Competence on School Leadership
In today’s era of heightened expectations, school leaders are in the hot seat to ensure effective and excellent educational outcomes. The multi-levelled pedagogic school leaders highly determine the mode of teaching students in schools and the effective application of the learning process.
Not only are they curriculum leaders but they are also educational futurists, disciplinarians, instructors, assessors, analysts, field experts and society builders (Davies 2005). They are involved in the core running of the school and act as a gobetween in case of any arising conflicts between the parents, students, teachers, education participants such as unions and the society itself.
This requires them to not only be sensitive when meeting student’s demands and needs but to also be critical thinkers so as to deliver valid judgments based on logic. School leadership is currently a complex concept with most leaders failing to balance their roles.It is evident that they are heavily inclined towards school management and accountability hence disregarding the effective mode of impacting knowledge to students to ensure quality teaching and learning.
The outcome greatly reflects the quality of the school leaders’ pedagogy and their ability to give credible teaching instructions to improve learning in schools. Teachers need to have adequate knowledge of how to teach students and be able to implement and design the school curriculum.
Thus, school governance is a system which operates under the principle that education which is focused on the holistic development of school children is a shared responsibility and a shared accountability among school community stakeholders. The role of school leaders in the Philippines is further framed by kinship dynamics, which have been consistently integral to the Filipino concept of self and to the way individuals interact with others. Kinship is the nucleus of the Filipino social organization, from indigenous groups to colonial aristocratic ethnic and social groups. The Filipino concept of leadership is derived from a value set that rests on both biological and ritual forms of kinship, which in turn drives leadership practice in communities and schools.
Accordingly, the governance scheme provides a certain amount of professional development at the School Division Level, usually offered in the form of regularlyoffered Management Communication ( MANCOM) Meetings. These meetings vary with respect to the content and quality of professional development on offer. At times, they emphasize relevant skills related to the evolving principal role in the conceptual, human and technical domains (Northouse, 2012). Interestingly, the Filipino context places special importance on developing skills as a listener, with respect to relationship building with internal and external school community members. “Listening is a skill that principals need to nurture. This skill makes the principal’s decisions needs-based. As a skill to be practiced by principals, listening is a two-way endeavor that makes a school a caring community” (de Guzman & Guillermo, 2007, p. 221).
The development of school leaders and practice of leadership in the Philippines has a strong emphasis on ethical leadership. This is critical as leaders are to stand up to cultural dynamics manifest as corruption and nepotism. Ultimately, though, we recognize that there is much good work happening in the Philippines and that for real and substantive change is to take place, it should be led and developed by Filipino leaders and with a sensitivity to the unique challenges and opportunities that face school principals in the Philippines.( Contributed article)