School facilities and principals' administrative job performance in public secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study examined the predictive influence of school facilities on principals’ administrative job performance in Cross River State, Nigeria. A correlational research design was adopted. The population comprised 297 principals and 297 vice principals across public secondary schools. Using proportionate and multistage sampling techniques, data were collected from 108 principals (36.4%) and 107 vice principals (36.0%) through structured questionnaires on a four-point Likert scale. Simple linear regression analysis showed a statistically significant but weak positive prediction of principals’ administrative job performance by school facilities (R = .162, R² = .026, p = .039). This means school facilities accounted for only 2.6% of the variance in principals’ administrative job performance. Descriptive findings showed that while some schools possessed basic facilities, many lacked functional libraries, ICT centres, well-equipped laboratories, and conducive administrative spaces. These deficiencies hinder principals’ Job performance in executing supervision, teacher evaluation, communication, and school-community relations. The study recommends increased investment in school infrastructure, regular maintenance, and provision of facility-supportive budgets to enhance administrative performance.