ABSTRACT

The study examined how information and communication technology leadership skills relate to managerial effectiveness of heads of department in public universities in South South, Nigeria. To guide the study, seven objectives, seven research questions were raised and seven null hypotheses were formulated. The study adopted correlational research design. The population of the study comprised 14770 person consisting of 766 heads of department and 14004 lecturers. Multistage sampling procedure, involving proportionate stratified sampling and simple random sampling was used in selecting 373 heads of department and 727 lecturers as sample of the study. The study made use of questionnaire as research instrument. Information and Communication Technology Leadership Skills Questionnaire (ICTLSQ) and Managerial Effectiveness of Heads of Department Questionnaire (MEHODQ) were developed by the researcher and used to obtain data for the study. The instruments were subjected to face validity by the research validates in College of Education Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and used to obtain data for the study. To determine the reliability of the instruments, the researcher selected 20 lecturers from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike who were not part of the study population to respond to items on Information Communication Technology Leadership Skills Questionnaire (ICTLSQ) and Managerial Effectiveness of Heads of Department Questionnaire (MEHODQ). The data were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha Statistics and average reliability coefficient of 0.82 (ICTLSQ) and 0.94 (MEHODQ) were obtained. The instruments were administered and the data obtained were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation for answering research questions and testing the hypotheses. The study revealed that digital communication, digital public relation, digital branding, digital computing, digital technology, multimedia and digital innovation skills significantly relate to managerial effectiveness of heads of department in public universities. It was concluded that Information and Communication Technology Leadership Skill relate positively with Managerial Effectiveness of Heads of Department in public universities, South South, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended among others that the universities should provide a supportive and enabling environment that will help heads of department develop digital communication to enhance their managerial effectiveness.