Organizational Communication and Teachers’ Productivity in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

There has been persistent deep concern by stakeholders in the education sector over the perceived inadequacies in the communication approaches and dwindling level of productivity in Nigerian secondary schools. This study therefore examined the efficacy of principals’ communication strategies and level of teachers’ productivity. It further investigated constraints faced in communication process in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Data were collected using instruments titled “Principals’ Communication Strategies and Teachers’ Productivity Questionnaire” (PCSTPQ). Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 60 secondary schools from the three senatorial districts in Ondo State. Participants comprised 60 principals and 1200 teachers. Data were analyzed using frequency count, percentage and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at alpha level of 0.05. Findings indicated significant relationship between principals’ communication strategies and teachers’ productivity (r-cal=0.680, p<0.05). The major constraints to communication are: poor internet connection, delay in information processing which often cause delay in decision-making process, and lack of modern communication facilities to enhance teachers’ productivity. It is hereby recommended that the government in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders in education should give top priority to the provision of adequate internet, information processing facilities, and build principals’ and teachers’ capacities in digital knowledge-based pedagogy and communication skills to improve productivity in secondary schools.

from the sender to the receiver with the information being understood by the receiver. On the other hand, productivity is the measuring of the efficiency of the organization or the individual performance to achieve given set of objectives. Productivity measure indicates the rate of growth in capabilities of respective organizations to accomplish and indeed fulfill their mission /goals and ensuring that quality of goods and services meet the expected standard. Nwachukwu (2006) viewed productivity as the relationship between output of goods and service, and resource inputs (human and materials) which are utilized in the production of goods and services. According to Akinloye (2013), productivity is the degree of efficiency and effectiveness with which an individual contributes to the achievement of set objectives. This implied that an efficient teacher utilizes the available resources optimally to accomplish the tasks set out in the job description/ schedule within the stipulated time. Productivity in education is the rate at which educational objectives are achieved, putting into consideration, the input, process and output phases of education. In the context of this study, productivity refers to the level of teachers' effectiveness in adherence to the time-table, lesson planning, usage of textbooks, research, usage of instructional materials, students' motivation, classroom management, students' discipline, continuous assessment, and performance feedback. Ijaiya (2013) in her study on education and teachers' productivity found that principals, teachers' work performance and productivity are determined by effective teaching measured by students' academic performance in examinations, punctuality at school and classes, giving extra lessons to students and contribution to the progress of the school through participation in co-curricular activities such as sports, students' discipline, committee assignment as may be given by the principal. She further stressed that if teachers fail to measure up in these various assignments, they may be perceived uncooperative and unproductive. Effective communication in an organization strengthens the level of coordination which usually results in high productivity in the organization. Ogunsanya (2003) stated that effective communication bring about efficient task performance and prompt intervention in solving problems in an organization. This implied that there is a positive relationship between communication and workers' behaviour in an organization. Effective communication in a school system has the intent of influencing behaviour. This is in view of the fact that as people communicate with one another to resolve problems; it is evident that ideas, attitudes and feelings are exchanged and understood. The open school climate promotes positive interaction, high spirit, mutual consideration, trust and innovative best practices that enhance teachers' productivity. Ogunsanya (2003) stated that for teachers to be highly productive in the school system, the school principal has to be dynamic, showing good examples and treat teachers with dignity, involving them as much as possible in important decisions that may likely affect them in the school. This will motivate them to put in their best in instructional tasks performance and achieve the set educational goals. Effective communication in a school helps the principal to think out well, generate good ideas, conceive goal-oriented plans, establish sound organization structures, and take good decisions. These also give teachers better understanding of their work and accept the need for innovation in curriculum delivery, which improves the level of productivity in secondary schools. However, the perceived inconsistencies in communication strategies seem to hamper teachers' productivity, which has been a matter of serious concern to stakeholders in education.

The Problem, Research Questions, Hypotheses and Research Method 3.1 Statement of the Problem
The desire for quality education is generally the concern of stakeholders in the education sector in Nigeria. However, the level of teachers' productivity seems to be dwindling partly due to the perceived inconsistencies and inadequacies in the principals' communication strategies. Communication gaps often occur in a school when there is breakdown in communication and different units of the organization tend to operate in isolation and perhaps in conflict with the other components to the detriment of the overall objectives of the organization. This situation could lead to possible misunderstanding between principal and teachers, frustration of teachers and the school authority, and indiscipline which could reduce the level of teachers' productivity in the school system. The perceived inadequacies in many principals' communication strategies often cause poor coordination and create gaps in teachers' instructional tasks performance which has been partly attributed to inadequate information concerning the performance of their tasks. This situation could have serious negative implications on curriculum delivery and has perhaps been responsible for the relatively low academic performance of students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) in Nigerian secondary schools. This study therefore intended to investigate the extent to which principals use communication strategies in coordinating teachers' instructional tasks, identify their challenges, and determine the level of productivity in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria.

Research Questions
The following research questions were raised to guide the study.
i. What communication strategies are adopted by principals in secondary schools in Ondo State? ii.
What is the level of teachers' productivity in secondary schools in Ondo State? iii.
What constraints are faced by teachers in communication in secondary schools?

Hypotheses
The following research hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. Ho1: There is no significant relationship between principals' communication strategies and teachers' productivity in secondary schools in Ondo State.

Research Method
The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population comprised of all public secondary school principals and teachers in Ondo State. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select three (3) Local Government Areas from the three senatorial districts. Twenty (20) secondary schools were randomly selected from each of the 3 Local Government Areas, thus making a total of 60 secondary schools sampled for the study. The respondents consisted of 1200 teachers randomly selected at 20 teachers per school. All the 60 principals of the sampled schools were included in the study. A self developed questionnaire titled; "Principals' Communication Strategies and Teachers' Productivity Questionnaire" (PCSTPQ) was used to collect data. The instrument elicited information on the components variables of communication strategies and instructional tasks performance. The questionnaire was validated by two experts in the Department of Educational Management, Adekunke Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State and Test and Measurement Unit, Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Test-retest method was adopted for the reliability of the instrument administered in two (2) secondary schools outside the Local Government Areas of the study. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to calculate the co-efficient value which yielded 0.82. This indicated the suitability of the research instrument for the study. Two trained research assistants helped to administer the questionnaires on the respondents and ensured that the questionnaires were properly filled and collected on the spot. This method ensured 100% return rate. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, mean score and Pearson Product Moment Correlation at alpha level of 0.05.

Results
The results and discussions of data analyses are presented in two parts based on the research questions and hypothesis that were formulated for the study. Data collected on research questions were analyzed using frequency count and percentage while hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The results are presented in tables 1 -4.

What is the level of teachers' instructional tasks performance in secondary schools?
The analysis of data in table 2 and figure 2 indicated that majority of teachers were effective in instructional tasks performance as reflected in the following percentage points: adherence to time-table (71.7%), lesson planning (73.3%), usage of prescribed textbooks (73.3%), engaged in research (56.7%), instructional materials (46.7%), students' motivation (50.0%), classroom management (43.3%), students' discipline (46.6%) continuous assessment (51.6%) and performance feedback (61.7%). These were reflected in percentage points of strongly agree and agree responses combined.

What constraints are faced by teachers in communication in secondary schools?
The analysis of data in table 3 and figure 3 on constraints faced by teachers in communication reflected the following percentage points: poor internet connection (86.8%), delay in information processing (62.3%), inconsistent communication (61.3%), delay in decision making (47.1%), unfriendly communication language (38.3%), inability to decode messages (38.0%), delay reportage (61.0%), poor relationship (44.0%), lack of facilities maintenance (67.8%) and lack of maintenance funds (73.3%). These were reflected in percentage points of strongly agree and agree responses combined.

Relationship between principals' communication strategies and teachers' instructional task performance in secondary schools
Hypothesis one was tested by correlating data collected from 1200 teachers on principals' communication strategies and teachers' productivity in 60 sampled secondary schools, using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at alpha level of 0.05. The result is presented in table 4.

P < 0.05
The result presented on table 4 above revealed that the calculated r-value (0.680) was greater than the critical-value (0.001) at p<0.05 is significant. Hence, the null hypothesis (Ho) of no significant relationship is rejected. This implied that there is a significant relationship between principals' communication strategies and teachers' productivity in secondary schools.

Discussions
Results obtained on teachers' ratings (strongly agree and agree combined) on principals' communication strategies in table 1, indicated that the level of principals' effectiveness were 60% and above in the use of the following communication strategies: circular letters (77.3%), text messages (75.7%), staff meetings (68.7%), workers' association (66.6%), suggestion box (60.7%) and internal memos (60.0%). The results also reflected the level of principals' effectiveness in notice boards (56.7%) and bulletin/newsletter (57.3%) while 47.4% showed strong commitment to seminars/workshops and 38.7% effectively utilized e-mails. It could be deduced from the results on data analysis above, that most principals placed high premium on the use of communication strategies as vital tools and driving force in creating enabling working environment and coordinating teachers' instructional tasks performance to achieve the desired results in secondary schools. This is in line with Anya and Ezekie (2019) who found that effective communication channels foster interpersonal relationships, cross-fertilization of ideas, problem-solving and the achievement of educational goals in secondary schools in River State, Nigeria. However, the 47.4% recorded in seminars/workshops implied that principals still need to strive harder in the task of building teachers' capacity for optimal performance. The findings on principals' ratings of teachers' productivity in table 2 and figure 2 indicated that teachers were effective in adherence to time-  (Adenipekun, 2018).

Conclusion
The findings showed that most of the principals are effective in the use of communication strategies, which also have significant effect on teachers' productivity. However, poor internet connection, inadequate communication facilities, poor maintenance of communication facilities and low capacity development delay information processing and decision-making process, which constitute impediment to effective communication and productivity in secondary schools.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made: i.
The Government and relevant stakeholders should prioritize and provide adequate internet, computer accessories and other information processing facilities to improve communication process and productivity in every secondary school. ii. The Government should provide adequate funds for principals to carry out regular maintenance of communication facilities and provide necessary materials for effective dissemination of information/curriculum content-knowledge in secondary schools. iii. The Ministry of Education should organize seminars and workshops to educate and upgrade teachers' capacities in digital knowledge-based pedagogy and communication skills to improve principals' coordination competence and teachers' productivity in secondary schools. iv.
Principals should collaborate with relevant stakeholders to organize periodic in-house seminars/workshops for teachers to improve their capacities in the use of interactive communication facilities to enhance the quality of education delivery in secondary schools.