COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

This study was carried out to determine the principal communication strategies and how it influences teacher’s job performance in some selected public secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Ex-post facto research design was employed. Proportional sampling technique was adopted to select one hundred and five (105) secondary school teachers and principals comprising of both males and females from ten secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area, of Edo State. Four research questions presented in a 4 point scale guided the study. A well structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Face content validity was done by the research supervisor and the reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.92 after the reliability test. Data were presented in tables as mean and standard deviation. The results obtained showed an average mean greater than 2.50 for all variables in response to the research questions. The communication strategies adopted by principals in secondary schools is through the use of reminders circular letters, notice boards, suggestion box, electronic media etc. Principal’s communication strategy has both positive and negative influence on teacher’s job performance. Mistrust, lack of delegation of authority by the principals, inappropriate setting of the message due to the existence of numerous intermediaries and emotional state of the communicator were identified as factors affecting communication. The study conclude that effective communication in schools can be enhanced through the maintenance of free flow of information, adoption of open door policy by the principals and holding of regular staff meetings to iron out issues or problems that may impede communication system in schools.