ABSTRACT:

This study examined teamwork, motivation, and leadership skills as determinants to a healthy work culture in public middle schools in Iwo local government, Osun state, Nigeria. The research design used was descriptive survey method. The population for the study encompassed all the teachers, principals and vice principals of the twenty middle schools in Iwo local government area of Osun State, Nigeria. The teachers, principals and vice principals have been stratified to middle schools in Iwo local government area. All the twenty principals and vice principals were used for the research while ten teachers were randomly selected from each school making two hundred and forty respondents for the study. One research instrument was designed named Teamwork, Motivation and Leadership Skills Questionnaire ( TMLSQ) and used to collect relevant data. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using test-retest method and the Cronbach alpha is 0.853. Two research questions and two hypotheses were set for the study. The simple percentage was used to calculate the research questions while regression statistical analysis was used to test for the research hypotheses at 0.05% level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that lack of trust amidst the teachers (36.5%) is the highest perceived inhibiting harmonious factor towards teachers working together in schools, while keeping malice has the least percentage (12.5%). The results also revealed that prompt payment of salary (66.5%) is the highest perceived identified factor that can motivate teachers in the schools, followed by promotion (32%) and healthy competition (13%) was the least perceived factor that can motivate teachers. Moreover, the multiple regression analysis produced a coefficient of correlation R of 0.687, indicating that there is a very high positive influence of team work, motivation and leadership skills on a healthy work culture in middle secondary schools, Iwo local government. The joint influence also produced a value of 0.572, which implies that the combined influence of the independent variables is about 57.2% which is relatively high. Therefore, the study recommended that government should always pay teachers salary as at when due and salary review should be done regularly. The principals should try as much as possible to eliminate the inhibiting harmonious factors towards teachers working together in the middle schools.