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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaThe national study on teachers’ voice indicated teachers will only respect and cooperate with <strong>the</strong> headteacher if <strong>the</strong>y think <strong>the</strong> head teacher has been appointed on merit, which many complained was not<strong>the</strong> case (Sherry 2008; see also Dunne et al. 2013). Conversely, when teachers have powerful contacts,head teachers may have little control over <strong>the</strong>m (Williams 2009).11.2.2 Head teachers’ remuneration and motivationAlthough head teachers may receive no extra remuneration for <strong>the</strong> post, some receive a stipend from<strong>the</strong> SUBEB or LGEA in certain states (Williams 2009), and <strong>the</strong>re have been calls in o<strong>the</strong>r states to dolikewise (Dunne et al. 2013). There have also been reports <strong>of</strong> some teachers seeking headships in orderto grant <strong>the</strong>mselves an allowance from PTA funds (Williams 2009). It is not known whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> lowsalary and lack <strong>of</strong> extra income for leadership responsibilities affects head teacher motivation in <strong>the</strong>same way that it affects teacher motivation, although <strong>the</strong> external evaluation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> COMPASSprogramme described <strong>the</strong> head teachers in all <strong>the</strong> schools <strong>the</strong>y visited as ‘lacklustre’ (Holfeld et al.2008).11.2.3 Head teachers’ roles and responsibilitiesThe job <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> head teacher in practice is primarily administrative. An ESSPIN study <strong>of</strong> daily life in 20state primary schools in Kwara, Kaduna and Kano states, which included tracking head teachers, foundthat <strong>the</strong>y spent most time filling in forms, checking teachers’ registers, etc., and were only usually in <strong>the</strong>classroom to check that teachers were present and that <strong>the</strong>ir teaching was factually accurate (Boultonet al. 2009). This focus on bureaucracy and administration ra<strong>the</strong>r than pedagogy has also been noted ino<strong>the</strong>r studies (e.g. Williams 2009; Dunne et al. 2013).That said, <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESA survey <strong>of</strong> head teachers clearly indicated <strong>the</strong> need for improved record-keeping,given <strong>the</strong> internal inconsistencies in some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> data provided (e.g. on school transfers; see Section2.6.1) and <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> record-keeping by some head teachers. Under 80% <strong>of</strong> head teachers kept teacherattendance registers, a similar percentage kept class attendance registers and just over 80% heldadmissions registers (FME 2005). Given that <strong>the</strong>se form <strong>the</strong> basis for national EMIS data this is worrying.Moreover, <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> record-keeping is not known.The allocation <strong>of</strong> teacher responsibilities within <strong>the</strong> school is something head teachers have <strong>the</strong>authority to do, including <strong>the</strong> appointing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> assistant head teacher(s) (Thomas 2011; Dunne et al.2013) (although <strong>the</strong>se positions also come without extra recompense). While <strong>the</strong>re is little research on<strong>the</strong> topic, <strong>the</strong> case-study research in Adamawa and Kogi states suggests a tendency to genderstereotypein duty allocation, with male teachers <strong>of</strong>ten appointed as assistant head teachers and left incharge <strong>of</strong> discipline and school labour whereas female teachers were more likely to be in charge <strong>of</strong>health. This inevitably holds implications for gender equality among teachers and for <strong>the</strong> gendermessages being transmitted to pupils (Bakari 2013; Dunne et al. 2013; see also Section 8.7).11.2.4 Head teachers’ management stylesIn terms <strong>of</strong> head teacher management styles, <strong>the</strong> national teachers’ voice study (Sherry 2008) reportedthat some teachers wanted <strong>the</strong> head teacher to involve <strong>the</strong>m more in decision-making, o<strong>the</strong>rs wantedhead teachers to be less dependent on staff input, and many thought head teachers were too tyrannicaland reported cases <strong>of</strong> bullying and verbal abuse. There were also complaints by some teachers about alack <strong>of</strong> support from head teachers in <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> dissatisfied parents, including stories <strong>of</strong> parentscomplaining about student exam marks resulting in head teachers upgrading failures to passes (Sherry2008). A survey study <strong>of</strong> head teacher leadership styles in all 281 senior secondary schools in Ondo Statefound that over two-thirds <strong>of</strong> teachers (68.4%, including head teachers) thought that <strong>the</strong>ir headteachers adopted a ‘democratic’ leadership style, with a much smaller proportion characterising <strong>the</strong>style as ‘laissez-faire’ and an even smaller proportion characterising it as ‘autocratic’. There were strongEDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 129
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeriacorrelations between perceived teacher competence and performance and autocratic or democraticleadership styles, but not with laissez-faire.11.2.5 Head teachers’ trainingCPD, which head teachers and assistant head teachers can reportedly access, tends to focus onadministration ra<strong>the</strong>r than on how to develop <strong>the</strong> school or support learning (Boulton et al. 2009). In <strong>the</strong>large-scale survey <strong>of</strong> head teachers for <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESA, just under half stated that <strong>the</strong>ir most urgenttraining need was in school management (FME 2005). Only just over a quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> head teacherssurveyed had had any induction for <strong>the</strong> job. Although over 40% had attended some job-relatedworkshop, only 14% had received any management training, 3% had been trained in record-keeping,and only 1.4% in school development and planning. Thirteen percent said <strong>the</strong>y had never received anytraining. Many head teachers reported that as well as boosting morale <strong>the</strong> training had improved <strong>the</strong>ircommunication skills with parents (ibid.).The National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration was established in Ondo, Ondo State,to train those who want a career in educational planning but, according to Arikewuyo (2009), it onlyprovides occasional workshops and seminars ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> lengthier and more thorough training <strong>the</strong>job requires in reality.Head teachers that have had some training have reported feeling more comfortable in <strong>the</strong>ir jobs andgenerally consider <strong>the</strong>mselves to be better appreciated by teachers (Sherry 2008). In addition, headteachers are reportedly <strong>of</strong>ten more aware than teachers that <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> teaching and learning is lowin <strong>the</strong> school, but <strong>the</strong>y only have ‘limited views’ on how to improve matters (Adekola 2007).The recent and continuing decentralisation <strong>of</strong> education, however, underlines <strong>the</strong> need for headteachers to acquire new management and leadership skills (Winkler and Gershberg 2003), which severalstudies have noted are <strong>of</strong>ten lacking (FME 2005; Holfeld et al. 2008; Arikewuyo 2009; Little and Lewis2012; UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013).Various development programmes have included head teacher development training, generally in <strong>the</strong>form <strong>of</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> one-day workshops (e.g. ESSPIN – see ESSPIN, 2013a; COMPASS – see USAID 2009;GEP – see Chege et al. 2008; UNICEF 2012), including on book-keeping, school data collection andmanagement, development <strong>of</strong> SDPs, teacher development and supervision, gender-awareness andinclusion, and working with communities. However, in ESSPIN’s mid-term <strong>review</strong> (ESSPIN 2013a), headteacher effectiveness was adjudged to have been one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> least successful elements <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>programme to date. Despite having access to up to 16 days <strong>of</strong> training on academic leadership, only 24%<strong>of</strong> Phase 1 head teachers satisfied five out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> seven criteria <strong>of</strong> assessment, to be deemed ‘effective’,although this was better than <strong>the</strong> figure for head teachers in control schools (11%). Only 24% <strong>of</strong> Phase Ischools managed to produce an up-to-date cashbook, although again that was considerably better than<strong>the</strong> 15% <strong>of</strong> control schools. Similarly, <strong>the</strong> GEP I evaluation noted that, despite training, head teacherswere still struggling to keep accurate and accessible accounts and enrolment data (Chege et al. 2008).11.3 School development plansSDPs have become an integral part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> decentralised school improvement drive and fall under <strong>the</strong>head teacher’s responsibility, <strong>of</strong>ten being developed toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong> SBMC (<strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong> head teacheris a member). Funding in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> small grants from government and/or IDPs is usually attached to<strong>the</strong> SDP in order to carry out development activities.One major positive effect <strong>of</strong> head teacher involvement in SDPs appears to be on motivation: headteachers reported feeling motivated and empowered to effect change at school through <strong>the</strong> grant andSDP system and to move beyond being merely administrators (Boulton et al. 2009). Similarly, GEP-EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 130
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