach Alpha Statistics. A composite reliability coefficient of 0.88 was obtained which showed that the instrument was reliable. Data gathered were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions and z-test for the hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed among others that recruitment strategies, leadership style, support for professional development and working environment influence teachers’ attrition to a high extent. Both female and male teachers had similar views that these elements of school management influenced teacher attrition to a high extent. Based on the findings, it was recommended that, school leaders such as principals in private schools should adopt effective recruitment strategies, leadership styles, support teachers’ professional development and provide positive working environment to avoid teachers’ attrition in private secondary schools in Rivers State.