INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
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Motivational Skill and Stress Management Factors of Emotional
Intelligence as Correlate of Teachers’ Instructional Leadership in
Secondary Schools in South East, Nigeria
Ogwo-agu, Jacinta Nkemejina (PhD),
Modebelu Melody N (PhD)
Department of Educational Management, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Nigeria
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.910000387
Received: 12 October 2025; Accepted: 20 October 2025; Published: 13 November 2025
ABSTRACT
The study ascertained the relationship between motivational and stress management factors of emotional
intelligence and teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. The
study adopted a correlational survey design. Two research questions and two null hypotheses formulated and
tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The population of the study comprised 16023 male and
female teachers in the 1140 public secondary schools in 21 education zones in five states in the South Eastern
States of Nigeria. The sample for this study comprised 381 teachers from all the five states in South East
Nigeria. The sample is determined using Taro Yamen's 1973 formula, which is suitable for estimating
population proportions with a specified degree of accuracy. The instrument for data collection were three sets
of the researcher’s self-developed questionnaire titled; “Motivational and Stress Management Factor
Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire ((MSMFEIQ) and Teachers’ Instructional Leadership(TILQ)”. The
instruments for data collection were validated by three experts, two from the Department of Educational
Management and one from Science Education, majored in Test and Evaluation all from Michael Okpara
University of Agriculture, Umudike. Cronbach alpha statistic was used to determine the internal consistency of
MSMFEIQ and TILQ which yielded an index of .75, and 81 for (MSMFEIQ, and TILQ respectively. Five
briefed Research Assistants helped in the administration and collection of the instruments. Data collected were
analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to answer the research questions while linear Regression
statistics was used to test all the null hypotheses. Based on the result of the analysis, the study finds that;
Motivational factor of emotional intelligence significantly to a positive very high extent correlate with
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East; that Stress management
motivational factor of emotional intelligence significantly to a positive very high extent correlate with
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East.Based on the findings of the study,
the researchers recommended that Government and school administrations should devise strategies for regular
motivation of teachers in their respective schools through enhanced incentives, allowances and awards.
Key words: motivation skill, stress management, emotional intelligence, and teachers’ instructional leadership
INTRODUCTION
Teachers at secondary school level are seen as group of educationalists trained for the purpose of enhancing
effective delivery of instruction. These categories of people are expected to hold a Bachelor degree in
Education and be sound in pedagogy. These pedagogical practices are skills that characterize a professional
teacher from any other teacher. The number one function of a teacher is “TEACHING”. Teachers’
instructional leadership may be influenced by emotional intelligence traits as they play significant role in
determining how educators interact with students, manage classroom dynamics, and adapt to the changing
needs of the educational environment (Li & He, 2022).
In recent times, some researchers and educational practitioners have explored some components of emotional
intelligence and their influence on various outcomes. Leary (2015) stressed that emotional intelligence evolved
as a way for humans to manage social relationships and that it has a number of important components,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
www.rsisinternational.org
Page 4698
including emotional awareness, emotional regulation, and empathy. Mayer and Salovey (2015) noted that
emotional intelligence is composed of five key components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation,
empathy, and stress management/social skill. Salovey emphasized the importance of these components in a
variety of settings, including the workplace and educational institutions. Other authors such as Hawkins
(2018), Damore, (2017) and Leow and De Souza (2020) among others have stressed the place of self-efficacy,
conflict resolution management skills, teacher motivation as important components of emotional intelligence
and create a supportive learning environment.
Teacher motivation refers to the internal and external factors that influence teachers' engagement, effort, and
persistence in teaching. Janak (2020) defined teacher motivation as "the set of beliefs, values, needs, and
expectations that prompt teachers to engage in specific teaching behaviours. It is the set of psychological
processes that activate, direct, and sustain teacher behaviour (Adair & Bucolo, 2019). Teacher motivation is a
crucial factor that affects instructional leadership in a number of ways. For instance, motivated teachers tend to
be more engaged and committed to their work, leading to a greater sense of ownership over their instructional
practices and greater effort in developing their leadership skills. Teacher motivation can influence instructional
practices, as highly motivated teachers may be more likely to experiment with new teaching techniques and
strategies, and more willing to take risks in order to improve their teaching practices (Janak, 2020, Lee &
Rose, 2020). Teacher motivation can affect instructional leadership by influencing how teachers respond to
feedback and support from colleagues and administrators.
Stress management is an essential component of teacher leadership and students’ learning. Stress management
is the set of strategies and techniques that individuals can use to cope with stress and promote their physical,
mental, and emotional well-being (Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila et al., 2020). It involves the process of identifying
and understanding sources of stress, and employing a variety of techniques to reduce or eliminate their
negative effects. These techniques may include relaxation methods, cognitive strategies, lifestyle changes, or
organisational methods. (Kaviani et al., 2022). Stress can negatively impact teachers' health and well-being, as
well as their ability to engage effectively with students and colleagues. MacDonald and Boudreau (2022)
emphasised the importance of stress management, particularly mindfulness-based interventions, in helping
teachers develop more positive behaviours and attitudes towards themselves and their students. Stress
management is a key component of teacher resilience, which is an important characteristic of effective
instructional leaders. Luthans and Eddy (2022) argued that teacher resilience is an important component of
effective instructional leadership and that stress management is a key factor in developing resilience in
teachers. Teachers who are better able to manage their stress levels are more likely to exhibit positive
behaviours and attitudes, such as being more patient, empathetic, and flexible. It is important to note that stress
management is not a one-size-fits-all process, and different strategies may be more effective for different
individuals and situations. Swiler and Wu (2021) emphasised the need for teachers to develop effective stress
management strategies in order to support their instructional leadership practices and promote student learning.
Statement of the Problem
The role of teachers in the implementation of classroom instructional activities requires good leadership
capacity which is very essential in achieving sustainable education. The teachers’ ability to guide, motivate and
create a positive learning environment can significantly influence students learning. However, factors such as
emotional intelligence factors such as, stress management, and motivational skill, level of academic exposure
and experience may influence teachers’ instructional leadership. This then suggests that these indicators having
been in place could improve teachers’ instructional leadership since the teacher is the key implementer of the
curriculum.
On the other hand, the obtainable situation to a high extent seems to indicate lack of level of emotional
intelligence of teachers, instructional leadership model of teachers, years of teaching experience of teachers,
teachers training and gender balance. The above situation seems to give rise to poor teachers’ instructional
leadershipin secondary schools in South East, Nigeria.
Since teachers play a critical role in shaping the educational outcomes of students, it is important to investigate
the extent to which these factors correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in secondary schools in the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
www.rsisinternational.org
Page 4699
South East region. Therefore, the problem of this study put in a question form is: To what extent do
motivational and stress management factors of emotional intelligencecorrelate with teachers’ instructional
leadershipin senior secondary schools in South East, Nigeria?
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent motivational and stress management factors of emotional
intelligence correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public senior secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to:
1. determine the extent of the relationship between motivational factor of emotional intelligence and
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools
2. examine the extent of the stress management factor of emotional intelligence correlate with teachers’
instructional leadership effectiveness in public secondary schools
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study
1. What is the extent motivational factor of emotional intelligence correlate with teacher instructional
leadership in public secondary schools?
2. To what extent does stress management factor of emotional intelligence relate to teacher instructional
leadership in public secondary schools?
HYPOTHESES
The following Null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance:
H0
1:
motivational factor of emotional intelligence does not significantly correlate with teachers’ instructional
leadership in public secondary schools.
H0
2:
stress management factor of emotional intelligence do not significantly correlate with teacher
instructional leadership in public secondary schools.
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This study is built on Transactional Leadership Theory by Bernard Bass (1981)
The theory of transactional Leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then by Bernard in
1981. This style is most often used by the managers. The theory focused on the basic management process of
controlling, organizing, and short-term planning. Transactional leadership involves motivating and directing
followers primarily through appealing to their own self-interest. The power of transactional leaders comes
from their formal authority and responsibility in the organization. The main goal of the follower is to obey the
instructions of the leader. The style can also be mentioned as a ‘telling style’.
This theory proposed that leaders influence followers through a process of exchange, in which leaders provide
rewards or punishments in exchange for followers' compliance or performance. These exchanges involve four
dimensions: contingent rewards, active management by exception, passive management by exception and
Laissez-faire
Contingent Rewards: Transactional leaders link the goal to rewards, clarify expectations, provide necessary
resources, set mutually agreed upon goals, and provide various kinds of rewards for successful performance.
They set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals for their subordinates.
Active Management by Exception: Transactional leaders actively monitor the work of their subordinates,
watch for deviations from rules and standards and taking corrective action to prevent mistakes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
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Passive Management by Exception: Transactional leaders intervene only when standards are not met or when
the performance is not as per the expectations. They may even use punishment as a response to unacceptable
performance.
Laissez-faire: The leader provides an environment where the subordinates get many opportunities to make
decisions. The leader himself abdicates responsibilities and avoids making decisions and therefore the group
often lacks direction.
METHODOLOGY
The study adopted a correlational survey design. Nabaz in Ogedi (2021) noted that correlational research
determines to what degree a relationship exists between two or more variables. The population of the study
comprised 16023 male and female teachers in the 1140 public secondary schools in 21 education Zones in five
states in the South Eastern States of Nigeria. The sample for this study comprised 381 teachers from all the
five states in South East Nigeria. The sample is determined using Taro Yamen's 1973 formula, which is
suitable for estimating population proportions with a specified degree of accuracy. The instrument for data
collection were two sets of the researcher’s self-developed questionnaire titled; “Motivational and Stress
Management Factor Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (MSMFEIQ) and Teachers’ Instructional
Leadership(TILQ)”. The instruments for data collection were validated by three experts, two from the
Department of Educational Management and one from Science Education, majored in Test and Evaluation all
from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Cronbach alpha statistic was used to determine the
internal consistency of (MSMFEIQ and TILQ which yielded an index of .75, and 81 for (MSMFEIQ, and
TILQ respectively. Five briefed research assistants helped in the administration and collection of the
instruments. Data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation to answer the research
questions while linear Regression statistics was used to test all the null hypotheses.
Results
Research Question One
What is the extent motivational factor of emotional intelligence correlate with teacher instructional leadership
in public secondary schools?
Table 1: Pearson Product Moment Correlation on the Relationship between motivation factor of emotional
intelligence and teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools
Variables
MF
TIL
MF
Pearson correlation
1
.891
Sig. (2 tailed)
.004
N
R
2
362
(0.794)
79%
362
TIL
Pearson Correlation
.891
Sig. (2 tailed)
.004
N
362
362
MF= Motivational Factor, TIL = Teachers’ Instructional Leadership
The results on table 1 indicated a correlation coefficient (r) of .891 which is positive and within the coefficient
limit of ±.80 and above indicating strong, positive and a very high extent correlation. This however means that
teachers’ emotional intelligence motivational factor positively and to a very high extent correlate with
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East. The results also showed that the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
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Page 4701
coefficient of determination (R
2
) of 0.794 indicates that 79% of the variance observed in teachers’ instructional
leadership in public secondary schools in South East was accounted for by the teachers’ emotional intelligence
motivational factor.
Hypothesis One
Motivational factor of emotional intelligence does not significantly correlate with teachers’ instructional
leadership in public secondary schools.
Table 2:Simple linear regression Analysis of motivational factor emotional intelligence and teachers’
instructional leadership in public secondary schools
Variable
Sum of Squares
Df
Mean
square
F
Sig.
Decision
MF
10477.389
1
10477.389
130.943
.004
S
TIL
28805.502
360
80.015
39282.891
361
S = Significant at P < 0.05
The results on table 2 shows a p-value of .004 which is less than the alpha value of 0.05. This means that the
null hypothesis which stated that motivational factor emotional intelligence does not significantly correlate
with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South- East Nigeria is rejected.
Therefore, teachers’ motivational factor emotional intelligencesignificantly correlate with teachers’
instructional leadership in public secondary schools.
Research Question Two
To what extent does stress management factor of emotional intelligence relate to teacher instructional
leadership in public secondary schools?
Table 3: Pearson Product Moment Correlation on the Relationship betweenstress management factor
emotional intelligence and teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools
Variables
SMF
TIL
SMF
Pearson correlation
1
.886
Sig. (2 tailed)
.010
N
R
2
362
(0.785)
78.5%
362
Pearson Correlation
.886
1
TIL
Sig. (2 ailed)
.010
N
362
362
SMF= Stress Management Factor, TIL = Teachers’ Instructional Leadership
The results on table 3 revealed a correlation coefficient (r) of .886 which is positive and within the coefficient
limit of ±.80 and above indicating strong, positive and a very high extent correlation. This however implies
that teachers’ stress management factor emotional intelligence positively and to a very high extent correlate
with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East. The results also showed that
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
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Page 4702
the coefficient of determination (R
2
) of 0.785 indicates that approximately 79% of the variance observed in
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East was accounted for by the teachers’
stress management factor emotional intelligence.
Hypothesis Two
stress management factor of emotional intelligence do not significantly correlate with teacher instructional
leadership in public secondary schools.
Table 4: Simple linear regression Analysis of stress management factor emotional intelligence and teachers’
instructional leadership in public secondary schools
Variables
Term
Sum of Squares
Df
Mean
square
F
Sig.
Decision
SMF
Regression
9963.172
1
63.119
124.380
.010
S
TIL
Residual
28837.071
360
80.103
Total
38800.243
361
S = Significant at P < 0.05
The results on table 4 show a p-value of .010 which is less than the alpha value of 0.05. This means that the
null hypothesis which stated that teachers’ stress management factor emotional intelligence does not
significantly correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South- East
Nigeria is rejected. Therefore, teachers’ stress management factor emotional intelligence significantly correlate
with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools.
Findings of the study
1. Motivational factor of emotional intelligence significantly to a positive very high extent correlate with
teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East,
2. Stress management motivational factor of emotional intelligence significantly to a positive very high extent
correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East.
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
The discussion of the study was done according to the research questions and the hypotheses that guided the
study.
Motivational factor emotional intelligence and teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary
schools
The findings of the study showed that teachers’ motivational factor emotional intelligence positively and to a
very high extent correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East.
This implies that an increase in teachers’ motivation, led to an increase in instructional leadership. The results
specifically showed that motivational factor emotional intelligence such as pursuing professional development
opportunities to improve instructional practices, creating engaging and effective learning experiences for
students as well as staying up-to-date on the best practices in education among others relate with teachers’
instructional leadership in public secondary schools to a very high extent. The results further revealed that
motivational factor emotional intelligence significantly correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in
public secondary schools. This supported Dornyei (2021) who described motivated teachers as those who are
willing to participate in school activities, have regular attendance to school and classes, punctual to work, have
creative and simulating teaching and learning experiences. This implies that the motivation skills employed by
teachers determine to a very high extent their instructional leadership.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
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Stress management factor emotional intelligence and teachers’ instructional leadership in public
secondary schools
It was found from the study that stress management factor emotional intelligence positively and to a very high
extent correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools in South East. In other
words, the ability of teachers to manage stress, determine to a very high extent their instructional leadership.
The results specifically indicated that teachers’ stress management in the form of resolving conflicts and
disputes with colleagues and other stakeholders in a positive and productive manner, collaborating with
parents and other stakeholders in the school community as well as building positive relationships with students
and creating a sense of community in the classroom among others relate to a very high extent with teachers’
instructional leadership. The results equally revealed that stress management factor emotional intelligence
significantly correlate with teachers’ instructional leadership in public secondary schools. The results agreed
with Li et al. (2020) who opined that stress management can play a significant role in influencing teachers’
instructional leadership practices. Specifically, the results supported Rajput et al. (2019) who found from a
similar study that teachers’ stress management skills were positively associated with their instructional
leadership. The results however, showed that stress management skills promote effective instructional
leadership.
RECOMMENDATION
From the findings and conclusions drawn from the study, the following recommendations were made:
1. Government and school administrations should devise strategies for regular motivation of teachers in their
respective schools through enhanced incentives, allowances and awards.
2. School administrators should from time to time, invite experts as resource persons to schools, and to
advise teachers on the best stress management practices so that teachers will not work under stress for
enhanced job performance.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue X October 2025
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Page 4704
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