Abstract:

This study investigated the relationship between Business Education administrators’ leadership styles and staff job performance in Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) in south-south Nigeria. Five specific objectives, five research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A Descriptive-correlation research design was adopted for the study as this enables the description of the variables and establishes their relationship. The population and sample consisted of 131 respondents made up of 12 administrators and 119 staff of the Business Education programme in Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) Asaba and Omoku in south-south, Nigeria during the 2021/2022 academic session. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire was face validated and tested for reliability using Cronbach Alpha to obtain reliability indexes of 0.72 and 0.76 for the two clusters of the instrument, with an average of 0.74. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer research questions 1, 2, and 4; while research questions 3 and 5, as well as the null hypotheses, were analysed using Spearman Rank Correlation (r). All computations were done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0. For the relationship scale interpretation the scales by Bryman and Bell (2011) were used. The results of the study revealed that Business Education administrators used democratic/transformational leadership styles to drive job performance. The results also showed moderate positive and significant relationship between leadership styles of Business Education administrators and staff job performance which was deemed satisfactorily. The results also showed that work climate mediated on the relationship between Business Education administrators’ leadership styles and staff job performance. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Business Education administrators in Colleges of Education should make concerted effort to let financing stakeholders provide more funds for enhancing the task performance environment required by staff.