LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND LEVEL OF ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated leadership traits and level of academic staff development in public universities in Ekiti State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Population for the study consisted of all public universities and its academic staff in EkitiState. Sample for the study consisted of three hundred (300) academic staff members selected from 2 public universities in Ekiti-State using simple random sampling technique. Two research instruments tagged “Leadership Traits Questionnaire” (LTQ) and “Academic Staff Development Questionnaire” (ASDQ) were developed and used for the study and were validated by experts in the Department of Educational Management. Test-retest method of reliability was used and yielded reliability coefficients of 0.79 and 0.81 respectively. Data were analyzed using frequency counts and simple percentages. Results of the study revealed that the level of academic staff development in the University system was moderate at 42.3%. The results of the study also revealed that conscientiousness is the most predominant leadership trait (71.99%.) among university leaders. The results further showed that leadership openness to change have direct impact on academic staff development. It was concluded based on the findings that leadership trait variables such as openness to change, conscientiousness and integrity are important factors that influenced academic staff development in public universities in Ekiti State.