Task Delegation as determinant on the Management of Secondary Schools in Ubungo Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

The study sought to investigate  task delegation as determinant on  the management of secondary schools in Ubungo Municipality, Tanzania. A convergent parallel design was used in a mixed method research. The population consisted of 132 people, consisting of 6 school heads, 6 academic masters/mistresses, and 120 teachers from six secondary schools chosen. A sample size of 67 people was chosen using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The data collection tools included Likert-scale questionnaires for teachers  Tagged TASK DELEGATION (TDQ) and  MANAGEMENT (MQ)as well as semi-structured interviews for school heads and academic masters/mistresses. Validity of the tools was confirmed through expert validation, while reliability yielded a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.912 for 23 questionnaire items. Quantitative data analysis was done using SPSS Version 26 via frequencies and percentages, while qualitative data analysis was done using thematic analysis. It was revealed that 83.6% of teachers found that school heads delegate authority to other teachers. Moreover, 81.8% agreed or strongly agreed that task delegation helped in the timely accomplishment of school activities, 83.6% believed that it increased efficiency of management, 80.0% noted improvement in the performance of tasks assigned to them, 83.6% believed that it facilitated coordination of school activities, and 83.6% believed that it increased efficiency of school management. Academic and examination responsibilities were the most common form of delegation (32.7%) followed by departmental and subject coordination responsibilities (27.3%), student discipline and welfare responsibilities (21.8%), and school programs and club activities (18.2%). Thus, the study finds that task delegation is a vital management activity that promotes teamwork, efficiency, coordination, teacher performance, and efficiency of school management. The study suggests that the school heads promote task delegation by assigning responsibilities based on the teachers’ competencies, offering sufficient powers and means, and creating monitoring mechanisms.