Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Senior Secondary School Principals’ Management Performance in South-West Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Senior Secondary School Principals’ Management Performance in South-West Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria

Gidado, Bello Kumo; Apeh, Hosea Abalaka; Ogundeyi, Sunday Gboyega

Department of Educational Foundations, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.906000402

Received: 21 June 2025; Accepted: 24 June 2025; Published: 19 July 2025

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and senior secondary school principals’ management performance in South-West geo-political zone, Nigeria. Six research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. The population of the study consisted of 2,273 public senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria. A sample size of 327 public senior secondary school principals was selected using Krejcie and Morgan table (1970). Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer all research questions. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze hypothesis one, t-test for hypotheses two and three, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze hypothesis four. The findings of the study indicate d that, there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and management performance of senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. The study equally shows that, there is no significant difference between emotional intelligence of male and female senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. The study further revealed that, there is no significant difference between emotional intelligence of rural and urban senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. The study also indicated that, there is no significant difference between emotional intelligence of senior secondary school principals and their years of experience. The study recommended that principals training programs should be standardized and made equally accessible to all principals, regardless of school location. In addition, leadership roles should be assigned based on skills and performance rather than gender stereotype.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence, Principal performance, Secondary school, Principals.

INTRODUCTION

Emotional intelligence is important in the life of every person including their way of thinking, relationships and emotions. Emotional intelligence is used to describe the emotional characteristics of individuals to achieve success, and has gained ascendency as a veritable tool in leadership effectiveness. It means that emotional intelligence has shown dominant control over leadership (Nwaorgu, 2021). Emotional intelligence is widely and globally accepted as the key ingredient that drives any successful organization or institution. Emotional intelligence is not about being soft, it is a different way of being smart, having the skill to use emotions to help individual make choices in the short period of time and have more effective control over themselves and their impact on others. According to Nwaorgu (2021), emotional intelligence is the ability to identify our own emotions as well as those of others, to be motivated, and to effectively manage emotions in both our personal and interpersonal connections.

The school principal is charged and overloaded with expectations to the point that if the school principal were to meet them all, he or she would actually risk burnout. The role of the school principal makes him to be prone to stress, which may be mild or severe, depending on the environmental factors as well as permeability of the principal. As those who have to make things work in the school, principals cannot be exposed to a lot of stressful events. Their duties are performed within a given time frame and are quite demanding irrespective of their levels of job experience. Stress among the principals shows itself in a number of ways: developing high blood pressure, ulcers, irritability, difficulty in making routine decisions, loss of appetite and being prone to job- related accidents (Iyanda, 2015). School principals’ positions are complex and challenging, vulnerable to occupational stress and imparts directly or indirectly not only on the health of the school principals but the functioning of the entire school system.

School principals are under pressure due to policy changes in recent years that have increased the variety, scope and demands of the position. Time constraint, conflicting desires and needs of various stakeholders, work overload and lack of role clarity, among other things, are potential sources of increased job-related stress among secondary school leadership (Sepiriti 2023). Among other areas of stress are students’ discipline, excessive bureaucracy, conflicting internal and external expectations, deteriorating and overcrowded facilities, community and dissatisfaction of special interest groups as well as teachers’ shortages. All these could lead to increased levels of stress-related illness among the principals of the public secondary schools. In order to achieve the goals of the secondary school system, effective administrators and school leadership are required to demonstrate a great deal of concern for the human elements (both staff and students) and material resources within the system as well as for the accomplishment of the school goals. These leaders must inspire other staff members to achieve their highest levels of performance and be adaptable and responsive to changes. Additionally, they must make wise and timely decisions, utilize the full potential of their schools by fostering a sense of teamwork, foster a sense of responsibility in their staff and students, and ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and completed through effective communication (Iyanda, 2015).

It is essential to any organization because it provides direction and emphasis for achieving collective objectives. Most of the time, employees look up to their bosses in learning from and succeeding under them. Nwaorgu (2021) effective leadership has become crucial in the rapidly evolving 21st century. Further assert that modern leaders are required to inspire, involve, and retain staff members. A modern leader’s cultivating good attitudes and establishing a sense of significance and purpose effectively, new difficulties are presented to leaders on a regular basis, and a great leader needs to be flexible. A certain level of general intelligence would secure the job, but emotional intelligence are essential to becoming a successful leader. Emotional intelligence and self-efficacy, has been shown to be an important concept in the leadership development process in recent years. Leaders who can handle high-pressure interactions and high-stress situations are likely to reduce workplace violence, conflict, and burnout. Nwaorgu stated that people with high emotional intelligence have more career success, feel less job insecurity, lead more effectively, are more adaptable to stressful events, and have better coping strategies (Nwaorgu, 2021).

Zoma et al (2016) discovered that there is both positive and negative relationships between emotional intelligence of principals and school outcomes. Ikpa and Okah (2023) revealed a relationship between principals’ empathy and their job performance in Rives State, leading to improved productivity and relationships inter personal with students and staff which in turn enhances academic activities. Zinn (2013) emphasized that principals’ empathy means to recognize other peoples’ feelings, the causes of these feelings, and to be able to participate in the emotional experience of an individual without becoming part of it.

Similarly, Ikpa and Okah’s (2023) shows that there is no significant relationship between principals’ self-consciousness and their job performance in senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The implication is that there is a positive relationship between principals’ self-consciousness and their job performance in senior secondary schools in Rivers State. Ahmed et al., (2024) found significant differences between emotional intelligence and administrative effectiveness. Debeş (2021) found that there were no significant differences between female and male principals according to emotional intelligence competence. Anusuya and Pushpa (2024)’s study indicates a no significant difference in the emotional intelligence of male and female of principals, just as a no significance was shown in the differences between urban and rural principals’. Raheem et al., (2023) found that there is no significant differences in emotional intelligence levels based on school location, suggesting that principals’ emotional intelligence is consistent regardless of where they live.

On administrative skills of principals, Fashiki et al., (2021) show that emotional intelligence is a good predictor. This is confirmed by Olu and Chimezie’s (2023) study which revealed that emotional intelligence has a direct relationship with secondary school principals’ effectiveness which, according to Obiekwe and Ogbo (2020) show a positive correlation with performance of principals. Pretorius (2024) opined that self-management is an indispensable emotional intelligence skill for secondary school principals and can be greatly beneficial when it comes to the leadership and management of their schools, with attendant ability to have control over intense, emotional, and difficult situations by regulating their emotions. Lee et al., (2023) found that principals showed improve performance such as decision-making and problem-solving, when they regulate their emotions. In the same vein, Sepiriti (2023) revealed that emotional regulation (self-management), principals are more likely to better manage impulses that may be triggered by educational challenges and demands. Ogbo et al., (2024) reported that similar teachers are positively influenced and inspired by principals’ optimism. Conversely, when principals are not optimistic, are negative or lack resilience, it may stimulate these same qualities in staff which leads to lower job satisfaction and production. This was the premises upon which this research efforts was founded.

Statement of the Problem

Secondary school principals function as leaders who preside over and manage the entire school. Teachers, students, parents, governments and other stakeholders look up to them for the attainment of the set goals of the secondary school education. This makes public secondary school principals to have a lot of responsibilities and expectations loaded on them. They strive willingly to attain these set goals of secondary education; consequently, are involved in a number of daily routines which bring about occupational stress. This, however, has a lot of consequences on both school principals and the school system.

Arising from the associated stress in the course of performing these routine jobs, the public secondary school principals could exhibit unwanted feelings and behaviours such as low morale, loss of self-confidence, fear, depression, anxiety, emotional fatigue, premature retirement, alcohol intake, poor health, lateness to work and absenteeism. There are reported inverse cases of serious indiscipline among staff and students, violence in schools and poor performance of students at both internal and external examinations, poor communication and relationship with staff, students, parents, communities, supervisors, ministry officials and the government. This is a situation that needs urgent attention by all stakeholders in the educational sector. The researchers was inspired to investigate on the topic title, the impact of emotional intelligence on senior secondary school principals’ performance in South-West geo-political zone Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study

The specific objectives were to find out:

1. To find out the emotional intelligence of public secondary school principals in South-Western Nigeria.
2. To determine the principals’ performance of public secondary school principals in South-Western Nigeria.
3. To examine relationship between emotional intelligence and principals’ performance of public senior secondary schools in South-Western Nigeria.
4. To compare the emotional intelligence of male and female senior secondary school principals in South-Western Nigeria.
5. To analyze differences in emotional intelligence between rural and urban senior secondary school principals in South-Western Nigeria.
6. To determine whether emotional intelligence differ according to years of experience among senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide this study:

1. What is the emotional intelligence of public secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?
2. What is the level of leadership performance among senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?
3. What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership performance of senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?
4. What is the emotional intelligence of male and female senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?
5. What is the emotional intelligence of rural and urban senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?
6. What is the emotional intelligence of senior secondary school principals on the basis of their years of experience in South-West Nigeria.

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance.

H₀₁: There is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership performance of senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

H₀₂: There is no significant difference in emotional intelligence between male and female secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

H₀₃: There is no significant difference between emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

H₀₄: There is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of secondary schoolprincipals in South-West Nigeria, based on years of experience.

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The descriptive survey design was employed for this study. According to Ali (2015), the descriptive survey design allows researchers to document and explain the existing status ofa phenomenon using data from a representative sample. The descriptive survey design was therefore appropriate for this study since it allowed for the collection of valid data from respondents on variables of interest as they exist in their natural setting.

Population of the Study

The population of the study comprised all public secondary school principals in the six states of South West Nigeria: Ekiti, Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ogun. The total population of all Principals in South West Nigeria is 2,273 (Ministry of Education, 2025).

Sample Size and Sampling Procedure

The six (6) states in South West, Nigeria were sampled for this study. All states in South-West Nigeria were included in the sample to ensure comprehensive regional representation of public senior secondary school principals.  A total of 327 Public Senior Secondary School Principals were selected for the study using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sampling table to determine the sample size for each state. This was done by calculating the proportion of Public Senior Secondary School Principals in each state in relation to the total population. Then each proportion was multiplied by the overall sample size to obtain the sample size for each state. This ensured that the sample size was allocated proportionately to each stratum, based on its representation in the population. Stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to draw samples from the population.

Instrumentation

The instruments used for this study was adopted questionnaire from Schuttle et al., (1998). The instrument titled Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and Leadership Performance Scale (LPS). It was however restructured to suit the purpose of this study. Using a liker type four scale measurement. The reliability coefficient index was 0.92.

RESULTS

Research Question One: What is the emotional intelligence of public secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?

Table 5: Emotional intelligence of public senior secondary school principals

N=327

As shown in table 5, emotional intelligence of public secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria was presented. The table shows a sectional mean score of 3.28. This shows that the respondents agreed to all items in the table. It is an indication that public senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria exhibit strong emotional intelligence.

Research Question Two: What is the level of leadership performance among senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria?

Table 7: Principal performance of public senior secondary school principals

N=327

As shown in table 7, principals’ performance of public secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria was analysed. The table shows that the respondents agreed to all the items in the table and disagreed with item number 20. This shows a sectional mean score of 3.39 which confirms that public senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria demonstrate very strong leadership performance.

Hypotheses

H₀₁: There is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership performance of senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

Table 1: Correlation between emotional intelligence and principal performance of senior secondary schools in South-West, Nigeria

As shown in table 1, the correlation between emotional intelligence and leadership performance was carried out. The computed correlation coefficient shows that there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and principal performance with r-value of 0.044, which indicates a positive relationship. The probability value of 0.424 indicate that there is no statistical relationship between the two variables with p>0.05, hence the null hypothesis was accepted. On the basis of correlation coefficient value, the r-calculated value of 0.044 reveals low or weak correlation coefficient influence between emotional intelligence and leadership performance among senior secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

H₀₂: There is no significant difference in emotional intelligence between male and female secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

Table 2: t-test on Difference between emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria

As shown in table 2, t-test analysis to determine the significant difference between the emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria was presented. The table revealed a mean score of 3.28 with standard deviation of 0.24 for male principals and the mean score of 3.29 with standard deviation of 0.23 for female principals. The table also indicated a calculated t-value of -.389 at 325 degree of freedom with a two – tailed significant of .697 more than 0.05 significant level. This shows that there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. This clearly shows that both male and female secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria has the same level of emotional intelligence and hence no significant difference between gender and emotional intelligence.

H_O3: There is no significant difference between emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria.

Table 3: t-test on Difference between emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria

As shown in table 3, t-test analysis to determine the significant difference between the emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria was carried out. The table revealed a mean score of 3.26 with standard deviation of 0.25 for principals in rural areas and the mean score of 3.30 with standard deviation of 0.23 for principals in urban areas. The table also indicated a calculated t-value of -1.356 at 325 degree of freedom with a two – tailed significant of .176 more than 0.05 significant level. The table shows that there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. This clearly shows that both rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria have the same level of emotional intelligence and hence no significant difference between the location of school and emotional intelligence.

H_O4: There is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of secondary school principals in South-West Nigeria, based on years of experience.

Table 4: One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) on Difference between emotional intelligence of secondary school principals and the years of experience as a school principal in South-West Nigeria

As shown in table 4, one-way analysis of variance on difference between emotional intelligence of secondary school principals and the years of experience as a school principal in South-West, Nigeria was carried out. The table shows a mean square of .076 for between groups and mean of .057 for within groups; with an F value of 1.337. The table further show a significant value of .264 (more than the 0.05 level of significance) indicates that there is no significant difference. Senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria, therefore, did not differ significantly in their emotional intelligence on the basis of years of experience as a school principal in South-West, Nigeria.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Findings from this study show that public senior secondary school principals exhibit strong emotional intelligence in South-West, Nigeria. This finding is in line with the earlier findings by Kin and Kareem (2020) who found that principals’ emotional intelligence is positively related to their ability to manage organizational change and shape deputy principals’ attitudes about it. Kin & Kareem Further explain that principals’ emotional intelligence influenced not only their own change management skills but also the beliefs and readiness of deputy principals to support change. The finding consistent with the finding of Pretorius and Plaatjies (2022) revealed that emotional intelligence competencies like empathy and self-control enable principals in South Africa to handle conflicts effectively.

The research also revealed that public senior secondary school principals demonstrate strong leadership performance in South-West, Nigeria. This is finding is coincides with the earlier findings by Mehdinezhad and Mansouri (2016) shows that principals who showed individualized consideration and inspiration had teachers with higher motivation and job performance. The finding is in agreement with the finding of Yahaya and Ibrahim (2021) showed that secondary school principals’ leadership performance significantly improved school effectiveness. This is in agreement with the earlier findings by Ontai-Machado (2016) found that secondary school principals leadership performance style enhance clear strategic visions and staff engagement.

The study further indicates that there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and principal performance of senior secondary schools in South-West, Nigeria. This is consistent with the earlier finding by Naicker et al., (2024) who found that there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and principals’ performance. The finding is also in agreement with another findings by Ulutaş (2024) which shows that emotional intelligence is linked to various leadership styles and does not directly predict principal performance. As professionally trained teachers, principals are also expected to possess the right of type of skills that would enable them discharge their responsibility and effective. This is particularly echoed by Gidado et al., (2023) who emphasized the role of teacher/head teacher professional attitude plays in influencing his students’ achievement in school. Also, Gidado and Apeh (2023) it should also be understood that while differences exist between principals emotional intelligence and their performance, the emotional adjustment levels of such teachers may invariably lead to negative attitudes thereby influencing their moods and productive on certain occasions. Gidado et al’s (2024) revealed that socio-emotional adjustment of individuals was a high prospect of influencing their productivity levels and performance.

This study revealed that there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. The finding is in line with another finding by Debeş (2021) who revealed that there were no significant differences between female and male principals according to emotional intelligence. However, the finding contradicts the finding of Ahmed et al., (2024) which shows that there is significant difference in emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals.

The results from this study also revealed that there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of rural and urban secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria. The finding is in line with an earlier finding by Anusuya and Pushpa (2024) who found that there is no significant difference in the emotional intelligence of principals of rural and urban. The finding is consistent with the findings of Raheem et al., (2023) shows that there is no significant differences in principals’ emotional intelligence of urban or rural settings.

The study also found that there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of secondary school principals irrespective of their years of experience in South-West, Nigeria. The finding is consistent with the finding of Fashiku et al., (2021) who revealed that emotional intelligence made significant predictions to principals’ administrative in Kwara State public secondary schools while the contribution of years of experience was found not significant. It is also in agreement with the findings by Raheem et al., (2023) who results shows there is no significant difference in senior secondary school principals’ emotional intelligence as a regard to their teaching experience.

CONCLUSION

Arising from the findings of this study, it was concluded that public senior secondary school principals in South-West, Nigeria exhibit strong emotional intelligence and demonstrates very strong leadership performance. It was also concluded that emotional intelligence and principals’ performance in senior secondary schools are very much related and that differences between the emotional intelligence of male and female secondary school principals, do not exist, just like differences between rural and urban secondary school principals. It was further concluded that significant differences do not exist between the emotional intelligence of secondary school principals in respective of their years of experience

RECOMMENDATIONS

Going from the above conclusions, it was recommended that:

1. school boards and hiring committees should consider emotional intelligence metrics such as self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal skills when recruiting or evaluating principals.
2. government should implement rigorous selection processes that prioritize leadership potential and vision alignment. Develop incentives and career pathways to retain top-performing principals including mentorship opportunities and leadership roles beyond their schools.
3. future researchers/scholars are encouraged to utilize or develop more comprehensive and culturally validated tools, such as the multi-dimensional principal performance frameworks that go beyond quantitative outcomes.
4. with no emotional intelligence advantage linked to gender, leadership roles should be assigned based on skills and performance rather than gender stereotype. This supports a merit-based system and helps dismantle gender biases that might hinder the leadership performance.
5. given that emotional intelligence levels are consistent across rural and urban settings, training programs should be standardized and made equally accessible to all principals, regardless of location.
6. avoid assuming that more experienced principals have higher emotional intelligence. Use specific emotional intelligence assessment in leadership selection, appraisal and development processes to ensure accurate evaluation and support.

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