Emotional Intelligence And Locus Of Control As Predictors Of Teachers’ Instructional Leadership

Recently, the reports of poor academic achievement of students especially in secondary schools have raised more attention and greater concerns among stakeholders in Nigerian education. Academic achievement or academic performance is the outcome of education, that is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals (Ward, Stoker, & Murray-Ward, 2000). Academic achievement is commonly measured by continuous assessment or examination but there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most important, whether procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts (Stumm, Hell, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2011). Irrespective of the method of academic measurement, Isangedighi (1999) observed that indiscipline, drug addiction, poor socio-economic background of the parents, inadequate motivation on the part of students, lack of information coupled with teachers’ nonchalant attitude to work and students’ negative self-concept have often resulted into students’ inconsistent and poor academic performances. Yoloye (1999) submitted that theories of educational disadvantages and social-cultural pathology have been most prominent in the explanation of poor academic achievement of students in schools. On the contrary, a growing number of scholars, have rejected this latter view and have suggested that many of the problems of learning are the artefacts of discontinuities which are brought about by the separation of learning from real-life functions and situations (Fagbemi, 2001) and by the exclusion of the child’s language, values and mode of cognition from the school environment (Ugodulunwa, 2007). It seems that the causes of low academic achievement are diverse and cannot be associated with a single factor alone. For instance, Adamu (1998) observed that self-concept and its variables may be a paramount factor in academic failure. Tukur & Musa (2001) attributed the causes of fluctuating performances among students to teacher-student interactions, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, classroom behaviour and other extraneous variables. The above may be responsible for the academic achievement of students in the area of the study.
In Enugu State, the academic achievement of secondary school students has been observed to be generally poor. A look at the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination results in the past eight years (2005-2012) shows clearly the declining state of secondary school students’ achievements in external examinations in the state. The West African Certificate Examinations Council’s (WAEC) result analysis has it that in 2005, only 27.53% of candidates who sat for the senior secondary school certificate exanimation had five credit passes and above including English Language and Mathematics (WAEC, 2010). The same trend continued in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011and 2012 where only 15.56%, 25.54%, 13.76%, 25.99%, 24.94%, 30.99% and 25.76% of candidates respectively obtained five credit passes including English Language and Mathematics, which are the minimum entry requirement for admission into Nigerian Universities.
It is believed that many factors could be responsible for the poor achievements of the students in external examinations in the State. Such factors may range from the nature of school administration, and environment, to the qualification and teachers’ characteristics such as emotional intelligence, locus of control and gender. Ali (2004) observed that there was a statistically significant relationship between teacher characteristics and students’ academic achievement. The author further explained that teachers’ characteristics are strong determinants of students’ achievement in secondary schools. Teachers have a lot of influence on classroom practices. Teachers are expected to apply specific abilities without which their influence may not be reflected in their student's achievement in the subject. These characteristics are very influential in students’ learning experiences and critical in determining the extent of students’ achievement. This means that teachers’ emotional intelligence, locus of control and gender may predict teachers’ instructional leadership model which in turn determines students’ achievement since teachers provide the vital human connection between the content, environment and learner. It becomes necessary to examine such teacher characteristics as emotional intelligence and locus of control to determine the extent they predict teachers’ instructional leadership model in secondary schools.

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Emotional Intelligence And Locus Of Control As Predictors Of Teachers’ Instructional Leadership In Enugu State, Nigeria