ABSTRACT

The study examined human resource management skills as correlates of teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. The research design of the study was a correlational research design. Seven research questions and seven hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was 1,911 which was made up of 248 principals and 1,663 teachers in 248 public secondary schools in Abia State. A sample of 331 respondents was randomly selected using multi-stage sampling procedure precisely stratified proportionate, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Two sets of questionnaires were developed by the researcher for data collection for the study. The first questionnaire titled: Human Resources Management Skills of Principals Questionnaire (HRMSPQ) was designed to collect information on human resources management skills of principals, while the second questionnaire titled: Teachers’ Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ) was designed to collect information on teachers’ job performance. The data generated through the pilot testing of the instrument were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha reliability test to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items. Reliability coefficients of .74 and .71 were obtained for human resources management skills of principals and teachers’ job performance respectively which indicated that the instruments were highly valid and reliable for the study. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to answer research questions and linear regression to test hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that communication skills, leadership skills, collaboration skills, employee relations, capacity building and performance management skills relate to teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Abia State. Some of the recommendations made include; principals should use communication skills to ensure free-flow of communication to enable teachers express themselves appropriately without bias. Also, principals should share information with staff in order to reduce unnecessary managerial burdens and rules, and ultimately to improve job performance among others.