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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The main aim of educational administration is the arrangement of the
human and material resources and programmes available for education and
carefully using them systematically for the achievement of well defined
objectives. In order to achieve this aim, the school administrator must work
with various individuals in the school as well as the community. As
administrative decisions affect people, so programmes and policies are
influenced through communication which is a process of interaction.
Good communication skills are fundamental to all relationships and
prerequisite to educational success. The way principals communicate their
thoughts and feelings and how they manage their differences facilitate quality
relationships in the school. When principals fail to communicate, many things
will be affected such as reduced academic standard, diminished self esteem
and lowered organizational morale.
Ngu in Onah (2003), defined communication as the “process of sending
a message by one individual to another, with the desire to evoke a response”
or the “process by which people attempt to share meanings through symbolic
messages” (Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert, 2000). From these definitions, a
central picture painted is that communication is the transmission of a message
from a sender to receiver. It can be seen that communication is important to
administrators because it facilitates the administrative functions of planning,
organizing, leading and controlling by the transmission of a message from a
sender to receiver. The most effective way to improve people’s quality of
life, action and interaction is by improving their communication skills which
include listening skills. Analysis of communication time consistently supports
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the idea that most people spend more time listening than speaking, reading
and writing (Wolvin and Coakley 1992). Listening as a veritable and
unavoidable aspect of communication is defined as the “active process of
receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and nonverbal messages. It involves the ability to retain information, as well as to
react empathetically and appreciatively to spoken and non-verbal messages”
(Pearson, Nelson, Tilsworth and Harter 2003). As a mental process, listening
as a skill will require the administrator to seek for accurate, correct
information as well as engage in the analysis and synthesis of information.
No matter what occupation people engage in, they need to deal with
these processes of listening skills because it is an indispensable tool in
achieving group cohesion, organizational harmony, conflict resolution and the
realization of organizational goals. That is to say, without listening skills, the
communication process itself becomes ineffective. As principals proceed
through their days, and as they move from person to person, they are
constantly called upon to listen. This is because the ability to listen effectively
is not only a major and central concern but also an essential characteristic of a
good administrator. Administrators require good listening skills to appreciate
ideas and beliefs of both subordinates and their superordinates, offer valuable
insights and improve thoughtful dialogue that strengthens one’s ability to
understand others’ strengths and weaknesses.
Principals should maintain a good channel of communication by
applying a variety of listening skills to suggestions, advice, feedback,
complaints, information, interviews and discussions. These, he should do with
all categories of staff. Such listening skills can enhance better relationships,
enrich performance and as well reduce stress. Principals who listen well are
highly respected, sought after and loved by their staff and students. Listening
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which is central to successful administration is one of the primary ways in
which principals discover teachers’ problems, needs and thoughts. If
communication is central to successful school administration it logically
follows that, there is need for every principal to equip himself/herself with
different listening skills so as to achieve a net effect of appreciative,
informative, empathic listening and reflective communication.
This is
necessary if administrators want to understand ideas, retain information,
analyze
and
evaluate
content
and
employ
strategic
interpersonal
communication to achieve these.
In school administration, the principals work with the vice principals,
head of departments, teachers, office staff, education coordinator, state school
board, students, community and visitors. As he interplays with them he is
expected to employ a variety of listening skills such as: listening with a
purpose and concentration (active listening), listening to accept and
appreciate the other person through what they say (appreciative listening) or
to seek a truer understanding of how others are feeling (empathic listening)
(Derrington and Groom, 2004).
Nwaka (2008) “Listening is the most important task, which confronts
modern principals”. Experience shows that principals fail to understand that it
is in this fundamental essence of communication skill that their role and
dignity are based. While the skill of listening is identified by many
researchers as one of the most important qualities a leader can possess, poor
listening is identified among principals in Awka Education Zone of Anambra
State as evidenced by the researchers interaction within the environment.
Unfortunately, listening skills are very often ignored or just taken for granted.
As a result, many communication problems develop. “Communication is not
just speaking and writing. The forgotten part of it for most principals is
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listening. Studies have shown that a large percentage of administrators listen
less effectively than they believe, and many are poor listeners” (Axley,
1996:77). In another report by Atwater (1992), he notes that among people
who have been asked to rate themselves as listeners, more than 85% rate
themselves as average or worse. Fewer than 5% rate themselves as excellent.
Many
organizations,
in
an
effort
to
improve
interpersonal
communications, have encouraged skill development in reading, writing and
speaking, but little has been done to improve listening skills.
One of the factors affecting listening culture may be gender. Several
researchers have pointed to this variable. Adler and Elmhorst (2002), opined
that men and women listen differently to at least some degree. Gender
differences do not just affect how people listen to one another, they also
influence whether they listen at all. Tannem (1990), asserted that “women are
not as likely to be listened to as men, regardless of how they speak or what
they say”. Similarly, McCutcheon, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994), stated that
there may be significant differences between the sexes in their attitude
towards listening to subordinates.
Stressing on influence of gender on
listening skills behaviours, McKenna (1998), claimed that despite the success
of the women’s liberation movement and the increases in the number of
women in education administration, men and women speak and listen
differently.
Considering the effect of experience on principals’ listening skills,
Mgbodile (2003), stipulated that ‘behaviour of the leader is often influenced
by the aggregate of his background, his knowledge and his experience”.
Experienced principals are likely to have acquired adequate listening skills
than inexperienced principals and better disposed to being good listeners.
Therefore, the influence of experience will be one area of interest to explore.
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It is against this background that this study is designed to examine the
listening profiles of principals as a dependable parameter for seeking areas of
improvement in the use of good communication skills.
Statement of Problem
Communication
is
an
administrative
process
that
facilitates
performance of any established system. Lack of it has led to ineffectiveness in
the management of organization’s factor resources. Listening which is a
significant aspect of communication has been identified as having low rating
in the communication performance profile of principals (Salopek, 2002). This
is worrisome considering the fact that listening is a very vital aspect in
keeping people focused, providing important information and insights as well
as keeping staff connected.
Because many serving principals are not
delivering along these line and lack in these, the problem therefore put in
question form is how can this trend be revised to enable principals maximize
the potentialities of listening skills and evaluate feedbacks in terms of their
accuracy, meaningfulness and utility?
In the light of the above, and considering the strategic positions of
principals in the secondary school administration, principals are by their
training expected to be good and critical listeners. They are supposed to listen
for evaluation, listen to understand ideas, listen to retain information, listen to
analyze and evaluate contents. Lack of the above usually lead to
misunderstanding, ineffective communication and constituting strong barriers
between principals and their teachers on one hand and principals and their
students on the other.
Nwaka (2008) asserted that “Listening is the most important task,
which confronts modern principals”. Experience shows that principals fail to
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understand that it is in this fundamental essence of communication skill that
their role and dignity are based. While the skill of listening is identified by
many researchers as one of the most important qualities a leader can possess,
poor listening is identified among principals in Awka Education Zone of
Anambra State as evidenced by the researchers interaction within the
environment. Unfortunately, listening skills are very often ignored or just
taken for granted. As a result, many communication problems develop.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the listening skills
practices of secondary school principals in Awka Education zone.
Specifically, this study intends to:
1.
Identify the listening skills for effective communication of principals.
2.
Find out how principals rate the identified skills in terms of their
importance for school administration.
3.
Examine the extent principals exhibit the skills under study.
4.
To determine if the application of these skills will be influenced by
gender of the principal.
5.
To ascertain how experience influences the listening skills of school
principals.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will have some practical relevance to
government policy makers, school administrators, educational planners,
school board management and students. Principals will use the instrument as
a reference point in their self-assessment in listening competence. School
administrators need to be aware and appreciate the importance of listening
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skills in their jobs. The cordial relationship that is supposed to exist between
principals and teachers on one hand and between principals and students on
the other will be fostered.
However, if it does not exist there will be
disruption of the school academic calendar. Then, the finding if incorporated
will be a handbook from which they will learn these relevant skills.
Educational planners will find it useful in the planning of the pre-service
curriculum as it concerns what, when and how to communicate between and
among school superordinate and subordinate. School board management will
use the findings to organize in-service training of the principals. During
recruitment and selection of qualified principals, the findings can be applied
during school inspection and supervision for purposes of guidance and
counseling of principals for improved performance on administrative and
interpersonal communication. Education researchers in administration will
also find the instrument as a useful tool for shaping the destiny of future
school research in the area of communication.
Scope of the Study
There are so many types of listening skills. Prominent among them are:
Active listening, appreciative listening, biased listening, casual listening,
comprehension listening, critical listening, deep listening, dialogic listening,
discriminative listening, sympathetic listening, emphatic listening, highintegrity listening, Initial listening, Partial listening, Reflective listening,
relationship listening, social listening, secondary listening, aesthetic listening,
creative listening and others.
But the central focus of this study is on the following:
Active listening skill, Appreciative listening skill,, Empathic listening skill
Biased listening, Casual listening, Comprehension listening, Critical listening,
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Deep listening, Dialogic listening, Discriminative listening, Sympathetic
listening, High-integrity listening, Initial listening, Partial listening, Reflective
listening and Relationship listening,
The choice of these is predicated on the fact that these positively
dispose the means in attending to the requirement of what is being
communicated as expert like Derrington and Groom (2004) has observed.
The geographic scope is delimited to Awka Education Zone in Anambra
State.
Research Questions
1.
What listening skills do principals require for effective school
administration?
2.
How do principals rate these skills in terms of their importance?
3.
To what extent do principals exhibit the identified listening skills?
4.
How does gender influence the listening skills of school principals?
5.
To what extent do experiences influence the listening skills of
school principals?
Hypothesis
The following null hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.
HO1: Gender is not a significant factor in the listening skills of principals as
measured by the mean rating on LSP.
HO2: There will be no significant difference in the listening skills of
principals due to experience as measured by the mean rating on LSP.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The literature review for this study carried out under the following subheadings.
(a) Conceptual Framework
 Concept of listening as communication skills
 The need for listening skills
 Kinds of listening skills
 Barriers to listening skills
 Techniques of listening skills
(b) Theoretical Framework
 The scientific management theory of communication
 Human relation theory
 The system theory of communication
(c)
Review of Empirical Studies
(d)
Summary of Literature Review
Conceptual Framework
The Concept of Listening as Communication Skills
Every activity of our lives is communication of a sort, but it is through
speech that man asserts his distinctiveness from other forms of life.
According to Carnegie (2002), man alone, of all animals has the gift of verbal
communication, and it is through the quality of his speech that he best
expresses his own individuality. When he is unable to say clearly what he
means, through either nervousness, timidity, or foggy thought-processes, his
personality is blocked off, dimmed out, and misunderstood by his listeners.
He further asserted that business, social, and personal satisfaction depend
heavily upon a speakers ability to communicate clearly to his listener what he
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is, what he desires, and what he believes in. In an atmosphere of international
tensions, fears, and insecurities, people need the channels of communication
to be kept open. De Mello Anthony (2005), in his listening with all six senses
further agrees that “listening is integral to our lives. It provides us with
important information and insights. It keeps us focused, balanced and
connected. Listening is essential to how people relate to one another and
nature. He further argues that listening is the key to building trust, gaining
understanding and creating conditions for taking action. Listening is an art
and a technique an attitude and an activity. It is a difficult skill to master
because it requires much more than the use of one’s ears and merely “hearing
the words”. Locker and Kaczmarek (2004) stated that people need to listen to
others both to find out what they are supposed to do and to learn about the
organization’s values and culture.
Nunan (1997) aptly said that a listener can be compared with a tape
recorder because the listener takes in and stores messages sequentially, in the
same way a tape-recorder does. There are many different types of listening
that can be classified according to a number of variables, including purpose
for listening, the role of the listener, and the type of text being listened to.
These variables are mixed in many different configurations, each of which
will require a particular strategy on the part of the listener. Listening to a
news broadcast to get a general idea of the news of the day involves different
processes and strategies from listening to the same broadcast for specific
information, such as the results of an important sporting event. Listening to a
sequence of instructions for operating a new piece of computer software
requires different listening skills and strategies from listening to a poem or
short story.
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Fowler (2005) highlighted that listening and hearing are not the same.
Hearing is actually just one stage of listening, which occurs when your ears
pick up sound waves and transmit these waves to the brain. While listening is
a whole communication process. By understanding the process and utilizing
the right tools, one can improve his /her listening skills, ensuring one to do
more than just hear the words. Listening requires one to understand and
evaluate every spoken message, and to follow this with the appropriate action,
that is to say, a response that confirms the spoken message. It is very wrong
for a listener to work while listening to a message.
Miller (1999), he suggested that effective listening skills can be
improved by working hard to keep ones focus on the message and make a
determined effort to return to focus when his /her mind begins to wonder. To
help in maintaining focus, the listener should make mental summaries of the
speaker’s main ideas and try to predict the speaker’s next main idea. These
two hints will help to keep one actively involved in what the speaker is
saying. According to Nugent and Halvorson (2002), active listening is
designed to overcome poor listening practices by requiring parties to listen to
and then restate their opponent’s statements, emphasizing the feelings
expressed as well as the substance. The purpose is to confirm that the listener
accurately understands the message sent and acknowledges that message,
although the listener is not required to agree. While dialogic listening
emphasizes conversation as a shared activity and stresses an open ended,
playful attitude toward the conversation.
De Boer (2005), is of the opinion that, “people spend approximately
9% of their time writing, 16% of their time reading, 30% of their time talking
and 45% of their time listening”. Listening is a fundamental part of the
communication process. Regardless of the type of job one does or the industry
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in which one works, it is important to understand the listening process, have
an awareness of barriers to listening effectively, and learn how to listen
actively. Attention is important in listening so that people can hear what is
being said to them, but often difficult due to distractions such as noise
intrusion or internal distractions such as thinking about something else rather
than what is being said.
People need to understand the context of the message, and understand
the significance of any verbal or non-verbal clues from the speaker. Having a
degree of background knowledge regarding the speaker or the subject is also
helpful. Akmajian, Demers, Farmer and Harnish (2001) asserted that a
“speaker has some message in mind that she wants to communicate to a
hearer. The speaker then produces some expression from the language that
encodes the message as its meaning. Upon hearing the beginning of the
expression, the hearer begins identifying the incoming sounds, syntax, and
meaning; then, using her knowledge of language, he composes these
meanings in the form of a successfully decoded message”. That is to say,
communication is successful if the listener receives the speaker’s message. It
works because messages have been conventionalized as the meaning of
expressions and by sharing knowledge of the meaning of an expression, the
listener can recognize a speaker’s message or communicative intention.
Okoro (2007) supported that communication does not merely mean
talking or writing to people. It means transmitting a message to evoke a
discriminating response. Listening is a part of communication as talking”.
Surprisingly, many people do not regard listening as an indispensable part of
communication. Okoro (2007) stated that, listening, whether in a social
conversation or around the table at a conference, is just a pause people feel
obliged to grant a speaker until they again have a chance to air, their opinions.
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He further highlighted that, this is not real listening in any sense of the word”.
According to him, to “actively listen to another requires will power,
concentration and great mental effort, only then do people really learn
something about the other person, his feelings, his ambitions, his hopes, his
aspirations, what his complaints are and his needs”. Consequently, as seen
from the above views, listening as a skill in effective communication enables
people to have full knowledge of whatever is being discussed. People do not
just learn about what is being discussed but also the language of discussion.
When a principal is equipped with listening skills, he or she is positioned for
further and expansive knowledge of ideas in a deeper perspective. According
to Okoro (2007), “it is a truism that the worst affliction on listening today is
what has been called Communication Addition Disorder (CAD).
It is
condition that makes someone not to stop talking, despite the social rejection
that is associated with it. Principals should cultivate the listening habit to
enable them develop the critical ability required to process what they hear.
This is the heart of listening as a communication action.
According to Holmes (2004), most people think that they are good
listeners, but in fact, they are better talkers than listeners. To him, listening is
rated as the second most effective way to communicate and gain ones
objective. Effective listening is hard a work. It takes a real effort to make it
happen. It takes much more energy and concentration to listen than it does to
talk. The mind, the body, and the heart play major roles in listening. One need
to be disciplined to become a natural listener. Some people tend to listen with
their hearts, others tend to depend on the reasoning process. The heart
listeners will respond quicker to an emotional appeal, while the reasoning
listener will respond more rapidly to logical approaches. A good listener must
have or develop a clear-cut objective. Suffice it to say that listener listens to
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determine the other party’s objective, and then to develop a strategy to help
both parties reach their objectives. According to Payne (2001), if a tree falls
in the forest and there is no one present to hear it, does it make a sound? He
further explained that if somebody gives an information and one fails to
listen, that they have not actually expressed themselves. One of the most
important techniques of a successful professional is the skill of listening.
Payne (2001) quoting covey, uttered that one of the most important part of
covey’s seven habits of highly effective people is “Seek first to understand,
than to be understood”. This belief could be useful to school principals. Think
of a principal who is taking a complaint from the teacher or may be the
student. The teacher who approaches the communication with some negative
feelings is dissatisfied. The principal talking to the teacher is likely to be
defensive. These two attitudes could be difficult barriers to successful
communication. Good listening habits can over come the hindrances. The
teacher might begin by expressing dissatisfaction. The principal might be
tempted to interrupt with an apology or an explanation. In most cases,
however, hearing out the other person is the best thing to do. The principal
should realize that by allowing the teacher to explain the complaint fully, the
principal can often give him just what is needed.
Payne (2001) was of the opinion that listening is an active process and
also an intentional act. Far from being involuntary, listening requires
concentration, and effort. Without listening, the communication process itself
becomes ineffective. According to Agba and Okoro (1995), effective
communication is said to have taken place when “what is said is what is
meant and what is meant is what is understood and when what is understood
is what is done and what is done is the desired action. Maurus (2005) stated
that the receiver or decoder finds the meaning and the interpretation of the
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message. Decoding, therefore, involves perceiving the message as encoded by
the source by means of the mind and body senses. The receiver is the person
who hears the message. He decodes or retranslates the sources message,
putting it into a code that he can use. The receiver must pay attention in order
to make a decision on what he has heard or on what is being proposed.
Listening is perhaps the most over looked aspect of the communication. The
word communicate is synonymous to talking rather than listening. If one
speaks and no one listens, communication has not taken place. Speaking and
listening effectively are the two indispensable features of communication.
There can be no effective speech without someone to listen. According to
Sukh (2006), patient listening is the surest highway to happy relationships.
Yet, people are so eager or impatient to convey their thoughts, feeling or
viewpoints that they either completely ignore what the other person is saying
or pay little attention to it. Sometimes, people only hear the other person
without listening. Listening is to understand the message of the speaker.
Basically, hearing is through the ears whereas listening is through the heart.
The best way to exhibit listening is to hear the message full and then repeat to
the speaker what he has said, ending with the question.
To highlight more on the above assertions, if a principal happen to see
any of his or her teachers /students in a bad mood or emotionally upset, and
turns off other distractions, sit down close to him and say “Tell me all that is
bothering you”. And, when the principal have succeeded in listening to the
teacher or student patiently and fully, he will see worry vanishing from the
teacher’s or student’s face. He further asserted that the beauty of listening is
that even when the listener has not said a single word to the speaker, but just
listened to him, one is most likely to hear a compliment like, “you are such an
interesting person”. That is the magical power of listening. Without having
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uttered even a single word, one becomes a wonderful orator for the other
person, a great conversationalist, an interesting persons! The heart of effective
spoken communication is a receptive ear. Listening creates the surest and
deepest bond between two people. If principals can listen to their students or
teachers without uttering a word, the echo of their speechless words is bound
to resonate in their teachers and students’ heart day in and day out. Principals
who have patient ears can never be in a sick relationship. Good ears help
principals prevent trouble with teachers and students. If principals have a
great stamina for listening, the teachers will never cease to talk to them.
Ezeukwu (2000), stated that receivers listen or appreciate the message
through one, two or more of the sensory organs. Messages usually impinge on
receivers in the form of touch, smell, taste, or light and sound waves. They
must be in forms that stimulate any of the senses and cue the receiver.
Whatever the form of sensory stimulation, receivers must convert the energies
into meaningful experiences called decoding. Decoding is an internal activity
similar to the sources act of encoding. It is the internal processing of a
message and the assigning of meaning to the source’s behaviour; which
represents the sources internal state. Two things are involved here. They are
sensation and perception.
Any message coming to the mind through the sensory organs is called a
sensation. When that sensation is experienced and the message is in the mind,
the mind tries to make sense out of it. The action of the mind in giving
meaning to a sensation or communicative act is called perception. Decoding
is the action of the mind to give meaning to a sensation. It is pertinent
however to distinguish encoding from decoding.
Communication is an ongoing and reciprocal process, all the
participants, or “interpreters”, are working to create meaning by encoding and
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decoding messages. A message is first encoded, that is, transformed into an
understandable sign and symbol system. Speaking is encoding a message and
the message, once received is decoded: that is, the signs and symbols are
interpreted. Decoding occurs through listening. If a principal does not
comprehend the teacher’s words, he or she responds with “Huh?” or look
confused or yawn. This response, or feedback, is also a message. The receiver
(the principal) now becomes a source, sending his message to the source (the
teacher), who is now a receiver. Hence, communication is a reciprocal and
ongoing process with all involved parties more or less engaged in creating
shared meaning. According to Gamble and Gamble (2002), when one listens
to information, he interprets and assign meaning to the spoken words. He
thinks carefully about what another person has said and also evaluates the
reality of the spoken message. Just as speakers can get carried away with their
message’s urgency and importance, listeners can end up believing false or
dangerous ideas that have been made to appear reasonable. Consequently, it is
essential for a listener to stay alert so that he will be ready to challenge and
raise questions about what he is listening to. Most people are born with the
ability to hear. Hearing is a process that occurs automatically and requires no
conscious effort on your part. If the physiological elements within your ears
are functioning properly, your brain will process the impulses received, and
hearing takes place. What one does with the impulses after receiving them
belongs to the realm of listening. Listening is a deliberate process through
which one seeks to understand and retain aural stimuli. Listening depends on
a complex set of skills that must be acquired. Listening requires one’ to make
an active, conscious effort to comprehend and remember what one hears. Too
many sounds bombard people in their various environment. Thus, in listening,
one processes the external sounds to select those that are relevant to one’s
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activities and interests. Flowerdew and Miller /Madden (2006) averred that,
critical listening encourages teachers and learners to think about the socio
political nature of the texts to which they listen, certainly an important
consideration in an interconnected world.
Nunan (1997) stated that listening is fundamental to speaking. Two
views of listening involve processing view and the interpretation view. The
processing model assumes that listening is a process of decoding the sounds
that one hears in a linear, fashion, from the smallest meaningful units
(phonemes) to complete texts. The alternative interpretation view, suggests
that the listener actively reconstructs the original meaning of the speaker
using incoming sounds as clues. In this reconstruction process, the listener
uses prior knowledge of the context and situation within which the listening
takes place to make sense of what he or she hears. Just as written
communication needs both a writer and a reader, oral communication is also a
two-way process. For oral communication to be possible, there must be both a
listener and a speaker. Clark, Zimmer and Tinervia (2001), stated that
“whether one is at school, at social activities, or at work, what one hears,
says; and how one says it are equally important. When people listen, facial
expressions and gestures are important to give the speaker clues that they are
understanding or that they need more information to understand the message”.
According to Lucas (2001) most people are shockingly poor listeners. They
fake paying attention. They can look right at someone, appear interested in
what that person says, even nod their head or smile at the appropriate
moments without really listening. Listening involves paying close attention
to, and making sense of, what people hear. He further stated that “even when
they think they are listening carefully, they usually grasp only 50 percent of
what they hear. After two days, they can remember only half of that or 25
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percent of the original message. It’s little wonder that listening has been
called a lost art”. Pearson, Nelsen, Titsworth and Hurter (2003), highlighted
that listening is an active process involving the construction, retention, and
reaction to meanings people assign to information.
Peterson in Adler and Elmhorst (2002) explains:
Back to basics, actually the best basic of all, the
ability to listen is a vital communication tool that is
endangered, in my humble opinion, by all this
technology. Too many times, whether it’s with email, voice mail or internet, we are concentrating
on the art of telling, not listening. Yet good
listening, in my opinion, is 80 to 90 percent of being
a good manager and an effective leader. Listening is
one of the best ways to keep high touch in your
organization. In your day-to-day meetings with
customer’s, clients, or employees, if you listen with
full eye contact and attention you can own the keys
to the communication kingdom(P.111).
Similarly, Locker and Kaczmarek (2004) opined that good listeners pay
attention, focus on other speakers, in a generous way rather than on
themselves, avoid making assumptions, and listen for feelings as well as for
facts. Good listening requires energy. Listeners have to resist distractions and
tune out noise. Principals should focus on the teachers, students and
community in a generous way. Some principals listen, looking for flaws.
They may focus on factors other than the substance of the speech or they may
listen as if the discussion is a war, listening for points on which they can
attack the other speaker. Good listeners, realize that people who are not
polished speakers may nevertheless have something to say. Rather than
pouncing on the first error they hear and turning out the speaker, they wait
impatiently for their turn to speak; good listeners weigh all the evidence
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before they come to judgment. They realize that they can learn something
even from people they do not like. However, to buttress the point, theypointed, out that to avoid listening errors caused by self-absorption, listeners
should: Focus on the substance of what the speaker says, not his or her
appearance or delivery, spend time evaluating what the speaker says, not just
planning his rebuttal and consciously work to learn something from every
speaker.
Furthermore, Camp and Scatterwhite (1998) opined that listening is the
act of filtering out distractions to allow one to comprehend the meaning of
sounds. Some administrators spend more of their time talking than they spend
in listening. Surveys have shown that the majority of the administrators spend
roughly 70 percent of their working day engaged in communication; about
half of that time is spent listening. However, most people remember only
about 25 percent of what they hear. They hear but do not really listen.
Continuing, the authors noted thus:
listening is like breathing. One begins listening without ever studying
how to listen or being aware of the way he is listening. Listening is
different from the other communication skills in that you were not
taught to listen. When people were learning to talk, someone corrected
them when they made mistakes or mispronounced words. Learning to
read and write involved even more formal instruction and practice.
Most people assume that listening is automatic, but it is really an
acquired skill. They stipulated that the first step in becoming a better
listener is to make listening less routine. One needs to be aware of the
kind of listening that is required in each situation and to learn how to
make your listening more productive(P.65).
On the other hand, McCutcheon, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994) are of the
view that “what people get out of listening depends on what you put into it”.
As a listener, one tends to think that the responsibility for successful
communication lies with the person doing the talking. This attitude causes
21
him to become a passive listener. And he automatically fails to respond to the
speaker’s message. Active listeners, on the other hand, play an active role by
guiding the speaker towards common interests. Be that as it may, most
secondary school principals are poor listeners, an unfortunate situation that
can often lead to mistakes, misunderstandings, and even disaster. Yet
listening is a skill that principals can master if they are willing to adopt the
right attitude and practice a few simple techniques. If principals, succeed as
good listener’s, they not only help themselves in the quest for knowledge and
success, but they also, help the speaker, who is motivated by their attention
and stirred by their encouragement. Good listening is a valuable skill. Infact,
listening is regarded as the top management skill needed for success in an
organization such as school. Good listening also helps principals to keep
things in the right perspective. Basically, listening is the process of
understanding what was meant, not simply sensing what was said. By
contrast, hearing is simply an automatic reaction of the sense and nervous
system. For instance, a listener can hear a speaker talking especially when the
speaker speaks loud enough; but if he does not like or trust the speaker he
may not listen to what the speaker says. To crown it all, listening is a
voluntary act in which people use their higher mental process. Hearing is the
first stage of listening. Hearing occurs when the ears pick up sound waves
which are then transported to the brain. This stage is the sense of hearing. In
other words, one must be an active participant in this communication process.
In active listening, meaning and evaluation of a message must take place
before a listener can respond to a speaker. People’s thought speed is much
faster than their speech speed. But one has to be careful not to allow the
thought speed to race into day dreaming. This habit will defeat one’s attempt
to become an active listener.
22
Deep Listening is a practice that involves noticing and directing
attention and interpreting what is heard. Deep Listening is exploring the
relationship among sounds. Listening takes cultivation and evolves through
one’s lifetime. Listening is actively directing one’s attention to what is heard
and directing the interaction and relationships of sounds and modes of
attention. People hear in order to listen, listen in order to interpret themselves
and the world and to experience meaning (Oliveros, 2005). The world is made
of vibrations as people are made of vibrations. Vibration connects us with all
beings and connects us to all things. People open themselves to vibration in
order to listen to the world as a field of possibilities and they listen with
narrowed attention for specific things in the world. They interpret what they
hear according to the way they are listening. Principals who are good listeners
try to understand thoroughly what the teacher, student or member of the
community is saying. In the end they may disagree sharply, but before they
disagree, they want to know exactly what it is. Active listening intentionally
focuses on who one is listening to, whether in a group or one-on-one, in order
to understand what the speaker is saying. As the listener, one should then be
able to repeat back in his own words what the speaker has said. This does not
mean that you have agreed with, but rather understand, what he is saying.
Listening is integral to people’s lives. It provides important information
and insights. It keeps people focused, balanced and connected. Listening is
essential to how people relate with one another, with nature, and with other
aspects of the world. Listening is perhaps the single most powerful and
effective tool that principals have at their disposal. Listening is the key to
building trust, gaining understanding, and creating the conditions for taking
action. Without it, little can be done to effect change or accomplish anything
of lasting value. Listening is an art and a technique, an attitude and an
23
activity. It is a difficult skill to master for it requires much more than the use
of one’s ears and merely hearing the words. Listening well requires the use of
one’s whole being. Like any other skill, it needs to be learned and practiced
over and over. Listening is ultimately a commitment to enter actively and
deeply into a relationship with another human being. Though not always easy,
it is through such relationships that the listener can also be renewed and
rewarded by the relationship itself and the gifts that the other brings to it.
(Nouwen, 2002).
To listen and think critically, one must analyze the communication
situation and the message. Analysis of the message includes evaluating the
accuracy or presence of factual information, and analyzing the types of
arguments and proofs presented by the speaker. (Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth
and Harter, 2003). Wolfgang (2001) and Charles (2002), and Vigneron (2006)
asserted that listening is really about slowing down and taking the time to
value other people and their ideas. As principals, it is important to stop
whatever they are doing and listen to the students, even if it warrants telling
them to wait for about a minute, finish up what they are doing and then give
them their full attention. Teachers and students learn by example, and if
principals take the time to listen to their concerns, give them their full
attention and listen to what they have to say, hopefully they will do the same
when they interact with other people.
Carnegie (2004) averred that effective listening is really where
effective communication begins. It is surprising how few people actually
listen attentively, but dynamic leaders are the ones who have understood the
value of listening. Carnegie asserted that no one can possibly know
everything, listening to others is the only best way to learn. That is to say,
listening to employees, to customers, and to your friends and family, even to
24
what harsh critics have to say. It does not mean becoming a captive of other
people’s views, but means hearing them out.
Many people think of listening as passive, talking as active, Carnegie
explained that even the clichés people use in their expressions worth to be
listened to. Simply hearing what someone says is a relatively passive activity,
but effective listening is a highly active sport. To him, listening involves
concentration, genuine engagement, questioning and prodding. It also
involves some types of response, quick, thoughtful, and concise. A good
listener bends toward the speaker physically, he leans on him mentally with
every word that he utters. He is with the speaker every moment, nodding and
smiling at the right times. He listens a little closer, it is a sound rule to follow
for social, business and educational success. A good listening environment is
where listening begins. Fear, anxiety and nervousness are hindrances to
effective listening. That is why principals always make sure that their
classrooms and the entire school environment are conducive, comfortable and
hospitable places. If the principals, teachers or students are tensed and
nervous in the school, they are not free to listen.
People everywhere love to be listened to and they almost respond to
others who listen to them. Listening is one of the best techniques people have
for showing respect to someone else. Furthermore, listening to someone else’s
opinions is often the best method of getting people around to your way of
thinking. School principals should know that the secret of influencing the
teachers, students or the community at large lies not so much in being a good
talker as in being a good listener. Most principals trying to win others to their
way of thinking do too much talking themselves. They should allow the
teachers and the students to express themselves and ask them questions. If the
principal disagrees with them, he may be tempted to interrupt. This situation
25
could be dangerous because they will not pay attention to him while they still
have a lot of ideas of theirs crying for expressions. Principals should listen
patiently and with an open mind and sincerity. They should also encourage
them to express their ideas fully and principals could learn from them.
Nobody is more persuasive than a good listener.
We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice
as hard as talking (Nadig: 1999). He further argued that expressing out wants,
feelings, thoughts and opinions clearly and effectively is only half of the
communication process needed for interpersonal effectiveness. The other half
is listening and understanding what others communicate to us. Principal who
practice active listening will know when misunderstanding occurs and the
communication can be clarified before any further misunderstanding.
Invariably, that is why Von-Happel (2005) and Vilaga (2005) are of the view
that, it is hard to do the wrong thing if you are talking to enough people and
listening to what the masses are telling you. According to O’Malley, Chamat
and Kupper (1998), listening comprehension is viewed theoretically as an
active process in which individuals focus on selected aspects of aural input,
construct meaning from passages, and relate what they hear to existing
knowledge. Nadig (1999), opined that listening is as important to a career as
learning to speak well.
Communication is incomplete without both. He
suggested the two secrets to effective communication which principals can
also apply. They are: listening closely to people when they are speaking and
noticing their individual differences.
Good listening is a skill that requires practice and can be acquired over
time. It does not come naturally (Holt, 2002; Bear,2007; Reh 2007). In
Traylor (2003), it is opined that listening is harder than what most people
26
think because it is an acquired skill just like reading and writing. It is
probably one of the most valuable skills to learn.
The experience of deep listening engenders a powerful interaction, a
stronger relationship and mutual understanding. Nichols (2007), stated that
the most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Bell
(2007) and Rooney (2007) opined that a little recognized value of listening
and inquiring relates to the realization of human relationships. There is
benefit in learning what someone else’s concept of the reality of the situation
is, no matter how wrong it might be. An intelligent person is someone who
listens with understanding. Bradley (2007) and Crosby (2007) commented
that listening means an awareness, an openness to learning something new
about another person. Interrupting, even for clarification, can seem to be rude,
but listening with the intent to learn is an approach to a different type of
conversation. People listen in order to learn and retain information. If people
are speaking, they are not listening or learning anything to add to their sum of
knowledge. This is why the first step to effective listening is to stop talking
(Fracaro 2007; Debold,2007). Kaiser (2007), stated that “I make progress by
having people around me who are smarter than I am and listening to them.
And I assume that everyone is smarter about something than I am”. Koile
(2007), asserted “I feel like a terribly slow learner in acknowledging that only
in recent years have I come to learn that listening is a primary way by which I
can become a significant person in my own eyes and in the eyes of others.
And I must continually relearn it”.
People should never pretend to know what they do not know, they
should not feel ashamed to ask and learn from lower people, and they should
listen attentively to the views of low careers. If one talks less, one will
27
automatically learn more, hear more, see more and make fewer blunders If in
all human practices of life people could learn to listen, if people could grasp
what the other persons are saying the major hostilities of life would disappear.
When one talks, he repeats what he already knows, when he listens, he often
learn something (Smitt 2007; MacCormack; Jared 2007).
Barker (2007) highlighted that effective listeners remember that the
assignment of meaning to a term is an internal process; meaning comes from
inside. And although people’s experiences, knowledge and attitudes differ,
they often misinterpret each other’s messages while under the illusion that a
common understanding has been achieved. Listening for and identifying the
tone in others and adapting appropriately, as well being conscious of the tone
of one’s messages will determine the person’s communication efficiency.
According to Coakley (2007) people’s first responsibility as effective
listeners is to understand themselves as communicators. Just as the sources of
the communication message should be trained in self-intrapersonal
communication. Every speaker has something to teach a listener and as soon
as the person accepts this fact, he opens himself to effective listening.
Doucette (2007) and Fracaro (2007) stipulated that people listen in order to
learn and retain information. If they are speaking, they are not listening or
learning anything to add to their sum of knowledge. Listening effectively to
others can be the most fundamental and powerful communication tool of all.
When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begins listening to
others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems
are all eliminated. And in a business environment, not listening effectively to
customers, employees, and peers can mean the difference between success
and failure. Chen (2007) is of the view that listening well is as powerful
means of communication and influence as to talk well. When making
28
personal decisions, listen to what the head says, then listen to what the heart
says. If they differ, follow that heart! Whenever one listens to what his heart
says, he listens to that part of him that is most interested in his well-being.
Principals who listen effectively, especially to their heart’s intuition make less
mistakes in decision matters.
Drucker (2001) asserted
that “the most important thing in
communication is to hear what is not being said” He is of the view that one of
the golden rules of the therapy profession is that everyone needs at lease one
person with whom they can openly and unashamedly discuss every little
detail, happenings, desires, fears of their life, whether it is from the past,
present, or future. There are other psychological needs to be accepted
unconditionally, appreciated, recognized, respected, desired, valued, approved
of, or complimented that affect the way people communicate. It is pertinent to
listen carefully, ask questions, to show that one is genuinely interested.
People appreciate, respect and value others who are great listeners.
On a more general note, Litvinoff (1992), and Beare (2007) are of the
opinion that a good listener is someone who lets another person talk and does
not interrupt with opinions and criticisms. A good listener only occasionally
gives advice and very rarely does so unasked. These people are easy to talk to
because the speaker does not feel as if he is being judged, laughed at,
despised or disliked. A good listener makes the speaker feel respected,
accepted and interesting. Some people have more of a natural talent for
listening than others, but everybody can be trained to develop the skills of a
good listener.
Moreover, this work is interested in the influence of gender in
listening skill. Adler and Elmhorst (2002) opined that men and women listen
differently to at least some degree. Women often pay more attention to
29
relational messages like signals indicating how they feel about one another.
Relational messages includes affinity; which means the degree to which a
communicator likes the other person or a particular message that is being sent.
On the other hand, men often pay more attention to information on the
content level. Another gender related difference involves “listening noise”.
Men and women often use and interpret listening noises differently. Women
may use it to signal attention while men use it to signal agreement. Women
are more likely to catch the feeling behind a speaker’s words while men tend
to listen for the facts. Gender differences do not just affect how people listen
to one another, they also influence whether they listen at all. Tannen (1990),
asserted that “women are not as likely to be listened to as men, regardless of
how they speak or what they say”. In school meeting, it is not uncommon for
an idea by a women to be ignored or downplayed, while the idea presented by
a man receives more attention. Principals who are aware of this tendency can
train themselves to give equal attention to the messages of every
communicator regardless of sex. She argued that most women use “rapport
talk” as a way of establishing relationships. Women tend to listen to things
they have in common with others. While men use “report talk” to preserve
their independence and maintain status. Men learn to use talking as a way to
get and keep attention. Consequently, they have a harder time learning to be
good listeners.
Similarly, McCutchean, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994), stated that there
be significant differences between the sexes when it comes to stopping a
speaker in mid-sentence. When a man and a woman are talking, the man
makes about 96 percent of the interruptions. But when men talk to men and
women talk to women, the number of interruptions are about the same. Men
appear to have few other gender specific habits regarding speck. They usually
30
listen to what is being said for about the first ten or fifteen seconds and begin
to think about what they can add to the conversation. Men have been taught
since childhood to be problem solvers. As a result, they tend to enter a
conversation too quickly. They fail to listen for more information before
jumping to a conclusion. Stress on influence of gender on listening for more
information before jumping to a conclusion. Stressing on influence of gender
on listen on listening skills Mckenna (1998), maintained that despite the
success of women’s liberation movement and the increase in the number of
women in education administration, men and women speak and listen
differently. For communication between men and women administrators to be
effective, people must recognize the differences between male and female
listening styles. Men and women, whether speaking or listening, use
communication needs. For men such needs include to feel accepted, admired,
appreciated, approved of, and to feel trusted. On the other hand, women needs
involve to feel validated, understood, reassured and to feel cared about.
The Need for Listening Skills in School Administration
Listening is clearly an essential skill for effective communicators. The
importance of listening is even clearer when people consider how they use it
in their personal and professional lives. Listening help principals and teachers
to build and maintain relationships and can even help them to determine
whether the person we are talking to is being deceitful (Di Batista, 1997).
Listening skills are also recognized as essential skills for administrative
success (Gobby, 2000). Because of effective listening skills, organizations are
able to improve workplace relationships and become more productive
(Salopek, 1999). It is easy to see how effective listening and speaking skills
influence school administrations. Giving and taking messages, conducting
31
and participating in meetings, making and listening to formal presentations,
giving and taking spoken directions. All these important school managements
involve oral communications.
Clark, Zimmer and Tinervia (2001) opined that new friends and enrich
and deepen their existing friendships. In secondary school today, many class
hours are devoted to lessons and discussions, so doubling principals listening
effectiveness would increase their learning productivity. Efficient listening
leads to in improved learning which is pertinent in leadership. To advance in
a leadership, they should be aware of what is going on in their department and
in the school. This awareness comes in part from intelligent listening
(Listening to others can embolden and enable them, not listening can damage
a person’s spirit and effectiveness, crush initiative and break down
performance. (Zweifel, 2003; Martin, 1998; and D’Abreo, 2004).
Efficient listening contributes to success in all areas of life, but
particularly in school administration. Good listening habits are so important
that many large schools provide listening training for many of their executives
and supervisory personnel. For any school organization to be effective,
management must be able to listen. Successful supervisors and school
administrators do not just give orders; they also do a lot of listening. They
listen to their teachers so that they can establish good teachers relationships.
They also listen to their subordinates because they know that subordinates
often contribute time saving and money-saving ideas.
Failure to listen can
result in errors and misunderstandings that can be costly in time, money, and
goodwill.
According to McCutcheon, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994), the good
listener is popular everywhere. He will make more friends by listening than
by speaking. Listening skills is both an attitude principals can learn and a set
32
of techniques they can master with practice. The merits of good listening
skills are tremendous, and they transcend just acquiring information. Good
listeners encourage speakers to do their best. Good listeners also enhance
their own ability to speak by improving their concentration. Best of all, they
learn to think better. Listening is a thinking skill which requires one to be
selective with his attention, to classify and categorize information, and to sort
out important concepts from facts, jokes, and stories. Good listening skill is
pertinent in a society that grants freedom of speech to all people, whatever
their views or causes. Listening will rarely get people in trouble.
Lucas (2001) rightly claimed that in our communication-oriented age,
listening is more important than ever. This is why, in most schools, effective
listeners hold higher positions and are promoted more often than people who
are ineffective listeners. When school administrators are asked to rank-order
the communication skills most crucial to their jobs, they usually rank listening
number one. The art of listening can be helpful in almost every part of one’s
life. It is also observed that some people spend more time listening than doing
any other communicative activity like reading, writing and speaking.
In the same vein, Locker, and Kaczmarek (2004) rightfully noted, that
principals need to listen even to people with whom they have major conflicts.
They further explained that, listening skills enable them to find out why their
opponent object to the programs or ideas they approve. Awareness of the
objections to their ideas is necessary if they are to overcome those objections.
Efficient listening is crucial when they are criticized, especially by
supervisors or inspectors. They need to know which areas are most important
and exactly what kind of improvement counts. Listening actively to people is
an indication that they are taking them seriously. If they really listen to the
people they disagree with, they show that they respect them. Similarly, Adler
33
and Elmhorst (2002) opined that active listening skills can play a major role
in career success. Better listeners occupied higher levels in their
organizations. In problem-solving groups, people who listen well are rated as
having the best leadership skills. Deep listening skill is the best factor in
distinguishing good administrators from poor ones. Good listeners are happier
on the job, and others are more satisfied working with them. But it does not
mean that school principals should dance to all the tunes and caprices of their
Subordinates. According to Pearson (2003), understanding listening is
important because effective listening behaviours are related to success in
personal relationships, workplace productivity, and even ability to think
clearly. They further assert that the reason why listening is so important is
that listening is directly connected to our ability to think about and remember
information. According to Staiano (2007), the ability to speak effectively is a
necessary component to successful communication. The ability to listen is
equally important. The importance of listening in communication is often well
illustrated when administrators analyze their listening skills with those closest
to them. Principals should pay attention to the every day conversations they
have with teachers, students and communities with whom they think they
communicate well.
The importance of listening in communication is something worthwhile
to consider. Good listeners are often some of the best speakers because they
have taken the time to find out what people are truly interested in. If
principals understand what are important to teachers, students and
communities, then, they understand how to reach them. This aforementioned
strategies are very effective in the school. If principals are really listening to
what the subordinates want, it will be that much easier to fulfill their needs.
The teachers, students, will be impressed that the super-ordinate listened to
34
what they were communicating. Listening skills are pre-requisite for the
accomplishment of school programmes, objectives and the attainment of
educational goals. Covey (2004), stipulated that as the principal learns to
listen deeply to teachers, students and workers, he discovers tremendous
difference in perception. He will also begin to appreciate the impact that these
difference in perception can have as people try to work together in
interdependent situations. Their perceptions can be vastly different. And yet
they both have lived with their paradigms for years, thinking that they are
facts, and questioning the character or the mental competence of anyone who
cannot see the facts. Now, with all their differences, they were trying to work
together in the school and accomplish results.
Becoming a good listener is important to maintaining and nurturing
relationships as well as getting ahead on the job. Good listening skills help
one to learn and understand as well as project a warm and caring attitude. Ivy
sea online (2006) and Carnegie (2002) averred that listening skills engenders
a powerful interaction, a stronger relationship and mutual understanding that
helps decrease friction and conflict. It gives people the opportunity to build a
storehouse of information that can be used to their advantage. That is to say,
if one gives attention to people, it is right and proper for them to give their
attention back to the person. The person utilizes the information to complete
his goals without interruption.
Nadig (1999) highlighted that people act and respond on the basis of
their understanding. But there is a misunderstanding that neither of them is
aware of with listening skills, if a misunderstanding has occurred, it will be
known immediately and the communication can be clarified before any
further misunderstanding occurs. He further listed other benefits such as:
35
 It often easier for a person to listen to and consider the other’s position
when that person knows the other is listening and considering his or her
position.
 It helps people to spot the flaws in their reasoning when they hear it
played back without criticism.
 It also helps identify areas of agreement and the areas of disagreement
are put in perspective and are diminished rather than magnified.
 Reflecting back what listeners hear each other say helps give each a
chance to become aware of the different levels that are going on below
the surface. This helps to bring things into the open where they can be
more readily resolved.
 If listeners accurately understand the other person’s view, they can be
more effective in helping the person see the flaws in his position.
 If people listen, they can accurately understand the other’s view, and
they can also be more effective in discovering the flaws in their own
position.
Principals should talk to teachers frequently to learn their communication
style and observing them regularly will help him become familiar with their
individual mannerisms, and their body language. Being alert and respectful to
cultural differences is especially pertinent. Principals who listen attentively
set a positive example for their teachers and provide a foundation for a stable
relationship. According to Manktelow (2005), good communication skills are
essential for any successful career. By improving one’s listening skills, one
can radically improve his relationships with the people around him.
Conflictive relationships can become productive, difficulties can be smoothed
36
over and otherwise escalating problems can be eradicated. By understanding
messages fully, one can save time, energy and resources.
Kinds of Listening
According to Nadig 1999, the three Basic listening modes are as follows
1.
Competitive or combative listening happens when people are more
interested in promoting their point of view than in understanding or
exploring someone else’s view. They either listen for openings to take
the floor, or for flaws or weak points they can attack. As they pretend
to pay attention they are impatiently waiting for an opening, or
internally formulating the rebuttal and planning devastating response
that will destroy the speakers argument and make them the victor.
2.
In passive or attentive listening people are genuinely interested in
hearing and understanding the other person’s point of view. They are
attentive and passively listen. They assume that they heard and
understand correctly, but stay passive and do not verify it.
3.
Active or Reflective listening is the single most useful and important
listening skill. In active listening, people are also genuinely interested
in understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting or
what the message means, and they are active in checking out their
understanding before they respond with their new message. They
restate or paraphrase their understanding of the message and reflect it
back to the sender for verification. This verification or feedback
process is what distinguishes active listening and makes it effective
levels of communication.
Camp and Satterwhite (1998) view about types of listening is that there
are two kinds of listening: passive and active. The variation between these
37
two types of listening is the degree of the listener’s participation. Passive
listeners concentrate at a low degree and assimilate just only the speaker’s
speech simply just to keep the conversation going. They do not have indepth
understanding of what the speaker is saying. Often, passive listeners permit
the speaker’s inflection or tone of voice signal and react by nodding, smiling,
or saying “I see”. Such reactions can suggest that the speaker has the
listeners’ attention even though that may not be the case (Camp and
Satterwhite, 1998). They further explained that passive listening is
appropriate when one is listening for satisfaction. In this situation, it does not
matter whether one retains what he or she hears or not. For instance, when
one is reading a magazine and listening to musical tones or rather to a
television show, the person is listening passively because he or she does not
need to hear and assimilate every note of the music or every word that is said.
At times, one uses the music or talk as background and listen attentively only
when he or she hears something that attracts his or her interest.
On the other perspective, they described active listening as the most
appropriate listening strategy at the workplace and in the school. According to
them, active listening involves higher level of concentration because the
person involved is listening for information. Principals need to listen carefully
to supervisor’s directions about the procedure to follow in performing
particular tasks. School conversations are filled with names, dates, places,
prices, requests, suggestions etc. All these features of school conversations
are very important and involve active listening skill. School principals as
active listeners concentrate at a high level on what is being said, and they
participate mentally. The principal should hear the students and teachers
requests and preferences. To be successful in an organization such as school,
the principal should know how to listen actively.
38
Active listening is the main way of finding out what is happening in the
school environment. Active listening provides the principal with vital
information and signals. If principals are prepared to listen, they are more
likely to receive the information they need from teachers, students, members
of the community, friends, parents, co-workers, instructors, and supervisors.
Listening actively is one of the primary means of gathering the information
that is necessary in your life and your work.
According to Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth and Harter (2003), listening is
classified into four main types. They are as follows: active listening, empathic
listening, critical listening, and listening for enjoyment.
Active Listening
Active listening involves listening with a purpose. Active listening
involves these steps:
(a) Listening carefully by using all available senses.
(b) Paraphrasing what is heard both mentally and verbally.
(c) Checking your understanding to ensure accuracy.
(d) Providing the necessary feedback. Feedback comprises of the listener’s
verbal and non-verbal communications to the speaker and the speaker’s
information. The response the receiver sends to the sender is called
feedback. Feedback may be direct and immediate or indirect and
delayed. It can be positive, where the speaker’s message is confirmed,
or negative, where the speaker’s message is disconfirmed. When the
principal gets feedback that he understands and agrees with, he makes
the change. If the
reverse is the case, it is advisable to ask for
clarification. It is easy to feel defensive when someone criticizes the
39
speaker’s speech. If the feedback is negative, put it aside and listen to it
without feeling defensive.
Even if one thinks that the listener has misunderstood what he was
trying to say, the fact that the listener complained means that the
communication could be improved. For instance, as a school principal, if the
teacher says “This is not true” and he knows that the statement is true, several
kinds of revision might make the truth clear to the listener such as. rephrasing
the statement, giving more information or examples.
Empathic Listening
Empathic listening is a form of active listening where you attempt to
understand the other person. You engage in empathic listening by using both
mindfulness, which is being “fully engaged in the moment”. Empathy is the
ability of one to perceive another person’s world view as if it is his own.
Critical listening
Critical listening involves challenging the speaker’s message by
evaluating its accuracy, meaningfulness, and utility. Critical listening and
critical thinking really go together in the sense that people cannot listen
critically if they do not think critically. Strategies in critical listening are
pertinent because principals are constantly bombarded with official calls and
other persuasive messages.
Listening for enjoyment
Listening for enjoyment as the name implies, connotes listening for
pleasure, satisfaction, merriment, relaxation and others. Individuals listen for
enjoyment. Whether they are listening to their favourite musical artist, their
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favourite television show, or their group of friends talking about an upcoming
concert, they continue listening because they enjoy it. Besides helping them to
relax, studies have shown that listening to enjoyable music can even reduce
pain for hospital patients. A dose of music may ease the pain (Pearson,
Nelson, Titsworth and Harter, 2003). According to Payne (2001), while we all
want to be good listeners, it is probably not realistic to be listening intently all
the time. Listening involves concentration and effort, so people reserve their
most demanding listening skills for special occasions. People can appreciate
this when they consider the levels of listening.
1.
Listening for enjoyment
This is the easiest of the five levels of listening. People listen for
enjoyment when they listen to music, radio, television or for their own
entertainment. It requires momentary concentration. In a social settings
listening for enjoyment is listening to a light conversation. Listening for
enjoyment is a step above hearing. Hearing is a physical process. Though
listening requires mental involvement. Listening for enjoyment requires very
little active involvement in the process.
2. Listening for information
When people listen to a class discussion or an informative speech, they
are actually listening for information. This level of listening requires more
concentration than listening for enjoyment. Here one is expected to retain,
remember and recall information.
3.
Critical listening
Critical listening involves listening for an information, analyzing and
evaluating the information. A critical listener takes information and retains it.
He questions the information and tests it against other information. A critical
listener is able to offer more thoughtful and perceptive feedback. Listening
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critically means listening with the intent of evaluating or judging what one
hears. It requires a high level of involvement and concentration.
School principals who apply critical listening skills are good
communicators. By listening closely to what teachers say, examining it, and
judging it, they can give them sound advice on what they are saying.
4.
Precision listening
Precision refers to accuracy, being exact or the ability to distinguish
clearly. This skill in listening transcends listening critically. Precision
listening is listening with attention to details that give you clues to the
speaker’s emotion or state of mind. Precision listeners hear the facts, and the
subtle changes in a speaker’s voice that reveal what the speaker feels. They
are in tune with what is said, that is to say the substance of the speech and as
well the style which something is said.
If a school principal is going to judge or evaluate a teacher, he might
pay attention to how the teacher says something as well as to what he is
saying. Suffice it to say that a precision listener will hear more than words. A
precision listener will hear the subtleties of the message.
5.
Empathic listening
This is the highest level of listening. It involves concentration,
retention, and judgment. It connotes the ability to put oneself in someone
else’s place and understand his or her feelings. An empathic listener is
motivated to listen for an understanding of how the speaker feels and why
someone feels a certain way.
Below are some features of an empathic listener:
 An empathic listener often will not offer a personal opinion.
 An empathic listener will serve as a sounding board, even when
someone is venting emotions that are difficult to talk about.
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 An empathic listener suspends judgment, offering opinions when
asked.
 An empathic listener understands that a person has chosen to talk and
respects the role of a listener.
 An empathic listener respects the feelings of others, without necessarily
agreeing with those feelings.
Gamble and Gamble (2002: 195) highlighted on various kinds of
ineffective listeners. He classified the various categories as thus:
Fraudulent Listeners
Fraudulent listeners are pseudolisteners; they are also nodders. People
practice fraudulent listening and engage in nodding pretence that they are
listening. They look at the speaker; nod their heads appropriately in
agreement or disagreement, and make utterances such as “mm” or “uh-huh”
that imply they are paying attention. In reality, the words are falling on deaf
ears. Fraudulent listeners are seen as counterfeit listeners who fake listening
process. The result is that they listen without deriving meaning from the
message. Their reasons for ineffective listening may be that they are
occupied; that the conversation is less interesting or that they are thinking and
concentrating on their personal thoughts.
Monopolistic Listeners
Monopolistic listeners are concerned about their view. They want the
other person to listen to them but have little or no time to listen to another
person. They are characterized by egocentric attributes, and as a result,
intrigued and obsessed with their thoughts and ideas.
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Completers
Completers are regarded as gap fillers; they create the impression that
the whole messages are well apprehended while as in the real perspective,
they never quite get the whole story when they listen. To augment for what
they have missed or misinterpreted, they manufacture information to fill in
the gaps.
Selective listeners
Selective listeners are compared with bees pursuing honey in a flower;
they concentrate on only those portions of a speaker’s remarks that they are
interested in. Everything else the speaker says is considered inconsequential
and thus is rejected. The irony is that selective listeners, in their search for
just the honey, often miss the flower.
Avoiders
Avoiders figuratively wear earmuffs; they close their ears to messages
they would rather not deal with. Sometimes they pretend not to understand
what one tells them or rather act as if they did not hear at all. Sometimes they
simply forget what the speaker has said.
Defensive listeners
When one listens defensively, he assumes others are going to criticize
or belittle him. He is always filled up with the assumptions that the other
person does not like, trust, or respect him. As a result, he is apt to pounce
when another person asks a simple question, or he is likely to perceive a
threat in the comments of another, where there is no existence of such threats.
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In a more concise term, defensive listeners tend to perceive the remarks of
other persons as personal affronts or attacks.
Attackers
Attackers lie in wait, hoping to find ways they can use to diminish the
speakers effectiveness. Rather than working to understand the meaning and
conducting a discussion that is open and fair, they compete with the speaker
to advance their personal goal or rather to out do the speaker when compared.
Holmes (2004), described four basic ways people listen as follows:
Passive listening is listening with an ear tuned to the television set or
something else and the other ear tuned to the conversation going on. Many
people fall into this bad habit as they try to do too much in this busy complex
world. The extreme in passive listening is when someone deliberately closes
his or her mind and refuses to acknowledge any message. This is problematic
to someone trying to actualize an objective. It is also referred as road block
listening. It can be extremely difficult to discern what messages get through to
passive listeners and in what form.
Active listening requires silent involvement. The whole body is active,
supplying direct eye contact, a warm smile, and body action that emits energy
and expresses support. Complete concentration and a clear, open and are
required. Positive active listeners are welcome anywhere while negative
passive listeners are shunned. It is more stimulating to join an active listening
conversation. It is a hard work, but the effort wins friends.
Judgmental listening is listening with a person’s filter in action. These
filters in the form of prejudgments act as barriers. The listener’s decision
making process stands inaccessible. The mind may be made up or partially
open to reason. It requires less thought and at the same time gives the other
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party a sense of being in control of the conversation. A judgmental listener is
always balancing current facts on the table with the experiences in his or her
memory bank.
Non-judgmental listening is the ability to listen carefully, analyze the
presenter’s message, and put it into the best possible light before comparing
the value objectively with the listener’s position. It is a real art. The
objectivity required in non judgmental listening builds trust between the
speaker and the listener. The listener senses the objective intent and responds
accordingly rather than being concerned with how to get through prejudices.
Covey (2006) opined that empathy involves understanding another’s
heart, mind and spirit; including their motives, backgrounds, and feelings.
The more empathy one has for others, the more he comes to appreciate and
reverence who they are. To gain empathy for another, people should listen to
them with their eyes and hearts, as well as their ears. But most people do not
listen with the intent to understand; rather they listen with the intent to reply.
They are busy filtering the messages in their own dimension rather than trying
to understand another’s frame of reference. Continuing, the same Covey
(2004) noted that empathy is different from sympathy. It involves being able
to understand, register and reflect the words that are said. Sympathy on the
other hand is a form of agreement or rather a form of judgment. It connotes
listening with ears, eyes and hearts. One listens for feeling, meaning,
behaviour and uses his right and left brain to sense, intuit and feel. Empathetic
listening is powerful because it gives one accurate data to work with. Instead
of assuming thoughts, feelings, motives and interpretation, one deals with the
reality inside another person’s head and heart. One focuses on receiving the
deep communication of another human soul. Though it is quite unfortunate
that few people have had any training in listening at all. The real key to the
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principal’s relationships with teachers, students and workers is his example,
his actual conduct his example lows naturally out of his character, or the kind
of person he truly is not what others say he is or what he may want them to
think he is. The principal’s character is constantly radiating and
communicating. From it, in the long run, the teachers, students or workers
come to instinctively trust or distrust him. Comparatively, unless the teachers
open up with the principal, and he understands the teachers; the unique
situation and feelings, he will not know how to advise or counsel them. If
principals want to be really effective in the habit of later personal
communication, he cannot do it with technique alone. He has to build the
skills of empathetic listening on a base of character that inspires openness and
trust.
Covey 2004 listed four developmental empathic listening and they are
as follows:
(a) Mimicking content, - this involves listening to the words that come out
of someone’s mouth and one repeats them.
(b) Rephrasing the content – this connotes putting meaning in one’s words,
thinking about the message heard. It includes reasoning and logical side
of the brain.
(c) The third stage brings one’s right brain into operation. He reflects
feelings.
(d) The fourth stage includes both the second and the third. That is to say,
rephrasing the content and reflecting the feeling.
Suffice it to say that, at the fourth stage, empathic listening skills is
really incredible. As the speaker grows in the confidence of the listener’s
sincere desire to really listen and understand, the barrier between what is
going on inside him and what is actually being communicated disappears. It
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creates a rapport between the speaker and the listener. He is not thinking and
feeling one thing and communicating another. He begins to trust the listener
with his innermost tender feelings and thoughts.
A principal who involves in empathic listening can read what is
happening down deep fast, and can show such acceptance, such
understanding, that teachers or students feel safe to open up layer after layer
until they get to that soft inner core where the problem really lies. Teachers,
students and workers want to be understood. And whatever investment of
time it takes to do that will bring much greater returns of time as one works
from an accurate understanding of the problems and issues and from the high
benefits that results when a person feels deeply understood.
Derrington and Groom (2004) identified some different types of
listening and explanatory notes as follows:-
Discriminating Listening
Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the
difference between different sounds is identified. If one cannot hear
differences, then he cannot make sense of the meaning that is expressed by
such differences. People learn to discriminate between sounds within their
language early, and later are unable to discriminate between the phonemes of
other languages. This is one reason why a person from one country finds it
difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they are unable to distinguish
the subtle sounds that are required in that language. Likewise, a person who
cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another person’s voice
will be less likely to discern the emotions the other person is experiencing.
Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as people communicate much
through body language, they also need to be able to discriminate between
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muscle and skeletal movements that signify different meanings. That is to say,
where the listener is able to identify and distinguish inferences or emotions
through the speaker’s change in voice tone, their use of pause, etc. Some
people are extremely sensitive in this way, while other are less able to pick up
these subtle cues. Good examples of discriminating listening are where the
listener may recognize and pinpoint laugh from a crowded theatre or their
own child’s cry in a noisy playground.
Comprehension Listening
Comprehension listening is also known as content listening,
informative listening and full listening. To comprehend the meaning requires
first having a lexicon of words at the fingertips and also all rules of grammar
and syntax by which one can understand what the other person is really
saying. The visual components of communication and an understanding of
body language help people to understand what the other person is really
saying. In communication, some words are more important and some less,
and comprehension often benefits from extraction of key facts and items from
a long rapid speech. In summary, comprehension listening involves
concentration on the message being given. This may be the content of a
lesson, directions, instructions, etc.
Biased listening
Biased listening happens when the person hears only what he wants to
hear, typically misinterpreting what the other person says based on the
stereotypes and other biases that he has.
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Evaluative listening
Evaluative listening is also called critical, judgemental or interpretive
listening. In evaluative listening, listeners make judgements about what the
other person is saying. They seek to assess the truth of what is being said.
They also judge what they say against their values, assessing them as good or
bad, worthy or unworthy. Evaluative listening is particularly pertinent when
the speaker is trying to persuade the listener, perhaps to change his behaviour
or belief. Within this, the listener also discriminates between subtleties of
language and comprehends the inner meaning of what is said. Listener weighs
up the pros and cons of an argument, determining whether it makes sense
logically. This is the type of listening that principals should adopt when faced
with an offer that requires a decision from them.
Appreciative listening
In appreciative listening, listeners seek certain information which they
will appreciate, for example, that which helps meet their needs and goals.
Listeners use appreciative when they are listening to good music, poetry or
maybe even the stirring words of a great leader, charismatic speakers or
entertainers.
Sympathetic listening
In sympathetic listening people care about the other person and show
this concern in the way they pay close attention and express their sorrow for
the person’s ills and happiness at the person’s joy.
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Empathetic listening
Empathetic listeners tend to listen rather than talk. Their non-verbal
behaviours indicate that they are attending to what is being said. The
emphasis is on understanding the speaker’s feelings and being supportive and
patient. When people listen empathetically, they go beyond sympathy to seek
a real understanding on how others are feeling. This requires excellent
discrimination and close attention to the nuances of emotional signals. When
listeners are being truly empathetic, they actually feel what the speaker is
feeling. In order to get speakers expose these deep parts of themselves to
listeners, listeners need to demonstrate their empathy towards speakers,
asking sensitively and in a way that encourages self-disclosure.
Therapeutic Listening
In therapeutic listening, the listener has a purpose of not only
empathizing with the speaker but also to use his deep connection in order to
help the speaker understand, change or develop in some ways. These happen
where principals seek to diagnose problems from listening and also help
teachers and students to solve their problems. In this type of listening,
principals seek to help teachers learn and develop.
Dialogic Listening
Dialogic listening is also called relational listening. The word
‘dialogue’ stems from the Greek words ‘dia’ meaning through’ and ‘Logos’
meaning ‘words’. That is to say, dialogic listening means learning through
conversation and an engaged interchange of ideas and information in which
listeners actively seek to learn more about the speaker and how he thinks.
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Relationship Listening
Sometimes, the most important factor in listening is in order to
develop or sustain a relationship. This is why lovers for instance, talk for
hours and attend closely to what each other has to say when the same words
from someone else would seem to be rather boring. Relationship listening is
also important in school administration because it encourages love and trust.
There are various ways to listen. Each depends on the situation at that
moment. A journalist straining to decipher an information is not listening the
way others listen when they want to chat. People listen attentively to
information they feel is important to them. For instance adolescents listen
carefully when the coach announces the starting line up or the music teacher
names soloists for the big performance, but reverse is the case when their
parents want to send them on an errand.
According to Adler and Elmhorst (2002), listening styles differ because
not everyone listens the same way. They identified four common ways people
listen to other’s messages. They are enumerated below as follows:
People-oriented listeners
People – oriented listeners are most concerned with creating and
maintaining positive relationships. They are sensitive to the moods of other
people. They show interest to speaker’s countenance and as well respond to
their feelings. They see reasons in other people’s idea. This group of listeners
are non judgmental about the speaker’s speech. They concentrate their interest
in understanding and supporting people than in evaluating them. The
limitation of this style is that people – oriented listeners may stand the chance
of not being able to evaluate the quality of information others are giving in an
attempt to share common interests or rather be supportive.
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Action – oriented listeners
Action – oriented listeners as the name implies, are interested in
understanding the facts and ideas that are being communicated. They abhor
any form of rigmarole in the speakers’ description. They appreciate clear,
precise, coherent information and often translate others’ remarks into wellorganized mental outlines. This group of listeners devise no-nonsense
approach. Taking care of business is their main objective. They motivate
people to focus on the available task and spur them to be concised and
organized. It is obvious that speakers who lack clarity and coherency find it
difficult to associate with this group of listeners. Their short coming is that
they appear to reduce emotional issues, and that may constitute an integral
part of business and other transactions.
Content – oriented listeners
Content –oriented listeners are evaluation oriented. They are so much
involved in detail analyses and as well as discuss issues from different
dimensions. This group of listeners appreciates listening to authorities in a
particular field. They prefer to listen to experts and other reliable sources of
information. They often enjoy ideas for their own sake and are willing to
spend time exploring them in thorough exchanges of ideas. Suffice it to say
that, they could be of immense benefit when the objective is to evaluate the
quality and quantity of ideas. When the issues at hand become complex, their
role is to approach the issues from a wide range of perspectives. The demerit
of this detail-oriented approach is that it may provoke others who do not
welcome their analytical orientation. More so, their analysis can consume
much time which others may be unable to offer. Their assessment and
evaluation can be perceived as critical and hostile.
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Time – oriented listeners
Time – oriented listeners are too conscious of time. They are interested
in efficiency in all ramifications. To them, time is a scarce and valuable
commodity which needs not to be wasted. In an organization that moves in an
alarming fast speed, time-oriented listeners can help keep things functioning
effectively. The limitation of time-oriented listeners is that their exhibition of
impatience can hamper relationships or rather hindering the kind of
thoughtful deliberation that some jobs require. Adler and Elmhorst (2002)
summarizes the situation with the below assertions.
The key to success as a listener is to recognize that
you can control the way you listen and to use the
approaches that best suit the situation at hand.
When your relationship with the speaker needs
attention, adopt a people oriented approach. When
clarity is the issue, be an action-oriented listener. If
analysis is called for, pat on your content-oriented
person. And when the clock is what matters most,
become a model of time-orientation(p.116).
On the other hand, McCutcheon, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994)
postulated five ways to listen. According to them the most basic listening
style is appreciative listening. They classified them as follows: appreciative
listening, discriminative listening, comprehensive listening, Therapeutic
listening and critical listening.
Appreciative listening
Appreciative listening style involves the satisfaction and pleasure
people derive while they listen at music, a bird’s song or the murmur of a
brook: All these are considered appreciative listening.
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Discriminative listening
Discriminative listening involves when individuals want to single out a
particular sound from a noisy environment. Discriminative listening takes
place, for instance, when one listens for a sister’s voice among a group of
people.
Comprehensive listening
Comprehensive listening style means the ability to understand. For
instance, this listening strategy takes place when people listen to instructions
or directions.
Therapeutic listening
Therapeutic listening style is the type of listening skill used by
psychiatrists and good friends. The therapeutic listener in discussion with a
trouble friend accepts what is said, being very eager to understand and makes
no judgments. They create opportunities for easy free flow conversations.
People are spurred to discuss freely without fear of embarrassment.
Critical listening
As the label suggests, critical listeners are most concerned with
accuracy. They are the most active of all listeners because they are conscious
to decipher meaning from what someone is saying. Critical listeners assess
what they hear and determine whether the information delivered is logical,
sequential, worthwhile and valuable. The implication of the aforementioned
assertion is that the schools principals need to be critical listeners in school,
where listening and thinking are almost synonymous. This will help them in
evaluating the logic and merit of what teachers or students say.
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Competitive listening
Competitive listening is seen most often in negotiation situations, or
when politicians are debating with each other. The person being spoken to is
more interested in getting their own point of view across when the other
person stops speaking, rather than acknowledging what they have just heard.
Alternatively, they are distracted by thinking about their own argument or
point of view rather than listening properly.
However, he described passive or attentive listening as a danger always
seen in lecture style presentation sessions. Here, an audience pays attention to
the slides and listens carefully to the speaker, but there is no real opportunity
to interact. This means that the speaker may not know how well their message
is being understood.
More so, he highlighted that active listening is the most efficacious way
to listen for and understand the real message in what people are saying. It
involves taking the next step from just listening attentively, by looking to
show obvious interest in what the speaker is saying, and by trying to interact
with them. In the light of the above assertions school principals need to apply
active listening, and provide opportunities for teachers, students and the entire
communities to use active listening techniques as well.
John and Bechler (1998) also found that leaders exhibit superior
listening skills because of heightened interest in the organization. They have a
greater desire to see the organization succeed and as a result develop superior
listening skills. They noted that administrator identified effective listening
skills as a sine qua non for successful administration. Empathic listening is
particularly valuable when interacting with people. Axley (1996) reported that
empathy is the ability to understand someone or something from other
persons perspective. It is the sincere and sustained effort to get outside
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people’s imaginations and into another person’s head and heart, to appreciate
how and why another person interprets things and to fully understand
something the way that person understands.
Nouwen and De Mello (2005), emphasized that “Reflective listening”
is a type of listening that seeks understanding, not necessarily agreement. It
seeks to understand both the meaning of what is being said aloud and what is
not. Reflective listening is an attentive, respectful, non-judgmental approach
to providing care. The teachers experiencing difficulties express gratitude
when principals are willing to take the time and effort to understand, rather
than giving advice. Reflective listening is a way of offering true hospitality
and acceptance. Reflective listening is not a problem-solving approach as
such. However it is the means for getting there. When someone feels heard
and understood. It then becomes easier to take the steps needed to address
problems. Nouwen and De Mello (2005) citing Rogers stated “people only
listen when they feel listened to”. While the use of reflective listening is
beneficial in all relationships, it can be particularly helpful in breaking down
barriers and minimizing resistance with individuals experiencing anger and
frustration. It does not try to control, but to empower. Reflective listening
must be carefully used. It is not just a parroting technique; it must derive from
genuine caring. Otherwise, it becomes a fraudulent exercise. Just as a
carpenter uses different tools to tackle a job, listeners can take advantage of
several skills for listening and responding to messages at work. Adler
and
Elmhorst (2002) designed three approaches to listening. They are listed as
follows: passive listening, questioning and paraphrasing.
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Passive listening
Sometimes the most accepted approach to listening is to allow the other
person to talk. This approach is all about mixture of silence and prompts that
invite the speaker to continue. Responses such as “Uh-huh”, “Really?” “Tell
me more”, and so on are good examples of this approach. Non-verbal
communication strengthens verbal messages. Non-verbal cues that indicate a
genuine interest are an important part of passive listening. Non-verbal cues
involve attributes or actions of humans, other than the use of words
themselves, which have socially shared meaning, are intentionally sent or
interpreted as intentional, are consciously sent or consciously received, and
have the potential for feedback from the receiver. Smile face, eye contact,
attentive posture, and appropriate facial expressions show that you are tuned
into the other person.
Passive listening is often the best approach when the spotlight is on the
speaker, especially in formal presentations and in those attended by a large
audience. For instance, one probably can recall vividly emotion provoked
when a speaker’s designed speech were interrupted constantly by a questioner
who was unaware of the desire of every other audience member to keep quiet
and listen to the speaker.
Questioning
Genuine questions are sincere desire for information. They play a
tremendous role in gathering of facts and details, define meanings, and spur a
speaker to make emphasis. Sincere questions create opportunity for further
elaboration, yet, not all questions reflect a real desire to understand a speaker.
According to Adler and Elmhorst (2002), counterfeit questions are actually a
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disguise effort to send a message, not to receive one. Counterfeit questions
are probed in various ways:
 Questions that make statements or offer advice, For example is it not
pretty expensive? Or did you think that it might be cheaper to hire a
consultant?
 Questions that trap or attack the speaker for example, Are you sure
there are no mistakes in this report? (Especially when the speaker
knows there are).
 Questions that carry hidden agenda. For example Are you caught up
with your work? (If the answer is yes, the next response is, “Good.
Then you could give me a hand with this job).
 Questions that seek correct answers e.g. You do not have any problems
with that, do you?
No question is naturally counterfeit. The instances given above could
be a true request for information. More so, indirect questions can be a facesaving way to elude embarrassing confrontations. These mean that in a school
setting if the school principal’s motive of probing questions to either the
teacher or the student, does not seem genuine, or if it does not seem to be in
the teacher’s or student’s best interest, counterfeit questions can pollute
communication climate just as quickly as any direct attack.
Paraphrasing
Adler and Elmhorst (2002) stated that paraphrasing takes place when
the receiver restates a speaker’s ideas in his own language to make sure that
he has understood them accurately and to show the other person that fact.
Paraphrasing makes decoding a message explicit. Paraphrasing is sometimes
preceded by phrases like “Let me make sure that I understand what you are
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saying” or “in other words, you are saying”. When one is paraphrasing, it is
important not to, repeat the speaker’s statements word for word. Assimilation
of the message arises as a result of, one putting the speaker’s ideas into his
own words and still maintains accuracy. There are three types of
paraphrasing. In as much as each of them reflects the speaker’s information,
each focuses on a different part of that statement. Kinds of paraphrasing are
paraphrasing content, paraphrasing intent and paraphrasing feeling.
Paraphrasing Content
Paraphrasing content plays back the receiver’s understanding of the
explicit message. Often, people think they understand another person only to
notice later that they were wrong. People who practice paraphrasing are
highly surprised to find out the number of times a speaker will correct or add
information to a message that had seemed perfectly clear.
Paraphrasing Intent
Paraphrasing intent can help individuals learn why people have spoken
up. It can help them understand what people mean when they make
statements that can be interpreted in more than one way. Imagine that, at a
staff meeting, the principal announces, “Next week, we shall start using this
register to show when we are out of the office and where we have gone”. It’s
easy for teachers to imagine two quite different reasons for setting up this
procedure.
(a) to help keep teachers and workers informed about where each person
is and when he or she will return
(b) be keep track of teachers because the principal suspects that some are
slacking off on school time.
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Paraphrasing Feeling
Occasionally, the speaker’s feelings are the most important aspect of a
message. Some people do not express or even recognize their emotions. In
the school environment, a teacher, might make some emotional statements
such as the following:
(1) That is the third time he canceled an appointment on me, who does he
think he is?
(2) Whenever a deadline comes, I get excuses instead of results, this cannot
go on much longer.
(3) One minute she says we have to spend money to make money, and the
next minute she talks about cutting cost, I cannot figure out what she
really wants.
To analyze the above statements, there are at least two or three possible
emotions. They are as follows:
(1) Number one statement expresses anger, hurt and self-doubt.
(2)
Number two statement indicates anger, frustration and worry
(3) Number three statement shows anger and confusion
Paraphrasing the apparent emotion can give the principal a chance to
agree with or contradict interpretation. Statements like, ‘Yes I guess it did
hurt my feeling”, or I am mere worried than mad”, can help the principal to
clarify how he is feeling and to deal with, the emotions.
Barriers to Listening Skills
In the words of Shakespeare, which speech have been embraced by
millions of people all over the globe, regretted inattentive listening: “it is the
disease of not listening, the malady of not marking, that I am troubled
withal”. Listening seems difficult because people spend little time working
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on it. Consciously, they seem to apply more attention to what reaches our
eyes than to what reaches their ears. What slights, slurs, or implications
through words or gestures would cause principals to stop listening and start
distracting them from listening to another person? What are the barriers that
set principals off and keep them from listening?
Adler and Elmhorst (2002) listed six barriers to listening skills. They
are enumerated as follows:
1. Physiological barriers
2. environmental barriers
3. attitudinal barriers
4. faculty assumptions
5. socio-cultural differences
6. lack of training
Physiological Barriers
i.
Hearing problems: Inactive listening is as a result of deficiencies in
hearing. An undetected hearing loss may cause teachers to be enraged
about the principal ignoring them or cause the principal to get annoyed
when his instructions are violated. Human beings may have auditory
processing difficulties, such as auditory discrimination sequencing, or
memory, which create the appearance of not listening or paying
attention to what is said but are actually the result of physiological
involvement, not deliberate disregard.
ii.
Rapid thought: Listeners can process message at a rate of about 500
words per minute, while some speakers talk at around 125 words per
minute. This variation gives us a great deal of mental spare time. While
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it is possible for principals to use this time to explore the speakers
ideas, they often let their minds wonder to other matters.
Environmental barriers
i.
Physical Distractions: These involve all distractions that can hinder
listening. Example of such distractions are: noisy machinery,
conversation nearby, a stuff room e.t.c.
ii.
Problems in the communication channel: Listening can be difficult
when the communicators lack face-to-face contact. In this case, they do
not see each other, and unlike face-to-face communication, the eye or
body messages will be lost. It is harder to receive information
accurately over the telephone. Face-to-face approach takes a little more
time, but the results are much more accurate.
iii.
Message overload: One can keep only a few things going at a time.
Listening can be hampered by constant ringing of the telephone,
scheduled appointments etc.
Attitudinal barriers
i.
Preoccupation: Business and personal concerns can make it difficult to
keep people’s mind on the issue at hand. Even when their current
conversation is pertinent, other unactualised business can disrupt their
attention. Some preoccupation is inescapable, but maintaining their
focus on the speaker will have tremendous merits for the listener.
ii.
Egocentrism: Egocentric attitude of some individuals is one of the
hindrance to listening skills. These group of people believe that their
ideas are more important or valuable than others ideas. Self centered
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listeners prevent themselves from getting useful new ideas and they
also alienate themselves with whom they need to work.
iii. Fear of Appearing ignorant: It is always important to seek for
clarification when the listener does not understand what the speaker is
saying. Some people think that asking for further explanations is sign
of ignorance. They pretend to understand the speaker. The consequence
of this attitude cannot be over-emphasized or underestimated. It is
beneficial to desire for further clarification.
Faulty assumptions
i. Assuming
That
Effective
Communication
is
the
Sender’s
Responsibility: Without the receiver, the process of communication is
incomplete. It is the recipient who communicates. The speaker utters,
and unless there is someone who hears, there is only noise. In other
words, even the most thoughtful, well-expressed idea is wasted if the
receiver is inattentive. The clearest instruction will not prevent errors if
the teacher receiving them is thinking of another thing, and the best
organizational role will never be achieved if the principal is not paying
attention to information .
ii. Assuming that Listening Is Passive: Some communicators mistakenly
assume that listening is basically a passive activity in which the
recipient absorbs the speaker’s ideas. Good listening can be exhausting.
Sometimes the listener speaks, probes questions, paraphrases the
sender’s thought, ascertain the facts. Even when the listener is silent,
silence should not be mistaken for passivity.
iii. Assuming that Talking has More Advantages than Listening: The
assumption is that speakers are leaders while listeners are followers.
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The speaker is the one who captures everyone’s interest. People
correlate listening with weakness, passivity, and lack of authority.
Socio-cultural Differences
i.
Cultural difference: One can differentiate people from different tribes
by their various accents. A different dialect can be a source of
psychological noise when it interferes with people’s abilities to
understand and appreciate the words of someone whose pronunciation
differs from theirs.
ii.
Gender difference: men and women may perceive different parts of
information because they listen for various purposes. Women pay more
attention to the feelings behind a speaker’s speech while men tend to
listen for the facts. It is common for an information presented by a
woman to be ignored, while the same message presented by a man
receives more attention. Tannen (1994), states that women are not as
likely to be listened to as men, regardless of how they speak or what
they say. Principals who are aware of this tendency can train
themselves to give equal attention to the information of every
communicator regardless of sex.
Lack of training
Lucocoa and Novak in Adler and Elmhorst (2002) recognized the
relevance for organized programs to train personnel to become better
listeners:
I only wish I could find an institute, that teaches
people how to listen. After all a good manager
needs to listen at least as much as he needs to talk.
Too many people fail to realize that real
communication goes in both directions. You have to
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be able to listen well if you are going to motivate the
people who work for you. Right there, that is the
difference between a mediocre company and a great
company. The most fulfilling thing for me as a
manager is to watch someone the system has
labeled as just average or mediocre really come
into his own, all because someone has listened to
his problems and helped him solve them(P.114).
The federal government spends thousands of naira on in-service training, yet
they fail to include training on principals on act of listening skills.
Similarly, Pearson, (2005), pointed out both natural and self-taught
barriers to effective listening. These barriers can be summarized as: noise,
perception of others and yourself.
Noise
i.
Physical distractions: all the stimuli in the environment that keep one
from concentrating on the message. For instance, loud music at a party.
ii.
Mental distractions: the wandering of the mind when it suppose to be
concentrating on something. For example thinking about film show in a
conference.
iii.
Factual distractions: focusing earnestly on the details that the main idea
is missed.
iv.
Semantic distractions: over responding to an emotion-laden concept or
word.
Perception of others
i.
Status: devoting attention based on the social stratification, rank or
perceived value of another. For instance, not listening to a poor man in
a meeting or not listening to a freshman in a group activity.
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ii.
Stereotype: treating people as if they are the same as other in a given
category. For instance, not listening to older people because you feel
that all of them have similar opinions.
iii.
Sights and sounds: These involve allowing the outward appearance of
an individual to affect your listening skills or not paying attention to
somebody with a screechy voice.
Yourself
i.
Egocentrism: This means systematic selfishness, state of mind in
which one is always thinking of oneself. Practice of talking too often or
too much about oneself. For example, seeing yourself as the central
concern in every conversation or redirecting conversations to his
problems.
ii.
Defensiveness: This is an act of showing threatened and trying to
defend what one has said or done. For instance, if one assumes that
other people’s comments are veiled criticisms of his speech, he tries to
defend her assertions beyond all reasonable doubt.
iii.
Experiential superiority: Life experiences of some people are ignored
or downplayed by groups that claim experiential superior. To them,
they believe that they have acquired enough experiences in life that
cannot be compared with other people’s experiences. For example, not
listening attentively to those with less experience.
iv.
Personal Bias: This means allowing your own opinion, interfere with
your ability to interpret message accurately. For example, Assuming
that people are generally deceitful or truthful.
According to Payne (2001) “listening “listening barrier is any physical,
mental or cultural condition that reduces the likelihood a message can be
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received and understood”. He classified these barriers into three groups. They
are physical, mental and cultural barriers.
a.
Physical barriers
The most common physical barriers to listening are the physical
barriers to hearing itself. A total or partial hearing loss will make listening
more difficult but certainly not impossible. Other physical barrier is common
circumstance, such as a poor audio system.
b.
Mental Barriers
The most common mental barrier is lack of concentration it is not
surprising to note that people’s minds sometimes wander when they are
listening. Another mental barrier to listening is our attitude. An attitude is a
state of mind about something or someone, the beliefs or feelings people have
about themselves, other people, ideas, and events. If an audience possesses a
hostile attitude, listening will probably be a problem. Listening in school
environment is a good example. If a principal has a negative attitude about a
teacher or a student as the case may be, he might find listening difficult. If the
speaker wants listening for information, he needs to change the attitude of the
audience if the speaker is to actualize his objectives. Another attitudinal
barrier is the tendency to try to “rehearse” or plan what one wants to say
rather than listen to others. This poor attitude can be overcome by
concentrating on listening. One of the most common attitudinal barriers is
selective listening. Selective listening takes place when people give deaf ear
to anything they do not want to hear and pay attention only to information
that coincides with their beliefs.
c.
Cultural barriers.
One major barrier to listening is accents. Sometimes, an accent can
make listening difficult. For example listening to non native speakers can
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require higher level of concentration. In Nigeria, many people come from
cultural backgrounds that can inhibit listening. As a result there are cultural
distinctions that good communicators should be aware of. Many people find
accents charming and intriguing but it can make listening difficult. One
strategy for managing this potential barrier is to listen for over –all content
rather than trying to understand each specific word the speaker uses. In most
situations there are many obstacles which can stop principals from listening
effectively, as an administrator it is important to appreciate what these
obstacles are and how to overcome each of them. Broadly speaking, there are
four types of barriers highlighted below. De Boer (2005) explained these
barriers as follows:
1.
Psychological Barriers – This include prejudice, apathy or fear on the
part of the listener. For example, someone working in marketing or
production may not be as interested in a presentation on annual
financial results as an accountant or sales director, given that it may not
directly impact on their daily activities. Similarly, a principal may not
be interested in a message that does not directly effect his school
activities.
2.
Physical Barriers – This involves disability fatigue or poor health on
the part of the listener. For example, trying to listen to a teacher or a
student for long periods while the principal is suffering from an ailment
or from a heavy cold is a fairly difficult thing to do.
3.
Environmental Barriers Unsuitable climate such as an overheated,
climate distracting noises, stuffy meeting room and uncomfortable or
poorly positioned sitting are good examples of environmental barriers.
4.
Expectation Barrier – This includes anticipating or boring presentation,
expecting to receive bad news, or being spoken to in confusing jargon.
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In a work or educational situation, a principal can certainly address
tangible barriers such as environmental factors or physical obstacles. Dealing
with internal barriers can be more difficult, but a lot of this can be achieved
through preparation before any meetings or group sessions.
Techniques of Listening skills
In terms of outlining the techniques which can be used for listening
skills. It is useful to think back to the three basic stages of the listening
process-hearing, attention and understanding. According to De Boer (2005),
hearing and attention involve keeping quiet, trying to eliminate as many
distractions as possible, both external and internal, trying to control one’s
non-verbal signals to the person speaking. This could mean paying attention
to one’s physical stance, body movements, eye contact with the speaker, and
encouraging motions such as nodding or smiling.
Understanding on the other hand, involves comprehending the purpose
of the speaker, and also being aware of one’s expectations from the
conversation. It also includes taking notes, focusing on or writing down the
key words and phrases, rather than trying to write down everything that is
being said in an act of dictation. Understanding also connotes using the notes
written down as a reminder of points that need clarification. It also means one
listening without interrupting the thought of the speaker.
More ever, another interesting listening technique is reflecting what the
speaker says. This technique is used extensively by people involved in
consultative selling, but it is also a very useful tool for anyone involved in
business, education, training or voluntary work. Communication can be
broken down into three levels;
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Facts, thoughts (or beliefs) and feelings (or emotions). Works are reflected on
all three levels.
1 Repeating the facts that one thinks she or he has been given by the
speaker. This is sometimes referred to as ‘parroting’. If it is right, one
knows that he is getting the basic elements of what the speaker is
saying. If there are mistakes the receiver goes back on to the same
page.
2 Sharing the thoughts or beliefs that the receiver has heard.
3 Trying to convey the underlying feelings or emotions which one
believes are involved. For instance, the speaker may be very upset and
wants the receiver to display empathy or sympathy with their situation.
It is this reflection of thoughts and feelings which distinguishes
reflecting from just parroting back to the speaker, which might get a bit
tedious and annoying for all concerned.
Again, this is a very useful tool when coaching or mentoring. It can
also be used during feedback sessions in a more formal situation such as a
performance review meeting in the school. Milner (2005) described many
ways one can become an active listener paying heed to this list of “keys to
Effective Listening”.
They are as follows:
1 Stop working.
2 Stop watching television.
3 Stop reading.
4 Look at the person.
5 Keep a good distance between you and the speaker.
6 Do not turn away.
7 Sit up straight.
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8 Nod your head and make statements such as “uh-uh”, “I understand”,
and “I see what you mean” to show the speaker that the message is well
understood.
9 If the message is not properly communicated, let the sender know that.
10 Do not fake, listen!
11 Repeat back phrases to clarify what the person is saying.
12 Act as if one is interested and ask questions to show that you are
interested in what the person is saying.
13 Do not interrupt the speaker.
Holmes (2004) listed the following techniques to improve listening skills:
1 Keep your objective clearly in mind, but be flexible, if indicated.
2 Listen 90 percent of the time.
3 People only learn when they listen, not when they talk.
4 Learn the art of asking pertinent questions.
5 Practice non-judgmental listening.
6 Learn to listen out the hidden problems.
7 Carefully observe the other party’s body language and react
accordingly
8 Listen till you understand the other person’s position and keep listening
until you find the right response.
9 Listen to both words and intent to avoid misunderstandings.
10 Real patience may be required. Learn to use time as a partner.
11 Be sure you are an active listener and that the body language is
supportive.
12 Conclude with confirmation of any agreements reached.
13 Be positive and have fun.
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Carnegie (2002) listed three vital skills that must be developed in order
to become an accomplished listener:
1.
Visualize what is being said. Remember that your client is expressing
information that will assist your goals later on in the conversation.
2.
Listen to body language – there are effective tools to remember about
body language. Refrain from leaning back and crossing your arms in
front of your chest. This will give the perception of being bored or
having a closed mind. It is important without staring. Professional
listeners occasionally catch the speakers eye and then break the contact
with a polite nodding of head. This shows that one is paying attention.
3.
The mind game of listening: This game will allow you to practice your
listening skills and will naturally hone your ability to effectively
accumulate information. The game is to keep the conversation as
exciting as possible, meanwhile accumulating as much information as
possible without revealing anything about yourself. As people listen
and process what is being said they should ask themselves how this
information can help them achieve their goals. This game will teach
them to avoid thinking about their opinions while the speaker is talking.
The greatest honour that can be given is your undivided attention.
Similarly, Treuer (2006), x-rayed various listening skills and
techniques. Principals can improve their listening skills by following some of
the strategies below:
a. Maintain eye contact with the speaker of course, eye contact keeps one
focused on the conversation at hand and keeps the person involved in
the interaction. Remember that some people are more comfortable with
eye contact than others and that this varies with culture and geography.
Across the United Kingdom, people in the north of England and
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Scotland make more eye contact than Southerners, and in some African
cultures it is considered rude to maintain eye contact for a long time.
Fit the amount of eye contact to what one thinks his conversation
partner is comfortable with. Avoid staring matches than can appear
confrontational.
b. Focus on content, the train of thought of the person talking, avoid
thinking about responses or other non related things until after the
person has finished speaking.
c. Avoid emotional involvement when people are too emotionally
involved in listening, they tend to hear what they want to hear, not what
is actually being said. Try to remain objective and open minded.
d. Avoid distraction: Do not let your mind wander. If the environment is
too hot or too cold, try to remedy that situation if possible. The solution
may require dressing more appropriately to the environmental
temperature. Remove distractions such as phone ringing, something
you have to do that minute.
e. Treat listening as a challenging mental task. Listening to an academic
lecture is not a passive act. It requires a lot of concentration. People
should remember that they are there to listen and remind themselves of
this, especially if they have a tendency to talk a lot.
f. Stay active by asking mental questions. Active listening keeps one on
his toes. Here are some questions one can ask himself as he listens.
What key point is the speaker making? How does this fit with my
previous knowledge?
g. Use the gap between the rate of speech and the rate of thought. A
principal can think faster than the teacher who is the speaker. He can
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actually begin to anticipate what the teacher is going to say as a way to
keep his mind from straying.
h. Paraphrase is using one’s own words in verbalizing one’s
understanding of the message. Transmitting back the expressions
verbatim is annoying and does not ensure accurate understanding of the
message. Use phrases like “so, in your case” or “you think that” to
indicate that one is paraphrasing.
i. If there are gaps in the conversation, do not rush to fill them. The other
person may just be collecting his thought or trying to find a way to put
across what he wants to say.
j. Be empathic and non judgmental. One can accept and respect the
speaker’s feelings and beliefs without invalidating or giving up one’s
position, or without agreeing with the accuracy and validity of the
speaker’s view.
k. If the listener is involved in a difficult or confrontational conversation,
it can be useful to gently attempt to openly identify the areas, of
difficulty and seek the other person’s help in trying to get rid of the
impasse. He might say for instance, “I think that we have some
difficulty here because you are angry about what happened at
yesterday’s meeting can we talk about how that made you feel first?
 Do not respond to just the meaning of the words, look for the feelings
or intent beyond the words. The dictionary or surface meaning of the
words or code used by the sender is not the message.
 Inhibit the impulse to immediately answer questions. The code may be
in the form of a question. Sometimes people ask questions when they
really want to express themselves and are not open to hearing an
answer.
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 Know when to quit using active listening. Once the receiver accurately
understands the sender’s message, it may be appropriate to respond
with the receiver’s message. Do not use active listening to hide and
avoid revealing one’s position.
 If people do not understand, they should either tell the speaker that they
do not understand and ask him to say it another way, or use best guess.
If they are incorrect, the speaker will realize it and will likely attempt to
correct the misunderstanding.
 Body language is a sine-qua-non to effective listening. Face and lean
toward the speaker and nod the head. Be careful about crossing arms
and appearing closed or critical. According to Koteinikor (2001), most
people simply listen to the words that are being said to message. The
remaining 90% is hidden in the body language. The body language can
help one look beyond what people say to the real meaning of the
message. To remember better what is being communicated, try to
engage all the senses while listening as human brain stores pictures,
feelings smells, and tastes more effectively than words.
 Be aware of biases and perceptions control your biases, encourage the
speaker and provide feedback..
Theoretical Framework
Cutlip and Centre (1982), McQuail (1987), Enyi in Mgbodile (2003),
discussed three main schools of organizational behaviour. These are the
Scientific Management, Human Relations and the System School. Knowledge
of these three theories is essential in having an overview into how
organizations function and the role of communication in organization.
Scientific and Classical Management Theories
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A prominent proponent of scientific management theory is Frederick
W. Taylor (1856 – 1917). He has always been regarded as the “Father of
Scientific Management” because of his pioneer works in this area. These were
the earliest administrative theories. The theories emphasized productivity at
the expenses of the human worker. A worker was seen only as a worker who
had no independent decisions about his work. The manager had the overall
power and control over him. The manager was in charge of all organizational
activities. The worker’s welfare and interest are completely subdued. His
main concern was the achievement of efficiency of workers by maximizing
their outputs through the application of principles of scientific management.
To him, the best way to manage organizations is for administrator to know
what to expect from the workers and ensure the workers achieve those things
in the best cheapest way. This school of thought emphasized written formal
channels of communication. These include impersonal work and related
messages initiated by the hierarchy and thrust down the chain of command.
Classical giants in the field of public administration (Taylor, Fayol and
Weber) emphasized the place of communication in administration. Inherent in
their principles of division of labour or specialization documentation or
record keeping, decentralization and the scalar chain is the indispensable role
or place of communication. Taylor proposed six management principles
which were summarized in Ukeje Akabogu and Ndu (1992) as follows:
Time-study Principle
This principle stressed that any work to be done must be accurately
measured by time. This indicated that any work must be completed within a
stated period of time.
Piece-Rate Principle
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Within the context of this principle, the amount of money to be earned
by a worker must be commensurate with the work done by the worker. That is
to say, that result determined the payment.
Separation of Planning from Performance Principle
The main emphasis of this principle is that planning should be the sole
responsibility of the administrators regardless of the workers. Here, planning
should be based on time study and other factors of production which are
scientifically determined and that working tools and facilities should be
standardized in other to facilitate planning.
Scientific method of work principle
The management’s effort was to identify the most perfect way to
increase performance in an organization and train workers to be experts in
that field.
Functional management principle
This principle highlighted the special designing of industrial
organizations to be free from strict military principles and in the process,
enrich coordination. The theories neglected the decentralization of
administration by concentrating powers on the administrators to participate in
issues concerning the organizations where they work. The theories failed to
recognize the importance of workers motivation and conducive working
environments as prerequisite for increased productivity.
However, educational administrators and teachers must realize that the
implementation of some of Taylor’s principles may not be profitable in school
setting where some of them are practicable. The operation of the formal
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communication system follows the classical hierarchical structure of an
organization. Such a structure follows the lines of authority, which also
determine
the
upward
and
downward
directions
of
all
formal
communications. Formal communication in its downward form transmits
policies, instructions and such information that is necessary for the
determination of what must be done from the top-level managers through the
middle level down to the lowest level of the organization. Similarly, formal
communication flows upward through the same lines of authority in the form
of feedback from the lowest through the middle levels to the final decisionmaking levels. This pattern is considered necessary to enable managers to
coordinate effectively the work under their respective authorities. However, a
major demerit of the strict adherence to the line of authority as the direction
for formal communication is that it is time consuming when viewed against
the backdrop of speedy decision-making or action requirement characteristics
of modern organization.
The scientific management school emphasized written formal channels
of communication. These include impersonal work-related messages initiated
by the hierarchy and thrust down the chain of command. Communication here
is not considered as a really vital need for the organization but for the sole
purpose of relaying orders and information about work tasks and to achieve
obedience and coordination in carrying out such work.
The Human Relations Theory
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People who pioneered studies in human relations theories included
Mary Packer Folieft (1933-1968); Elton Mayo (1945) and others. Infact,
Folieft is always regarded as the first great proponent of human relations
theory. The main proposition in these theories is the indispensable roles of
human worker in the actualization of organizational objectives. To them,
workers will be motivated to work and as well achieve greater results if their
personal welfare was put into consideration. Nwankwo (1982) stated that the
theories related to human relations brought into administration such concepts
as democratic leadership, policy making by consultation, delegation of
authority decentralisation of administration and others. The focus of human
relation theorists is on workers and interpersonal communication that exists
among them. It is axiomatic that the basic problem of any organization such
as industry or educational system is the building and maintenance of good
relationship among the various groups of people within the organization.
These theorists encouraged formal, informal, lateral and interpersonal
communication. The informal system provides necessary communication
outside the established form lines of authority. This is important to maintain
organizational linkages and to fill in the gaps and omissions of the formal
system.
However, in most secondary schools for instance, a lot of informal
communication is done. This leads to rumours and gossips through different
departments. At times, formal authority, for example the principal, releases
official information through the informal channel in order to test its
acceptability and depending on the reactions to it, the authority withdraws or
reinforces the action without much difficulties.
The implications of human relations theory for school administration
are that administrators should realize that an important issue in school
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administration is building a dynamic interpersonal relationships. This can be
achieved through delegating functions to teachers, developing interests in
teacher’s welfare, maintaining open-door policy with the staff and students.
For instances, teachers are given the post of house mistress, game master, and
other positions. Students on the other hand, are appointed to various school
functionaries such as senior prefect, furniture prefect, social prefect and
others. Although the Human Relations theory made tremendous contributions
in democratic administration, it
has also been criticized as being too
emotional to the workers and sometimes detrimental to the actualization of
organizational goals. Some of this shortcomings led to the development of
other theories.
The Behavioural Science Theories
These theories are the combination of the scientific management and
human relations theories. The behavioural science movement started from the
social science in the early 1940s with the assumption that the best approach to
facilitate work and productivity in an organization is through an
understanding of the worker, his job content and the work environment. Later
in the 1950s; the behavioural science theorists developed what they called the
Tri-Dimensional concept of administration, incorporating three main
elements: the man, the job and the social setting. The proponent of
behavioural science theories are Chester Barnard (1938), Max Weber (1910)
and others. Barnard differentiated between two major concepts-effectiveness
and efficiency. Effectiveness refers to the extent to which the set
organizational goals are achieved with given resources. That is to say
organization which is able to accomplish its set goals without waste of
available resources, is said to be effective. On the other hand, efficiency,
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refers to how well a worker performs in the achievement of the stated goals.
Thus, a teacher who is neglected by the principal through poor
communication behaviours is likely to be inefficient in his work. Barnard’s
concern therefore, was on how to integrate effectiveness and efficiency, as a
standard for good organizational management.
To make this theories practical in the school, it means that school
principals must ensure that there is equal attention to human welfare element
as well as the realization of set educational objectives, as a basis for effective
educational management. This means that neither the teachers nor the
achievement of educational objectives should be sacrificed for another.
The Systems Theory of Communication
The system theory, as propounded by David Easton, is also of
tremendous relevance as the applicability of communication and the
communication process is aptly demonstrated. The provisions of ‘input’,
conversion/processing’, ‘output’ and the ‘feedback mechanism’ essentially
help people’s understanding of communication, the process and problems
inherent in the communication process and how it can be addressed.
Nwankwo (1982) defined a system as a unit series of inter-related and interdependent parts, such that the interplay in any part affects the whole. Within
every system are other smaller systems called sub-systems. The system theory
is relevant to educational administration because the entire educational set-up
is a system, and the concept of interaction and interdependence of parts with
the others is applicable. Systems are either open or closed. An open system
relates and interacts with other systems. The equifinality is one of the
properties of a system which emphasize that every system and its various subsystems communicate to achieve the common purpose of the major system.
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These three theories differ in their conception of communication. While
the Scientific Management School placed greater emphasis on Vertical
downward flows, the Human Relations schools stressed the crucial role of
horizontal flows, the behavioural schools advocated the integration of the two
theories and systems theorists argued that all flows are important. System
theorists gave particular attention to communication with the environment and
communication flows to link the sub-systems within the organization.
With reference to the aforementioned theories, the researcher chose to
concentrate more on the system theory to this study. The reason is because
effective communication coordinates every action in the various units of an
organization and this is paramount to effective organization. The quality of
life is determined by the quality of relationships. And communication is the
key to relationships at all levels. Lack of communication has caused untold
havocs in human history. As communication flows to every nook and cranny
of the organization, information is disseminated for decision-making,
delegation of duties, motivation, assessment and evaluation. Awka Education
Zone needs to embark on the system school theory in other to attain the stated
aims, goals and objectives of the organization.
Review of Empirical Studies
Rynders (1999) conducted a research project using descriptive
methodology to investigate the relationship between effective listening and
leadership. The purpose of the research project was to determine if a
relationship exists between leadership and listening. The researcher raised six
research questions which was investigated with exhaustive literature review
and surveys. The population of the study comprised officers, leaders and
employees of National Fire Academy (NFA) Utah and Sandy Fire
83
Department Utah. The first survey was administered to determine the
perceived effectiveness of empathic listening of the officers responding. The
second survey was given to the leaders of Sandy Fire Department (SFD) Utah
to determine how they perceive their listening effectiveness, and how they
think, subordinate perceive it. A third survey was given to the employees of
Sandy Fire Department (SFD) Utah. The questions for the third survey were
formulated from the second survey. The survey data showed that the
perceptions by both groups were reasonably consistent with the literature.
Naturally, there were some differences that were notable. The leaders
believed they listen more than talk by 66% while employees feet there was no
noticeable difference. Similarly, leaders reported a willingness to dig into
issues 100% of the time, while employees noted that leaders will not usually
go below the surface of problems 62% of the time. Distractions while
listening was documented 67% and 38% of employees reported leaders to be
affected by external stimuli.
In addition, Huei-Chun (2000) explored the relationship between
listening styles and listening proficiency for Taiwanese university students.
The respondents in the study included 300 students at a university in Taiwan.
One instrument adopted in the study was a listening test which indicated the
respondents listening proficiency. Another instrument was a questionnaire
from the listening styles profile which identified four distinct listening styles,
i.e people-oriented, action-oriented, content-oriented and time-oriented. The
respondents first took the listening test, and then completed the listening
styles profile. Finally, an interview was held with ten of the respondents to
probe their perceptions of listening styles significant links between each
listening style and listening proficiency and examined listener gender
variables were using correlational tests and analysis variance. The results of
84
the study showed that the Taiwanese University students adopted the peopleoriented listening style most often, and that there is a positive relationship
between the respondents’ people-oriented listening style and their scores on
the listening test. Furthermore, it was found that female college students
made more use of the people-oriented listening style, while male students
made more use of action, content, and time-oriented styles. Based on the
results, the important implication for listening instruction is to teach listeners
to employ the people-oriented listening style more frequently to improve their
listening comprehension.
Similarly, with the developed instrument for measuring communication
skills, a number of studied have been conducted to investigate the relationship
between
communication
skills
and
related
factors.
In
regard
to
communication behaviours, Burgaz (2007) examined the views of advisers
and advisees about master’s thesis advisers’ behaviours of communication.
The study was a descriptive one. The sample consisted of 30 master’s thesis
advisers and 51 master’s programme students. A questionnaire was used to
gather the data. The items of the questionnaire was constructed as in 5-point
likert-type scale. Cronbach coefficient alpha was calculated as 0.95 for
advisee’s questionnaire and for adviser’s questionnaire as 0.86. In the analysis
of data, arithmetic means, standard deviations and t-test for comparison were
utilized. Findings of the research that advisers viewed their behaviours of
communication skills more positive than advisees, and advisees also
perceived these behaivours as positive generally but not appreciated them to
be sufficient. It was also determined that there has been a significant,
difference between the views of advisers and advisees in terms of
communication behaivours of advisers and graduate students have much more
negative perceptions about it.
85
Okeke (2004), conducted a research work on development and
validation of administrative communication skills inventory for principals in
Anambra State. Thus it is an instrumentation design study. Five aspects of
communication were treated in the study: Oral, Written, Non-verbal,
Listening and Feedback. The instrument developed by the researcher from
literature review, is a questionnaire of a Likert-type response format, scored
on a 4 point basis. An initial draft of 38 items was face-validated by seasoned
administrators, supervisors, and teachers notably in Education Foundations,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Post Primary School Board (PPSB),
Nsukka Zone to determine which items of the instrument were suitable or not
suitable. This was subjected to trial-testing using twenty Principals of private
schools doing postgraduate studies in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. To test
the validity of the instrument, factor analysis was used which extracted thirtythree pure and valid items under five factors or constructs-Oral, Written, Nonverbal. Listening and Feedback Skills. These become the instrument for the
study. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instrument
respectively yielding 0.64; 0.38: 0.43: 0.79 and a general internal consistency
coefficient of 0.86 was recorded. The population for the study was the entire
three hundred and thirty-four (334) principals in the two hundred and fiftynine (259) State Secondary Schools in Anambra State, but the data collected
back from three hundred and seven (307) principals (91.9%) were used for the
study. Means were used to test the hypotheses. Findings reveal that gender,
job experience and size or population of school did in no way affect
administrative communication.
The importance of effective communication in any organization cannot
be underestimated or overemphasized. Okeke (2004) quoting Sonnenschein
and Whitehurst (1983), explored why an effective speaker-training technique
86
failed to generalize to listener skills. They did this by comparing the relative
efficiency of speaker and listener training. The research used a referential
communication paradigm. Five year olds received either speaker-training,
listener-training or both speaker and listener training. The children were
tested for transfer on speaking and listening tasks after one week delay. The
results propose that although speaking and listening tasks appear to require at
least in part, certain of the same skills, pre-scholars do not exhibit
spontaneous intermodality transfer. Theoretical implications are that listening
and speaking require certain skills that are unique to each. Further
developmental research is pertinent to define the functions these skills play in
communication development and performance.
Nwagbara (2006), stated in her studies on communication apprehension
and effective public speaking among the students of the University of Uyo.
The major research technique used for collecting data for the study was the
survey method. The instrument used in the study was structured questionnaire
consisting of 16 questions. The results indicate that 93 percent of the
respondents showed signs of being communication apprehensive and this was
as a result of the final year seminar presentation used as the case for the study.
This was actually the first attempt for some of the students at public speaking.
As a result of the aforementioned reason, some of them were ill prepared for
the presentation and others lacked the necessary communication strategies. As
a result, their nervousness affected their presentation. Suffice it to say that
both female and male students were equally nervous. There was significant
difference between the number of female student who were nervous and
number of male students who were nervous. If public speaking anxiety must
be eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum, it is pertinent however, that
students must learn to acquire speaking experience through constant practice,
87
prepare adequately for any speech, think positively, use the power of
visualization and embark on systematic desensitization.
Summary of Literature Review
This chapter succinctly reviews various theories and conceptualizations
of listening skills with a view of arriving at a greater understanding of the
constructs. The theoretical perspective dealt directly with the theories of
listening and communication and how the study is derived from them. The
various kinds of listening skills were also discussed. The need of listening
skills in organizations, such as educational institution were stressed.
Emerging from the literature review also was the problems that could retard
reception of information. The review also showed various techniques of
listening skills and how principals use them in school administrations. The
research reports so far seen have not focused exclusively on listening skills of
principals in Awka Education Zone. However, if the listening skills of
principals are rightly the prerequisite to their progress as administrators, it is
imperative to develop an instrument to assess their competence. The
researcher therefore felt the urgent need to fill this gap. Hence, this study.
88
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter described the method and procedure that were used in carrying
out the study. The chapter was presented along the following lines:- research
design, area of study, population of the study, sample, instrument for data
collection, validation of instrument, reliability of instrument, method of data
collection and method of data analysis.
Research Design
This study was a descriptive survey designed to investigate the
listening skills practices of principals in Awka Education Zone in Anambra
State. According to Ali (1996) “descriptive design studies are mainly
concerned with describing events as they are without any manipulation of
what is being observed.
Area of the Study
The study was conducted in public secondary schools in Awka
Education zone of Anambra State. This zone has Five (5) Local Government
Areas, with their headquarters as: Anaocha-Neni, Njikoka-Abagana,
Dunukofia-Ukpo, Awka North- Achalla and Awka South– Awka, Awka
Education Zone was chosen because of poor listening behaviour common
among the principals in Awka Education Zone as evidenced from researcher’s
interaction within the environment.
Population of the Study
The population for the study consisted of all the principals and vice
principals in 59 public secondary schools in Awka Education Zone of
89
Anambra State. Based on the 2007/2008 school year, their population was
177 made up of 59 principals and 118 vice principals. The distribution of the
population was shown in appendix iv.
From the table, Anaocha Local Government Area has 14 schools, 14
principal, and 28 vice principals, then making a total of 42 respondents;
Njikoka Local Government Area has 12 schools, 12 principals, 24 vice
principals which are equal to 36 respondents; Dunukofia has 8 schools, 8
principals, 16 vice principals which are equivalent to 24 respondents, Awka
south has 17 schools, 17 principals, 34 vice principals making a total of 51
respondents and Awka North has 8 schools, 8 principals, 16 vice principals
forming a total of 24 respondents. The total sum of all the respondents in five
various Local Government Area in Awka Education Zone are 177
respondents respectively.
Sample
The sample consisted of all the principals and vice-principals in Awka
Education Zone of Anambra State. Thus, the sample size is 177. There was
no sampling since the entire population was studied.
Instrument for Data Collection
The study used a structured questionnaire titled Listening Skills
Practices (LSP) of Secondary School Principals to collect the needed
information from the respondents. The questionnaire consisted of two
sections; Section A and Section B. Section A comprised of information
regarding the personal data of the respondents such as name of school, status
of respondent, sex and number of years spent as a principal/vice principal.
While Section B contained the items that was grouped in three clusters i, ii
90
and iii. Cluster I has 16 items measuring the listening skills principals use in
school administration. The response mode of each item is Strongly Agree
(SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). Cluster II has 16
items measuring principals rating of these listening skills in terms of their
importance. The response mode of each items is very important (VI),
Important (I), Less important (LI) and Not Important (NI). Cluster III has 16
items measuring the extent
to which principals practise those identified
listening skills in school administration. The response mode of each item is
Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE) Low Extent (LE) and Very Low
Extent (VLE) (see Appendix II for the instrument for Data Collection).
Validation of the Instrument
The instrument was subjected to face validation by three experts, two
from the Department of Education Administration and Planning and one from
the Department of Measurement and Evaluation, in the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. Their corrections and comments were used to modify and refine the
questionnaire.(see Appendix I for letter
of
request for validation of
instrument).
Reliability of the Instrument
In order to ensure that the instrument to be used is reliable, it was trialtested on 30 principals in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra
State. Using Cronbach Alpha, the reliability of the instrument was found to be
0.68 for cluster 1, 0.70 for cluster 2 and 0.68 for cluster 3. which indicated
that the instruments were reliable. (See Appendix III for computation of
reliability coefficient.
91
Method of Data Collection
The questionnaire was administered to the principals and viceprincipals. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses from principals
and vice principals on their views towards listening skills.
The procedure that was adopted for data collection was self delivery
method. The administration of questionnaire to the respondents was done
using three trained research assistants. The research assistants assisted the
researcher in both the administration and collection of the questionnaire as
they were completed by the respondents.
Method of Data Analysis
Research questions one to five was subjected to descriptive statistics,
where the mean was used as follows: 2.5 and above from 4 point scale was
used to determine the required listening skill (Q1), and how principals rate the
skills in terms of their importance (Q2). Research question 3, was answered
using principals mean rating of each item. Specifically, the following scale
was used to interprete the mean rating for research question 3:
1.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.75  Very Low Extent (VLE)
1.75 ≤ x ≤ 2.50
 Low Extent (LE)
2.50 ≤ x ≤ 3.25  High Extent (HE)
3.25 ≤ x ≤ 4.00  Very High Extent (VHE)
Research question 4 and 5 were answered using the mean rating of principals
according to gender and experience respectively. In this researcher’s
questions, the minimum score expected from any respondent is 16 x 1 = 16
while the maximum score is 16 x 4 = 64. The scores of all female and male
principals with respect to cluster III, were used to determined the mean rating
92
of principals due to gender. In the same vain, the mean rating of principal due
to experience were calculated using scores from cluster III also.
Hypothesis 1 was analysed using t-test while hypothesis 2 was analysed using
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The entire analysis was performed
using statistical packages for Social Science (SPSS).
93
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
This chapter deals with analysis and interpretation of the data obtained.
The order of presentation is according to the research questions and
hypotheses listed in chapter one.
Research Question 1
What listening skills
administration?
do
principals
require
for
Table 1:
Mean Rating of required listening skills of principals
S/N Items
Mean
Standard
Deviation
1
Active
3.8757
.33085
2
Appreciative
2.7797
.54568
3
Biased
1.1864
.39057
4
Inactive
1.1638
.37118
5
Comprehension
2.9831
.55876
6
Evaluative
2.8079
.53016
7
Deep
2.9492
.80673
8
Dialogic
2.9153
.57272
9
Discriminative
2.7232
.47335
10 Sympathetic
3.3955
.64101
11 Empathic
3.1299
.54362
12 High-integrity
2.5763
.56014
13 Initial
1.1977
.41341
14 False
1.6893
.98831
15 Reflective
2.7062
.55761
16 Relationship
3.0508
.50307
Where N = 177 is each case
effective
Decision
Accepted
Accepted
Rejected
Rejected
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Rejected
Rejected
Accepted
Accepted
school,
94
The mean rating of principals in table 4 shows that, active listening,
appreciative listening, comprehensive listening, evaluative listening, deep
listening, dialogic listening, discriminative listening, sympathetic listening,
empathic
listening,
high-integrity
listening,
reflective
listening
and
relationship listening are required by principals for effective school
administration. The table also shows that false listening, inactive listening,
biased listening and inactive listening have very low mean values meaning
that principals do not need them in the school administration (see appendix iv
for detail).
Research Question 2
How do principals rate these skills in terms of their importance?
Table 2
Mean rating of principals listening skills in ranking order of importance.
S/N Types of Listening Skill
Mean
Standard Decision
Deviation
1
Active listening
3.8757
.33085
VI
2
Sympathetic Listening
3.3955
0.64101
VI
3
Empathic Listening
3.1299
.54362
I
4
Relationship Listening
3.0508
.50307
I
5
Comprehension Listening 2.9831
.55876
I
6
Deep Listening
2.9492
.80673
I
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Dialogic Listening
Evaluative Listening
Appreciative Listening
Discriminative Listening
Reflective Listening
High-integrity Listening
False Listening
Initial Listening
Biased Listening
2.9153
2.8079
2.7797
2.7232
2.7062
2.5763
1.6893
1.1977
1.1864
.57272
.53016
.54568
.47335
.55761
.56014
.98831
.41341
.39057
I
I
I
I
I
I
NI
NI
NI
95
16 Inactive Listening
1.1638
.37118
NI
From table 5, Active listening has a mean rating of 3.8757 and it is rated
highest among the listening skills under study. This is followed by
sympathetic listening with a mean of 3.3955, empathic listening has a mean
of 3.1299, relationship listening has a mean of 3.0508, comprehensive
listening has a mean of 2.9831, deep listening has a mean of 2.9492, dialogic
listening has a mean of 2.9153, evaluative listening has a mean of 2.8079,
appreciative listening has a mean of 2.7797, discriminative listening has a
mean of 2.7232, reflective listening has a mean of 2.7062, high-integrity
listening has a mean of 2.5763, false listening has a mean of 1.6893, initial
listening has a mean of 1.1977, biased listening has a mean of 1.1864 and
inactive listening has a mean rating of 1.1638. (See appendix iv for detail).
Research Question 3
To what extent do principals perform the identified listening skills?
Table 3: Response of principals showing the extent they use the identified
listening skills.
S/N Listening Skills
Response Category
X
VHE HE LE
VLE
1
Active listening
155
22
3.84
2
Appreciative listening
11
116 50
2.78
3
Biased listening
33
144
1.19
4
Inactive listening
29
148
1.16
5
Comprehension listening 26
122 29
2.98
6
Evaluative listening
11
121 45
2.81
7
Deep listening
50
71
53
3
3.51
8
Dialogic listening
22
118 37
2.92
9
Discriminative listening
2
124 51
2.72
10 Sympathetic listening
85
77
15
3.17
11 Empathic listening
39
122 16
3.13
12 High-integrity listening
2
102 69
4
2.58
13 Initial listening
1
33
143
1.20
14 False listening
14
25
30
108
1.69
15 Reflective listening
5
119 49
4
2.71
16 Relationship listening
27
132 18
3.05
Where N = 177 in each case
Decision
VHE
HE
VLE
VLE
HE
HE
VHE
HE
HE
HE
HE
HE
VLE
VLE
HE
HE
96
From table three above, active listening and deep listening were used to a
very high extent: their mean rating were found to be 3.84 and 3.51
respectively. The table also indicated that appreciative, comprehensive,
evaluative, deep, dialogic, discriminative, empathic, high-integrity, reflective
and relationship listening are used to a high extent. Their mean rating are:
2.78, 2.98, 2.81, 3.51, 2.92, 2.72, 3.13, 2.58, 2.71, 3.05 respectively. The table
equally indicated that biased, inactive, initial and false listening are used to a
very low extent. Their mean rating are: 1.19, 1.16, 1.20, 1.69 respectively.
Research Question 4
How does gender influence the listening skills of school principals?
Table 4
Mean rating of principals by sex
N
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Female
110
41.75
2.770
Male
67
38.81
2.032
Total
177
80.56
In other determine how gender influences the listening skills of
principals, the mean rating of female principals was compared with the mean
rating of male principals. In the above table, 110 females used in this study
have a mean rating of 41.75 while 67 males used in this study have a mean
rating of 38.81. This result indicated that gender may have influence on the
listening skills of principals (See Appendix vi).
97
Research Question 5
To what extent do experiences influence the listening skills of school
principals?
Table 5
Mean rating of principals by experience
N
Mean
Standard
Deviation
1-4 years
43
38.1628
1.98722
4-8 years
82
42.4512
2.61596
8 years and 52
39.8269
1.89655
above
Total
177
40.6384
2.89087
From the table above, 43 principals have spent between 1-4 years, 82 have
spent 4-8 years while 52 principals have spent 8 years and above on service.
The mean rating of principals who have spent 1-4 years is 38.1628, for those
who have spent 4-8 years, their mean rating is 42.4512 and those who have
spent 8 years and above have a mean rating of 39.8269. From the above
analysis, the mean values of the three groups under consideration are close to
each other. However, those who had spent between 4-8 years had the highest
mean score (See Appendix vii).
Hypothesis 1
Gender is not a significant factor in the listening skills of principals as
measured by the mean rating on LSP.
Table 6
Independent t-test analysis of the scores of female and male on listening
skills
Variable
N
Mean
Standard
tcal
Sig. (2 tailed)
deviation
Female
110
41.7545
2.770
Male
67
38.81
2.032
7.559
.000
98
From the statistical packages for social science (SPSS) print out above, the
calculated t-value is 7.559. This was tested for significance by comparing it
with the critical value of 0.000with 175 degree of freedom. This means that
gender is a significant factor in the listening skills of principals as measured
by the mean rating on listening skills of principals (LSP). Since the
probability set by the computer analysis is 0.000 and is less than 0.05 set by
the researcher, the null hypothesis was rejected. (See appendix vi).
Hypothesis 2
There will be no significant difference in the listening skills of
principals due to experience as measured by the mean rating on LSP.
ANOVA
Table 7
Mean rating of principals due to experience
Between
groups
Within
groups
Total
Sum of
Square
567.251
d/f
2
Mean
square
283.626
903.608
174
5.193
1470.859
176
F
Sig
54.615
.000
From the analysis of variance (ANOVA) table above, the F-ratio
obtained is 54.615 and the probability level set by the computer is 0.000.
When this probability level of 0.00 was compared to that of 0.05 set by the
researcher, the result was found to be significant. It therefore means that there
is a significant difference in the listening skills of principals due to
experience. (see appendix vii)
99
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION
This chapter deals with the discussion of the findings on listening skills
of principals as they relate to the research questions and hypotheses.
Conclusion were drawn, implications highlighted and limitation pointed out
in this chapter. Recommendations and suggestions for further study were also
made and the summary of the entire work presented.
Discussion of the Results
Listening
Skills
that
Principals
Require
for
Effective
School
Administration
The first research question was to identify the listening skills for
effective communication of principals. Based on the data, as shown in table 1,
the findings revealed that out of the 16 listening skills studied in this research
work, 12 skills were accepted as effective listening skills while 4 were
rejected.
The
accepted
listening
skills
were:
active,
appreciative,
comprehensive, evaluative, deep, dialogic, discriminative, sympathetic,
empathic, high-integrity, reflective and relationship listening. Their calculated
mean values were more than or upto 2.5 which is the decision rule for
accepting a particular listening skill. From the same table, result showed that
false listening, initial listening, biased listening and inactive listening have a
low mean rating which is below 2.5 and any listening skill whose mean rating
is below 2.5 was seen as not being required by principals. This result is in line
with Derington and Groom (2004) who agreed that the above mentioned
listening skills are needed for effective management.
100
Principals Rating of the Identified Listening Skills in Terms of their
Importance in School Administration
The second research question was principals rating of the identified
skill in terms of their importance in school administration. Result showed that
active listening is the most effective listening skill followed by sympathetic,
empathic,
relationship,
comprehension,
deep,
dialogic,
evaluative,
appreciative, discriminative, reflective, high-integrity, false, initial, biased and
inactive listening skills. The above view is consistent with the findings of
Rynders (1999) who opined that the highest and most effective listeners are
the active listeners because they listen not only for the content of the speakers
message, but more importantly, for the intent and feeling of the message as
well. The result of this study showed that empathic listening is also an
effective listening skill. It was in line with the research findings of John and
Bechler (1998), Covey (2004) and Derrigton and Groom (2004) who also
found that administrators exhibit empathic listening because of tremendous
interest in the organization. Contrarily, the findings was at variance with the
opinion of Payne (2001) who stipulated that empathic listening is the highest
level of listening. The result of the findings showed that active listening is the
highest level of listening. Rynders supported the idea that inactive listener
which be called marginal listener is extremely dangerous in any
establishment. This view was in agreement with the researchers findings
which rejected inactive listening skills as one of the required listening skills.
Camp and Satterwhite (1998) supported the idea that passive listening is
inappropriate, instead, principals should listen actively, with a higher level of
concentration because they are listening for information.
101
The Extent of Exhibition of the Identified Listening Skills by School
Principals
Several researchers and authors have agreed that active listening is the
most effective listening skills required in school administration. The result of
this study showed that the extent of usage of active listening was very high in
secondary schools in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. Deep listening
skill was also used to a very high extent in school administration. One would
have expected that appreciative, comprehension, evaluative, dialogic,
sympathetic, empathic reflective and relationship listening should have been
used by principals to a very high extent but surprisingly, they were used to a
high extent. The extent of usage were not low but there is need for additional
improvement. Listening skills like biased and inactive listening were used but
the extent of usage were very low. One would also expect that principals
should not use them at all because they were not effective in the actualization
of educational goals. Initial and false listening skills were used to a very low
extent which indicated that their were little degree of their usage in
administration despite their irrelevances.
Discussion on Influence of Gender in Listening Skills
The issue of influence of gender in the listening skillsof principals was
addressed by research question 4 (RQ4) and HO1 which sought to answer how
gender influence the listening skills of school principals. The findings of this
study showed that gender is a significant factor in the listening skills of
principals as measured by the mean rating on listening skills of principals.
The finding indicated a higher mean value of 41.75 for female principals
when compared to mean of 38.81 of their male counterpart. This finding
showed that male and female listen differently. The finding is in agreement
102
with Adler and Elmhorst (2002) opinion that men and women listen
differently to at least some degree. In relation to their opinion, this study
showed that women used effective listening skills more than men in school
administration (see table 4). The result of the findings could be so because
women are naturally emotional. This was in accordance with Tannem (1990)
who observed that most women use “rapport talk” as a way of establishing
relationship while men use “report talk” to preserve their independence and
maintain status. Consequently, they have a harder time learning to be good
listeners. Similarly, McCutcheon, Schaffer and Wycoff (1994) supported the
idea that men listened passively and begin to interrupt the conversation. This
is because men have been taught since childhood to be problem solvers.
Consequently, they fail to listen for more information before arriving at a
conclusion. There was consistency from the above view and the findings of
this study.
Discussion on Influence of Experience in Listening Skills of Principals
When taken into consideration the means of views of principals in
regard to their experience, the findings revealed that those principals who
have worked from 4 to 8 years acquired a high mean rating of 42.4512 more
than those who have worked from 1 to 4 years and also from 8 years and
above (see table 5). This findings did not agree completely with Mgbodile
(2003) who argued that the behaviour of a leader is often influenced by the
aggregate of his background, his knowledge and his experience which
indicated that experienced principals were likely to have acquired adequate
listening skills than inexperienced principals and better disposed to become
good listeners. From the findings, those principals who have served for 4 to 8
years may have acquired adequate listening skills more than those who have
103
served for 1 to 4 years because of their exposure. Contrarily, principals who
have been in office for 8 years and above supposed to have acquired more
experience more than principals who have served for 4 to 8 years. This was at
variance with the result of this study. This variation could be attributed to
some factors such as age, health and others. The more principals stay in
office, the more they become older and there are possibilities that they may
deteriorate in their listening proficiency regardless of the number of years
they have served. One may assume that the principals who have spent 8 years
and above should exhibit more listening skills than those who have spent 1-4
and 4-8 years. Surprisingly, the result of this study disapproved the idea, what
could have been the causative factors? Perhaps, the reason may be because
those principals who have spent 8 years and above take things for granted or
may be, lack of commitment to duty and nonchalant attitude. Conclusively,
this findings revealed that there is a significant difference in the listening
skills of principals due to experience as shown in table 5. Many listening
errors is as a result of making faulty assumption. Locker and Kaczmarek
(2004) suggested that to avoid listening errors that are caused by faulty
assumptions, one should consider the other person’s background and
experiences. The implication of the above statement is that experiences have a
tremendous role to play in the listening skills of principals. This current study
indicated that duration of service could make a principal gather experiences
but this does not mean that the years people work as principals, would make
them gather more experiences than others. That is to say, more years, more
experience. There are probabilities that if they serve for many years, they
would gather many experiences and there are also probabilities that they may
serve for many years without getting much experiences than others. Lucas
(2001) also pointed out that experience can make someone to avoid mistakes
104
which an unexperienced person would be vulnerable. The above statement
was in line with the findings of the study.
Conclusion
This research study examined the listening skills as practiced by
principals in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. Based on the result of
the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
1. Active listening appears to be the most effective listening skills in
school administration while inactive listening seems to be the least used
in school administration.
2. Gender is a significant factor in the listening skills of principals.
3. There is a significant differences in the listening skills of principals due
to experience.
Educational Implications
This study has several implications to school administrators e.g.
principals, teachers, students and educational planners. The task of
developing a profile of administrators listening skills can help principals
become aware of their listening habits and further improve their listening
effectiveness. Thus the current study can also offer some implications for
principals listening instruction by helping them to understand their listening
skills. Principals can teach their teachers and as well students to develop more
the active listening skill. Active listening strategy is actually an effective
listening strategy which can facilitate job performance in school
administration
By providing empirical descriptions and evidence of principals’
listening skills preference in terms of their genders and experiences, the
105
present study is expected to contribute to teachers understanding of the
various listening skills and also improve their listening proficiency.
A study of this nature will help students to have a better listening
comprehension because they have identified the various listening skills used
by principals. This understanding will enable them to give feedbacks during
the process of interaction.
The awareness through this study will assist the educational planners in
the planning of the pre-service curriculum as it concerns what, when and how
to communicate between and among school superordinate and subordinate.
Recommendations
If principals are really willing to learn how to listen, they can become
more effective administrators. It will take hard work to learn the skills,
constant practice to keep the skills viable and periodic retrospective analysis
to check their progress. The key element is realizing that listening, and
especially active listening, is as important as other communication skills of
reading, writing and speaking. It is also pertinent for principals to understand
that listening should not take a secondary position to speaking which is its
verbal counterpart.
The researcher also recommends that principals should read books on
listening skills to help them develop their listening competency. Many
educational opportunities are available to develop improved listening skills
such as internet and library.
Limitations of the Study
Some principals vehemently refused to fill the questionnaire because of
fear of unknown. Some principals rated themselves arbitrarily in some of the
106
items which degenerated to faking of answers. The task was capital intensive
which prevented the researcher from covering much.
Suggestions for Further Study
The researcher suggested that further research should cover all other
aspects of listening skills which the researcher could not accomplish such as:
Social listening skill, secondary listening skill, aesthetic listening skill,
creative listening skill and others.
The researcher also suggested that other researchers should expand
their sample size since the population this study used were small and
manageable.
Summary of the Study
This study focused on listening skills as practiced by principals in
Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. In this regards, excellence in
communication skills by secondary school principals depends on the extent
to which the principals use effective listening skills.
Five research questions and two null hypotheses were stated to guide
the study. Instrument for data collection was developed and was titled
Listening Skills Practices (LSP) of secondary school principals. This
instrument was validated by experts in the field of education. The population
of the study comprised all the principals and vice principals in 59 public
secondary schools in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. The sample
size was 177 principals. There was no sampling because the entire population
were used.
The research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics,
where the mean was used as follows: 2.5 and above from 4 point scale was
107
used to determine the required listening skill, and how principals rate the
skills in terms of their importance. Research question 3, was answered using
principals mean rating of each item. Research question 4 and 5 were
answered using the mean rating of principals according to gender and
experience respectively. The results from the analysis revealed that active
listening appears to be the most effective listening skills in school
administration while inactive listening seems to be the least used in school
administration. The result also showed that gender is a significant factor in
the listening skills of principals; therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected.
The major findings of the study were extensively discussed, their
educational implications highlighted and recommendations made. Some
limitations of the study were identified and suggestions for further studies
were also made.
108
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APPENDIX I
Department of Education Foundation,
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
7th May, 2008.
Dear Sir/Madam,
REQUEST FOR VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
I am a postgraduate student of the above-mentioned Department currently
undertaking a research study titled: Self Assessment of Listening Skills by
Secondary School Principals in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State.
You are therefore humbly requested to diligently fill out the
questionnaire as your responses will be used purely for academic purposes.
Thanks for your co-operation.
Yours faithfully,
Molokwu, Maureen N.
118
APPENDIX II
Questionnaire on self Assessment of Listening Skills Adopted by Principals
SECTION A
Personal Data
Please tick the following information that is appropriate to you.
1)
Name of School
……………………………………………………………
2)
Status of respondent (a) principal
3)
Gender: (a) Male
4)
Number of years spent as a principal/vice-principal
1 – 4 years
(b) Vice principal
(b) Female
4 – 8 years
8 years and above
SECTION B
This section of the questionnaire is structured to reflect the research
questions raised for this study. Therefore, each cluster answers the research
questions. You are expected to indicate your responses to the questions along
the following scales.
Instruction: Tick () in the appropriate box/ column against your choices
that best suit and represent your disposition.
Cluster I
Strongly Agree
(SA)
Agree
(A)
Disagree
(D)
Strongly Disagree (SD)
119
What listening skills do Principals use in School administration?
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Cluster I: listening skills of principals
SA A
In my school, I :
Listen with interest in what is being said. (Active)
Takes pleasure in listening to people. (Appreciative)
Hear only what I want to hear. (Biased)
Pay little attention to teachers and students.(Inactive)
Listen to understand the meaning of any message
delivered by my staff and students. (comprehension)
Assess and evaluate the accuracy of a message
delivered by staff, students and members of the
community.(Evaluative)
Seek to understand people’s personalities and their
motivators. (Deep listening)
Learn through conversation with my teachers,
students and members of the community. (Dialogic)
Can identify the voice of my teachers in a noisy staff
room. (Discriminative)
Show concern for the welfare of the teachers and
students. (Sympathetic)
Seek a truer understanding of peoples feelings.
(Empathic)
Listen for honesty and moral behaviour in a speech.
(High-integrity )
Pay attention only at the beginning of a message or
speech and then seek for response. (Initial)
Listen most of the time to teacher’s complaints and
sometimes absentminded. (False)
Cast back to teacher’s reports, complaints and
comments.(Reflective)
Develop good connection with my relationship with
teachers student and members of the community.
(Relationship)
D SD
120
Cluster II
Instruction: Tick () in the appropriate box/ column against your choices
that best suit and represent your disposition.
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Very important
VI
Important
I
Less Important
LI
Not Important
NI
Cluster II: How do principals rate these skills in terms of VI I
their importance?
In my school, I:
Listen with interest in what is being said. ((Active)
Takes pleasure in listening to people. (Appreciative)
Hear only what I want to hear. (Biased)
Pay little attention to teachers and students. (Inactive)
Listen to understand the meaning of any message delivered by
my staff and students. (Comprehension)
Assess and evaluate the accuracy of a message delivered by
staff, students and members of the community. (Evaluative)
Seek to understand people’s personalities and their motivators.
(Deep)
Learn through conversation with my teachers, students and
members of the community. (Dialogic)
Can identify the voice of my teachers in a noisy staff
room.(Discriminative)
Show concern for the welfare of the teachers and students.
(Sympathetic)
Seek a truer understanding of peoples feelings. (Empathic)
Listen for honesty and moral behaviour in a speech. (Highintegrity)
Pay attention only at the beginning of a message or speech and
then seek for response. (Initial)
Listen most of the time to teacher’s complaints and sometimes
absentminded. (False)
Cast back to
teacher’s
reports,
complaints and
comments.(Reflective)
Develop good connection with my relationship with teachers
student and members of the community. (Relationship)
Cluster III
LI NI
121
Instruction: Tick () in the appropriate box/ column against your choices
that best suit and represent your disposition.
Very High Extent
(VHE)
High Extent
(HE)
Low Extent
(LE)
Very Low Extent
(VLE)
To what extent do principals use these skills in school administration?
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
In my school, I :
VHE HE LE VLE
Listen with interest in what is being said. (Active)
Takes pleasure in listening to people. (Appreciative)
Hear only what I want to hear. (Biased)
Pay little attention to teachers and students. (Inactive)
Listen to understand the meaning of any message delivered
by my staff and students. (Comprehension)
Assess and evaluate the accuracy of a message delivered by
staff, students and members of the community. (Evaluative)
Seek to understand people’s personalities and their
motivators. (Deep)
Learn through conversation with my teachers, students and
members of the community. (Dialogic)
Can identify the voice of my teachers in a noisy staff room.
(Discriminative)
Show concern for the welfare of the teachers and students.
(Sympathetic)
Seek a truer understanding of peoples feelings. (Empathic)
Listen for honesty and moral behaviour in a speech. (Highintegrity)
Pay attention only at the beginning of a message or speech
and then seek for response. (Initial)
Listen most of the time to teacher’s complaints and
sometimes absentminded. (False)
Cast back to teacher’s reports, complaints and comments.
(Reflective)
Develop good connection with my relationship with
teachers student and members of the community.
(Relationship)
APPENDIX III
122
COMPUTATION OF RELIABILITY COEFFICIENT
Cluster I
Item
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Item variance (i2)
0.18
0.36
0.62
0.58
0.24
0.26
0.35
0.46
0.35
0.49
0.29
0.18
0.32
0.43
0.21
0.17
i2 = 5.49
Respondents scores on cluster I
46, 45, 38, 45, 48, 39, 50, 41, 45, 50, 50, 41, 50, 44, 45
47, 47, 38, 45, 44, 47, 43, 42, 44, 51, 48, 44, 48, 55, 46
Variance (t2) = 15.05
=
n
n–1
t2 - i2
i2
where  = Cronbach alpha
n = number of items
i2 = variance of single item
t2 = variance of the total scores on a cluster

=
16
15.05 – 5.49
= 1.0667
16 –x 10.6352 15.05
123
= 0.6776
= 0.68
Cluster 2
Item
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Item variance
(i2)
0.26
0.42
0.58
0.41
0.18
0.33
0.49
0.31
0.21
0.19
0.53
0.44
0.21
0.37
0.24
0.53
i2 = 5.70
Respondents scores on cluster 2
42, 45, 50, 49, 57, 38, 53, 46, 42, 45, 51, 49, 49, 46, 48
49, 51, 51, 45, 46, 45, 39, 50, 46, 51, 45, 53, 50, 47, 48
Variance (t2) = 16.38

=
16
16.38 – 5.70
16 – 1
= 1.0667 x 0.6520
= 0.6955
= 0.70
16.38
124
Cluster 3
Item S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Item variance
(i2)
0.23
0.34
0.42
0.48
0.73
0.64
0.37
0.68
0.72
0.67
0.33
0.57
0.58
0.71
0.62
0.41
i2 = 8.50
Respondents scores on cluster 3
42, 41, 41, 56, 48, 36, 47, 46, 41, 44, 45, 47, 46, 45, 44
45, 49, 37, 48, 47, 46, 41, 48, 45, 54, 45, 47, 48, 44, 48
Variance (t2) = 23.03

=
16
16 – 1
23.03 – 8.50
23.03
= 1.0667 x 0.63090
= 0.6816
= 0.68
125
APPENDIX IV
Table 1: Population distribution of principals and vice principals in
Awka Education Zone of Anambra State
Local
Government
Area
Anaocha
No of School
No of
Principal
No of Vice
Principals
Total of
Respondents
14
14
28
42
Njikoka
12
12
24
36
Dumukofia
8
8
16
24
Awka South
17
17
34
51
Awka North
8
8
16
24
Total
59
59
118
177
Source: States Education Board Awka
LISTENING SKILLS AS PRACTISED BY PRINCIPALS IN AWKA
EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE
BY
MOLOKWU MAUREEN NWAMAKA
PG/M.ED/04/39104
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
FEBRUARY, 2009.
i
TITLE PAGE
LISTENING SKILLS AS PRACTISED BY PRINCIPALS IN AWKA
EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE
A RESEARCH THESIS PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
NSUKKA
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE
AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION (M.ED) IN
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
BY
MOLOKWU MAUREEN NWAMAKA
PG/M.ED/04/39104
FEBRUARY, 2009.
ii
APPROVAL PAGE
THIS THESIS HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
NSUKKA
BY
------------------------------SUPERVISOR
(Prof. Rev. Fr. A.U. Akubue)
------------------------------INTERNAL EXAMINER
(Dr, J. C. Omeje)
----------------------------------HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
(Prof. N. O. Ogbonnaya)
---------------------------------EXTERNAL EXAMINER
(Prof. G. C. Unachukwu)
-----------------------------------DEAN OF FACULTY
(Prof. G.C.Oforma)
iii
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to the memory of my father Chief Innocent
Molokwu who laid the foundation for my education and my darling Stanley.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researcher wishes to express her gratitude to her supervisor Rev.
Prof. A.U. Akubue who was meticulous in guiding and advising her
throughout the course of study. His boundless patience, scholarly criticism
and advice in this work are immensely appreciated.
She expresses gratitude to Dr. J.C. Omeje, Dr. K.O. Usman, Dr. A.
Oboegbulam, Prof. Ogbonnaya, Dr. C.U. Onwurah, Dr. T. Oforka, Dr. C.U.
Nkokolonye and Dr. J. Anyanwu for their various suggestions and
encouragement. She remains indebted to her sweetheart Stanley for his
constructive criticism, advice, sacrifice, encouragement and more especially
financial support without which this project would not have been
accomplished. The researcher also wishes to appreciate Mr. John Agah for his
effort and contributions in making this work a reality.
Moreso, I owe my heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation to my
friends Ebele, Grace, Goddy, Ene, Uju Ayika, Dr. Chinelo Moneke for their
assistance and moral support. I also wish to appreciate U.K. Computer for her
tireless effort to see this work completed.
MOLOKWU MAUREEN NWAMAKA
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pages
Title Page ----------------------------------------------------------------
i
Certification Page ----------------------------------------------------
ii
Dedication ------------------------------------------------------- ----
iv
Acknowledgement ------------------------------------------------
v
Table of Contents
-----------------------------------------
vi
List of Tables -------------------------------------------------------
vii
Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------
viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study --------------------------------------------------
1
Statement of Problem ------------------------------------------------------
5
Purpose of the Study -------------------------------------------------------
6
Significance of the Study --------------------------------------------------
6
Scope of the Study ----------------------------------------------------------
7
Research Questions ---------------------------------------------------------
8
Hypotheses ------------------------------------------------------------------
8
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework -----------------------------------------------------
9
Concept of Listening as Communication Skills -----------------------
9
The need for Listening Skills in School Administration --------------
30
Kinds of Listening ----------------------------------------------------------
36
Barriers to Listening Skills ------------------------------------------------
60
Techniques of Listening Skills --------------------------------------------
669
Theoretical Framework -----------------------------------------------------
75
vi
The Scientific Management Theory of Communication -------------
76
Human Relation Theory ---------------------------------------------------
79
The System Theory of Communication ---------------------------------
81
Review of Empirical Studies ---------------------------------------------
82
Summary of Literature Review -------------------------------------------
87
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Design of the Study ---------------------------------------------------------
88
Area of Study ----------------------------------------------------------------
88
Population of the Study ----------------------------------------------------
88
Sample- and Sampling Technique ---------------------------------------
89
Instrument of Data Collection --------------------------------------------
89
Validation of the Instrument ----------------------------------------------
90
Reliability of the Instrument -----------------------------------------------
90
Method of Data Collection ------------------------------------------------
91
Methods of Data Analysis -------------------------------------------------
91
References -- ----------------------------------------------------------------CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
Presentation of Results ------------------------------------------------- --
93
Research Question One----------------------------------------------------
93
Research Question Two --------------------------------------- ------------
94
Research Question Three ------------------------------------------------ -
95
Research Question Four - --------------------------------------------------
96
Research Question Five ---------------------------------------------------
97
Hypothesis One -------------------------------------------------------------
97
Hypothesis Two -------------------------------------------------------------
98
vii
CHAPTER FIVE: DICUSSION
Discussions ------------------------------------------------------------------
99
Discussion of the Results --------------------------------------------------
99
Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------
104
Educational Implications --------------------------------------------------
104
Recommendations ----------------------------------------------------------
105
Limitations of the Study ---------------------------------------------------
105
Suggestions for Further Study --------------------------------------------
106
Summary of the Study -----------------------------------------------------
106
REFERENCES --------------------------------------------------------------
108
APPENDICES
Appendix I: Request for Validation of Research Instrument --------
117
Appendix II: Questionnaire on self Assessment of Listening Skills
Adopted by Principals ------------------------------------
118
Appendix III: Computation of Reliability Coefficient ----------------
122
Appendix IV -----------------------------------------------------------------
125
Appendix V ------------------------------------------------------------------
126
Appendix VI -----------------------------------------------------------------
127
Appendix VII ----------------------------------------------------------------
128
viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Mean Rating of required listening skills of principals Table 2
93
Mean rating of principals listening skills in ranking
order of importance.
-
94
Table 3: Response of principals showing the extent they use
the identified listening skills.
-
95
Table 4: Mean rating of principals by sex
Table 5: Mean rating of principals by experience
-
-
-
96
-
-
97
Table 6: Independent t-test analysis of the scores of female and male
on listening skills 97
Table 7:
Mean rating of principals due to experience -
-
98
ix
ABSTRACT
This research project used descriptive survey to investigate the listening skills
practiced by principals in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. The main
purpose of this research is to determine the various kinds of listening skills
used by principals for effective administration of schools, and then to
examine the following questions: what listening skills do principals require
for effective school administration? How do principals rate these skills in
terms of their importance? To what extent do principals perform the identified
listening skills? How does gender influence the listening skills of school
principals? To what extent do experiences influence the listening skills of
school principals? The methods employed to investigate these questions
include an exhaustive literature review, information obtained by talking to
principals, teachers and students and mostly principals and vice principals
response to the questionnaire developed by the researcher. The study was
guided by two hypotheses. The sample consisted of 177 principals and vice
principals in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State.A questionnaire titled
Listening Skill Practices (LSP) was used to gather the data. Findings of the
research revealed that: gender is a significant factor in the listening skills of
principals as measured by the mean rating on listening skills of principals and
there is a significant difference in the listening skills of principals due to
experience. The researcher suggested among others that since it is not known
if administrators possess superior verbal skills in school administration, there
is the need for further research in this area.