2

abovementioned DepEd order prescribes LAC as a school-based continuing

professional development strategy for the improvement of teaching and

learning. The new policy argues that the locus of teacher learning is at the

school, and teachers must actively participate in collegial discussions facilitated

by the school head or a designated LAC leader in order to solve shared

challenges and improve the quality of teaching in the school (D.O. 35, s.

2016).

In the District of Rodriguez, SLAC sessions were organized in several

instructional teams for capacity building. Each instructional team is composed

of a specialized teacher, or a teacher with substantial knowledge and

background on a certain field, who acts as a team leader, and the out-of-field

teachers as members. The team leader facilitated the mentoring and

coaching of colleagues, as well as supervising of the drafting of unified daily

lesson plan, assessment and evaluation tools, and leading an open dialogue on

how to better introduce difficult topics in their respective classrooms. The

SLAC sessions were conducted once every month though teachers were

informed that they can consult anytime with the specialized teacher or with

each other if they encounter difficulty or confusion in the topics that they will

present in class.

Ortigas, (2015) reiterates that if the group (LAC) facilitator consistently

undertake the above mentioned functions, the members eventually learn and

exhibit these skills themselves. Work engagement on the other hand is also
 3

worthy of consideration as individuals who are highly engaged on their jobs and

are motivated by the work itself, tend to work harder and more productively than

others and are more likely to produce the results their customers, who are the

learners want and is expecting to do, as well as the organization to where they

belong.Education has become the main mechanism providing individuals with the

knowledge, skills and competencies needed by the society of the day but

educational provision typically lags behind the emergence of need.

The content to be discussed in LACs is on the identified topics and

concerns by teachers which is consistent to the areas of discussion featured in

the K to 12 Basic Education Program as stated in Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10533.

Moreover, LAC as professional learning is interesting because it supports the

increasingly complex skills in the 21st century. These skills include the ways of

thinking such as creativity, critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving,

and learning which further connects to the framework of education teachers’

professional development which is a key factor for learners’ achievement

(Baumert et al., 2010; Bakkenes, 2010; and Parker, 2016). LAC as a response to

active professional learning development faces a lot of concerns and issues

among teachers in the public schools. Since 2016, there was no clear study

being conducted throughout public schools in lieu of its challenges and benefits

experienced by teachers and their means of implementation in the DepEd.

LACs are seen to be the most cost-effective continuing professional

development process that improve the teaching-learning process that will lead to
 4

improved learning among the students, nurture successful teachers, enable

teachers to support each other to continuously improve their content and

pedagogical knowledge, practice, skills, and attitudes; and foster a professional

collaborative spirit among school heads, teachers, and the community as a whole

(Oakley, et.al., 2018).

Further, one example that is related to the bottom-up approach is the

Learning Action Cell (LAC) session that is already issued by the Department of

Education (DepEd) as an enclosed policy to elementary and secondary schools.

This concept on LAC is inspired by the structured model of professional

development on a lesson study that originated in Japan (Mendoza, 2017).

Lesson study is a collaborative approach to classroom lessons where teachers

plan, present, observe and evaluate classroom lessons. According to Luistro

(2016), the DepEd entirely support its teaching personnel by having this policy as

a channel for continuing professional development. LAC includes different areas

such as: the diversity of learners in the classroom, assessment of the lesson

based on the competencies aligned to the K to 12 Education Program, curriculum

contextualization, and the concern of teachers related to content and pedagogy

in teaching. All these areas must be catered by the LAC leader, particularly the

principal or the school head.

As such, this study aimed to determine the management of conducting

LAC sessions and its effect on the teaching and learning process among public

secondary school in the District of Rodriguez, Rizal. It focused on determining

 5

the profile of the teachers, their perceptions about the conduct of LAC sessions,

its effects on teaching and learning process, and the problems encountered in

participating to it.

Background of the Study

The Department of Education issued a policy known as the Learning

Action Cell (LAC) as a K to 12 Basic Education Program School-Based

Continuing Professional Development Strategy for the Improvement of Teaching

and Learning. The main purpose of this policy is to support the continuing

professional development of the teachers that is grounded by the philosophy of

creating a life-long learners and adhere the DepEd’s pledge of optimizing the

teachers’ potentials needed for the success of their teaching profession. This

program enables the teachers to collaborate and have a critical reflection on

shared challenges the teachers experienced inside the classroom.

Traditionally, it was dominated by a course-led model of how teachers

learn, in other words by INSET courses, to some extent, what it means to be a

professional has changed over time, too. Over recent years, a number of

strategies have been developed to increase the impact of courses and to

encourage a greater variety of approaches to professional development. Such

strategies are at the heart of a number of recent developments which have the

potential to bring about more effective innovation which include greater emphasis

on careful needs analysis linked to evidence of existing practice and thus

 6

targeted training, it also moves toward a broader view of what in-service

education and professional development are, at some point it also gears on

ensuring that school and individual needs are addressed through a variety of

activities linked with the school development plan that moves toward building

evaluation, moreover, it provides an increasing interest in seeing initial teacher

training, induction and professional development as a continuum for professional

competence and personal professional development that provide for planning

development work (Binauhan, 2019).

Before the implementation LAC sessions, it is necessary to identify the

professional needs and prioritize issues to be discussed or addressed in the

sessions. An assessment of needs by means of self-assessment tools,

classroom observation results, critical reflections, surveys, research-based

teacher development needs and student’s assessment results is conducted to

identify the needs in reference to the one’s career stage of professional teachers

(Giron-Arias, 2019).

The complexities of the teaching profession require a lifelong learning

perspective to adapt on the fast changes and evolving constraints or needs.

Teachers and their professional development have shown that so far, in-service

training is considered as a professional duty in the academe, but it is in practice

optional in many of them (Silva, 2021).

This study on the management of conducting LAC sessions and its effect

on the teaching and learning process among public secondary school teachers
 7

will conducted to determine the needs of teachers in terms of learner’s diversity

and inclusion, content and pedagogy, assessment and reporting, 21st century

skills and ICT integration and curriculum contextualization. Moreover, the

problems being encountered in the conduct of SLAC processes will also being

assessed.

Conceptual Framework

The first frame presents the inputs, which includes the profile of the

respondents such as the gender, age, level of education, designation, subject

taught, and years in service; the level of management of school leaders and

teachers on SLAC in terms of Learners diversity and inclusion, Content and

pedagogy, Assessment and reporting, 21st century skills and ICT integration,

and Curriculum contextualization; the level of performance in the LAC

implementation of the respondents in the areas of Learner diversity and student

inclusion, Lesson content and pedagogy, Assessment and reporting, and

Curriculum contextualization, localization and indigenization; the significant

relationship of the level of management of school leaders and teachers on SLAC

to the level of performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents, the

significant difference between the level of management of school leaders and

teachers on SLAC to their demographic profile; the significant relationship of the

level of performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents to their

profile; the problems encountered by the respondents in the implementation of

 8

LAC; and the suggested possible solutions to the problems encountered by the

respondents in the implementation of LAC.

The second frame presents the process on how the study will conducted

which consist of validation of questionnaires, distribution and retrieval of

questionnaires checklist and presentation, analysis, and interpretation of

data gathered.

The third frame presents the output of the study

 9

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1.The profile of the school leaders

and teachers in terms of:
1.1. Gender ;
1.2 Age;
1.3 Highest Educational
Attainment;
1.4 Position; and
1.5 Years in service
2. The level of management of
school leaders on SLAC in terms A. Data Gathering
of; through:
2.1. Learners diversity
and inclusion; Proposed
2.2. Content and
Distribution of innovative plan of
pedagogy;
2.3. Assessment and Survey action on the
reporting; Questionnaire management of
2.4. 21st century skills
School Learning
and ICT integration; Unstructured
2.5. Curriculum Action Cell
Interview
contextualization
3. The status of the teaching and
B. Statistical
learning process in terms of the
following ;
treatment using:
3.1 Content; Frequency
3.2 Teaching and Count and
Learning Process; Percentage
3.3 Student Learning;
3.4 Teaching delivery ; Ranking
and Weighted Mean
3.5 Literacy Development T-test
4.The problems encountered
by the respondents in the ANOVA
implementation of LAC.
5.The suggested possible C. Analysis and
solutions to the problems Interpretation of
encountered by the respondents in Data
the implementation of LAC.

Figure 1 Research Paradigm

 10

Statement of the Problem

This research aims to determine the management of conducting LAC

sessions and its relation to the teaching and learning process among public

secondary school teachers and school leaders in the District of Rodriguez, Rizal

for the school year 2022-2023.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions;

1. What is the profile of the School Leaders and teachers in terms of:

1.1 Gender ;

1.2 Age;

1.3 Highest Educational Attainment;

1.4 Position; and

1.5 Years in service in the current position?

2. What is the level of management of school leaders on SLAC in terms of;

2.1 Learners diversity and inclusion;

2.2 Content and pedagogy;

2.3 Assessment and reporting;

2.4 21st century skills and ICT integration;

2.5 Curriculum contextualization?

3. What is the status of the teaching and learning process among teachers in

terms of the following;

3.1 Classroom Management;

3.2 Subject Integration;

 11

3.3 Student Learning;

3.4 Teaching delivery; and

3.5 Literacy Development?

4. Is there a significant relationship on the level of management of school

leaders on SLAC and the teachers’ level on the teaching and learning

process?

5. Is there a significant difference on the assessment of the school leaders

and teachers on SLAC management and teaching and learning process?

6. Is there a significant difference on the level of management of school

leaders on SLAC when grouped according to their demographic profile?

7. Is there a significant difference on the teachers’ teaching and learning

process when grouped according to their profile?

8. What are the problems encountered by the respondents in the

implementation of LAC?

9. What are the suggested possible solutions to the problems encountered

by the respondents in the management LAC?

10. What plan of action may be proposed to develop the teachers’ program in

relation to SLAC?
 12

Null Hypotheses

The study will follow and test the hypothesis below:

1. There is no significant relationship on the level of management of school

leaders on SLAC and the teachers’ level on the teaching and learning

process.

2. There is no significant difference on the assessment of the school leaders

and teachers on SLAC management and teaching and learning process.

3. There is no significant difference on the level of management of school

leaders on SLAC when grouped according to their demographic profile.

4. There is no significant difference on the teachers’ teaching and learning

process when grouped according to their profile.

Significance of the Study

The research wishes to benefit the following;

Education Specialists/Curriculum Planners. The findings of this study

will provide information on the current practices and activities of school-based

continuing professional development (CPD) through LAC sessions and how LAC

framework and mechanisms are implemented as well.

Principals and District Supervisors. It will provide also with the status of

LAC sessions implementation and monitoring in their respective area and

discover challenges working against the success of LAC sessions program and
 13

identify ways to better determine teacher needs and demand for continuing

professional development. Moreover, continuous professional development is

very important to improve the performance, particularly the teachers in their

respective classroom in order to raise students’ achievement. As one of the key

result areas in the educational process, the need to institutionalize the school

learning action cell in the school to improve the teacher’s competence is a must.

Teachers. This study will benefit the teachers especially for the

improvement of their knowledge and skills in enhancing, improving, and exploring

their teaching practices. This study might pave a way for more trainings that they

should explore holistically as constituting teachers’ thinking, including their

knowledge, both content and pedagogical content knowledge, their practices,

and the impact of these on students’ outcomes.

Students. The students will benefit from the result of this study since they

are the core reason for all teaching-learning processes which is undertaken in

each classroom in the formal education platform. However, not all the students

can accommodate the learning processes and this result with different outcomes.

With this in mind, teachers need to create an intervention plan and not let these

other students fall behind and still catch up with the lessons being discussed

which can be one of the focuses of their SLAC sessions.

School. The school will benefit from the study since whatever the

competencies the teachers have will directly affect the school in general.
 14

Teachers’ competencies must be reviewed so that teachers’ competencies

should be redefined depending to the prevailing needs of the learner and the

whole school community especially now that we are in the pandemic era and

learning is in a unique condition.

Future Researchers. The results of the study will serve as springboard

for the future researcher to conduct same study to a much wider scale.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The present study focuses on the management of conducting LAC

sessions and its effect on the teaching and learning process among public

secondary school teachers in the District of Rodriguez, Rizal for the school year

2022-2023. The study will be conducted with a 319 teachers and 19 school

heads of research locale, whom will be the respondents of the study.

Moreover, this study limits on the profile of the respondents in terms

gender , age, level of education, designation/position, subject taught, and years

in service; the level of management of school leaders and teachers on SLAC in

terms of Learners diversity and inclusion, Content and pedagogy, Assessment

and reporting, 21st century skills and ICT integration, and Curriculum

contextualization; the level of performance in the LAC implementation of the

respondents in the areas of Learner diversity and student inclusion, Lesson

content and pedagogy, Assessment and reporting, and Curriculum

contextualization, localization and indigenization; the significant relationship of

 15

the level of management of school leaders and teachers on SLAC to the level of

performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents, the significant

difference between the level of management of school leaders and teachers on

SLAC to their demographic profile; the significant relationship of the level of

performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents to their profile; the

problems encountered by the respondents in the implementation of LAC; and the

suggested possible solutions to the problems encountered by the respondents in

the implementation of LAC.

Definition of Terms

For clarification and understanding of this research, the following

terms were conceptually and operationally defined in the study:

Affective Domain. It involves feelings, attitudes, and emotions. It includes

the ways in which people deal with external and internal phenomenon

emotionally, such as values, enthusiasms, and motivations

Assessment and reporting. It refers to the ongoing process of gathering,

analyzing and interpreting, using and reflecting on data to make informed and

consistent judgements about learners' progress and achievement to improve

learning(Merriam webster, 2018). In this study it refers to the evaluation and

information for the learners’ progress.

 16

Cognitive Domain. It encompasses of six categories which

include knowledge; comprehension; application; analysis; synthesis; and

evaluation. Knowledge includes the ability of the learner to recall data or

information

Curriculum contextualization. It helps students learn language skills by

teaching the skills using the authentic contexts in which students must use those

skills in the real world. Contextualizing curriculum is effective both for community-

based and workplace classes.

Learner diversity and student inclusion. It refers to the group and

individual differences that we see in students (Pearson,2010).In this study, these

are the order for a teacher to successfully reach the students, he/she must have

the knowledge and understanding of issues with gender, ethnicity, culture,

language, socioeconomic status, ability, religion and much more

Lesson Content and pedagogy. It refers to  a type of knowledge that is

unique to teachers, and is based on the manner in which teachers relate their

pedagogical knowledge to their subject matter knowledge. It is the integration or

the synthesis of teachers' pedagogical knowledge and their subject matter

knowledge that comprises pedagogical content knowledge (Cochran, 2017 ). In

this study, it refers to knowledge of the teacher in the subject matter and her

integration of the knowledge.

 17

Literacy development. It is the process of learning words, sounds, and

language. The acquisition of early literacy skills begins in a child's first year, when

infants begin to discriminate, encode, and manipulate the sound structures of

language, an ability called phonological awareness.

Localization and indigenization. It refers to the process of relating

learning content specified in the curriculum to local information and materials in

the learners' community.

School leader. It refers to a principal, assistant principal, or other

individual who is— (A) an employee or officer of an elementary school or

secondary school, local educational agency, or other entity operating an

elementary school or secondary school; and (B) responsible for the daily

instructional leadership and managerial operations in the elementary school or

secondary school building.

School Learning Action Cell. It is a group of teachers who engage in

collaborative learning sessions to solve shared challenges encountered in the

school facilitated by the school head or a designated LAC Leader. LACs will

become the school-based communities of practice that are positive, caring, and

safe spaces.

Psychomotor Domain. It includes physical movement, coordination, and

use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice

 18

and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or

techniques in execution.

Teaching performance. It is the assessment of a teacher's performance

rating. As an evaluation factor, the teacher performance dimension is based

on direct observations of a teacher's practice (including materials and other

instruction artifacts) and walkthroughs that are performed by a credentialed

evaluator.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents various literature and studies that the proponent

considered as deemed necessary or related in this study. It includes books,

journals and other publications and websites for a more comprehensive learning

source.

Local Literature

In the Philippine educational setting, one of the most pervasive

instructional issues is the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching or teachers

being assigned to teach subjects outside their educational background or

expertise. This long existing issue also finds its way even in the current K-

12 program. Though it created a number of teaching positions and stable jobs for

the worsening unemployment, it also broadened the already concerning

gaps in the educational sector such as qualifications mismatch and

 19

consequently out of field teaching (Pacana et al., 2019).Teacher shortage

continued to be a persisting problem especially for some fields that require

specialized knowledge and skill resulting to the notion of settling to what is

available (David & Ducanes, 2018).

According to The Philippines DepEd Memorandum No. 50, s. 2020

entitled DepEd Professional Development (PD) Priorities of Teachers and School

Leaders, the school leaders must undergo the different professional development

in support of the operationalization of the school considering pandemic. Napire

(2019) discussed in his study that the functions of the quality management skills

of the principals’ leadership practices are instructional directives, resiliency in

stress management, management of conflicts, and establishing effective

functional teams. The school leaders must practice these skills. Republic Act No.

9155 in the Philippines or commonly called as Governance of Basic Education

Act of 2001 mentioned how school principals are expected to administer and

manage all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the school.

The school heads must not only equip themselves with the knowledge of

identifying these challenges and opportunities, but they are expected to manage,

capacitate, and empower the school personnel to make sure that equality and

equity will be made possible. (DepEd Order No. 24 s.2020).

As stated in Department of Education Order No. 35, s. 2016, Learning

Action Cell (LAC) is a session conducted by group of teachers who engage in

 20

collaborative learning sessions to solve shared challenges such as learners'

diversity, content and pedagogy, assessment and reporting, and ICT integration.

These LAC Sessions served as school-based continuing professional

development strategy for the improvement of teaching and learning. As such, this

study aimed to assess the perceptions of teachers about the conduct of LAC

sessions, its effects on their professional development, and the problems

encountered in participating to it.

The successful implementation of School Learning Action Cell (SLAC)

LACs as seen to be the most cost-effective continuing professional development

process that improve the teaching-learning process is dependent on how school

leaders and teachers understand the process. The consistency of its

implementation and monitoring is somehow difficult to achieve when school

heads and teachers have limited grasp of the processes and framework of

SLACs (Correos et.al., 2020).

From the perspective of critical education policy, school leadership plays a

part in the implementation of new public management agenda. For education

improvement scholars, the leadership function plays a double function: it leads

the professionals in schools and leaders are at the heart of implementing a

variety of reforms. Education improvement scholars highlight how the role of

school leaders has evolved in response to changing governance trends, from

management, through accountability and now into professionalism. Also, that

 21

there is limited support to the development of school leadership policies and

reforms. Reforms that could support school leaders to respond to the high

expectations that are placed on them for improving results in education (Villar

et.al, 2021).

Teachers play a significant role in conducting a classroom research since

teachers are part of a situation where problems occur. Research empowers the

teacher by analysing and innovating the classroom set up for instructional

improvement. It is essential for them to do a research to know what the problem

is and how the problem will be addressed to improve the teaching and learning

process. In return, a conducted research has a significant part on the teachers’

performance rating. Teachers in the public schools ignored the significance of

research to their annual performance rating and its impact to their personal and

professional development. It is challenging for teachers to conduct a research

since it requires interest, motivation and hard work (Giron-Arias, 2019).

Teaching is a continuous pursuit that undergoes constant development. In

order to foster teacher’s professional and learning progress, the department of

education is encouraging the teachers to continue their graduate school program

for personal growth and increased social status. In addition, the department

provides seminars and training designed to address the needs of teachers

 22

necessary for teaching and learning. These chances are essential for teacher’s

progress and promotion.

Moreover, the problems being encountered in the conduct of SLAC

processes was also being assessed. A plan of action was proposed to

institutionalize the process of conducting SLAC. The study used the descriptive

method of research with questionnaire as its main tool complemented with

interview to substantiate the analysis of data gathered. The respondents were

the thirty key teachers who were chosen using purposive sampling technique. It

was revealed in the study that teachers need trainings to a great extent on

learners’ diversity and inclusion, content and pedagogy, assessment and

reporting,21st century skills and ICT integration and curriculum

contextualization. Some of the problems encountered in conducting SLAC were

the prioritization of topics and preparation of LAC materials. It is recommended

that the proposed plan of action was properly implemented (Silva, 2021).

These changes have influenced the nature of the role of school

leadership, which has shifted from managing the school institution to focusing on

leadership of school and student outcomes. How different scholars interpret

these changes varies. Some have portrayed a shift to new public management

practices. Others have highlighted the key role that school leaders can play in

schools and in education. An important part of research focuses on how

principals, in practice, face and respond to different changes in education. For

example, by using data in schools for supporting the development of student

 23

learning, greater school autonomy, teacher evaluation and accountability

(Valenzuela, 2021).

In the study of Correos & Paler (2020) revealed that the school heads

understanding and Teachers on SLAC as a strategy for improving instructional

delivery was good while teachers understanding was fair. The findings provided

evidence that there was only a limited understanding of teachers in the

implementation of school learning action cell. Feedback gathered from

questionnaires show that teachers did not see how school heads focused the

implementation and monitoring of SLAC in schools. Based on these findings, it is

recommended that school heads and teachers must be provided with intensive

capacity building on conducting and monitoring of school learning action cell to

equip them with knowledge and skills of implementing LAC as a strategy of

improving the teaching and learning delivery. It is also recommended to

strengthen program implementation review to improve the process of conducting

LACs in schools and learning centers

Foreign Literature

Educational management tends to highlight accountability, innovation,

autonomy, and leadership (OECD, 2018; Viennet & Pont, 2017). Leadership is

one of the functional areas of management, as it is the launcher and sustainer of

development in organizations and had been on the research agenda in the last

20 years. Leadership theories consider features, genres, processes, groups, and

 24

situational elements and are evaluated as the products of complex interactions of

leadership, person (personality, intelligence, disposition, etc.), group, and

environmental characteristics (Bolman & Deal, 2017).

The role of school managers in education is crucial, although discredited

in the educational hierarchy, for the proper functioning of the schools they run.

They are the visionaries, the ones who capture and inspire a vision for the future

of their school units and together with their collaborators the teachers are called

to realize it. At the same time, they are the ones responsible for the proper

functioning of the school unit, the educators who draw the guidelines, the

animating spirits of teachers and students, the coordinators of the efforts, the

people who solve any problem that arises in the school unit, the bureaucrats who

represent the central government, the financially accountable for the proper

management of the unit’s resources, the innovation rapporteurs, those

responsible for the personal and professional development of teachers. Finally,

they are the connecting links of all the groups that make up the school unit, the

collaborators of all, but also the final liable for any negligence or unfortunate

incident that arises in the educational unit they lead. Therefore, their role has a

multidimensional character and concerns not only their direct collaborators, but

also reflects on a wider part of society (Vasileios & Malinova, 2021).

According to the literature, the main differences between the manager and

the leader are having a tendency to change; developing processes and

 25

structures; realizing the source of the problem and proposing an original solution;

running the decision-making processes efficiently under complexity-uncertainty

and pressure; and moving towards the aim by impacting the stakeholders

(Bolman & Deal, 2017; Buchanan & Huczynski, 2017). Initiative and the

propensity to change are among the prominent aspects of leadership.

One way to ensure that teachers actively participate in these kinds

of collaborative professional development programs is for the

administration to ask awell-respected colleague considered an expert in

the subject to lead the charge. Sutton & Shouse(2016)argue that schools

should utilize staffs who are experts in different areas, in such collaborative

ways, to better run professional development and trainings. In this sense,

teachers are more likely to apply what they learn from their colleagues, rather

than a paid outsider, because it feels more meaningful(Sutton & Shouse, 2016).

LACs are seen to be the most cost-effective continuing professional

development process that improve the teaching-learning process that will lead to

improved learning among the students, nurture successful teachers, enable

teachers to support each other to continuously improve their content and

pedagogical knowledge, practice, skills, and attitudes; and foster a professional

collaborative spirit among school heads, teachers, and the community as a whole

(Oakley, et.al., 2018). Different methods of teacher professional development are

implemented throughout the DepEd to improve teaching-learning processes.

 26

However, most of these are top-down processes wherein expert knowledge is

shared or transferred through lectures or workshops cascaded or echoed teacher

training and short-term courses from national, regional and division offices. Other

top-down training programs are done over time such as scholarships, and

distance learning programs from different training providers and education

partners.

Internationally and globally, school leadership has become increasingly

important in education. As mentioned by Tirozzi (2016), the principal of

tomorrow's schools must be a school leader with the necessary expertise,

capacities, and dedication to handle expanded responsibilities and lead the

accountability parade. The prospects of institutional change in teaching and

learning are slim without effective leadership. A commitment to effective

leadership would help principals school heads’ leadership practices in the new

normal, administrative disposition, and readiness of the public schools.

When the intervention strategy was introduced, teachers were at first

unconvinced as they might perhaps be burdened of another auxiliary duties

which already consume much of their time. However, when it was made clear to

them that thepurpose of the intervention was to help them, they gradually

changed their attitude as they participate actively in the SLAC sessions. One

teacher even indicated that the intervention ‘eliminated the feeling of stress’

especially in the preparation of daily lesson plans which was deemed time-
 27

consuming at an extent that it takes up much of their instructional preparations.

To this end, teachers emphasized that having well-prepared instructional

materials makes them ‘more confident and worry-free’ despite teaching in their

out-of-field discipline. It can be said that reducing the heavy tasks of the

teachers contribute to their greater well-being which may translate to a

more effective delivery of classroom instruction (Degan, 2018; Reeves et

al., 2017; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2010).This finding highlights the opportunity

whereby teacher responsibilities may be lessened without compromising

the quality of instruction. In fact, this strategy offers a viable solution to the

‘excessive’ yet necessary workload that Filipino teachers are now facing

(Tomacruz, 2018)

This likely indicates that school leadership differs as a function of cultural

dimensions and other contextual features (Brewer et al., 2020; Hallinger, 2018).

The claim that leadership practices are embedded in culturally sensitive values

and worldviews is also supported by findings from other disciplines that are

concerned with leadership, such as management as well as occupational and

organizational psychology.

Emotional Leadership is based on the emotional intelligence of the leader.

The leader with emotional intelligence has the ability to perceive the perspective

of others, the ability to distinguish as well as appropriate response to the moods

of other people. Has the ability to achieve a high rate of transmission and
 28

response of emotions with facial expressions, voice and gestures. It is emerged

as a higher order concept of transformational intelligence (Habib et.al.,2020).

Successful leadership, in practice, frequently implies the integration of

different leadership styles (Boyce & Bowers, 2018). Thus, leadership theories

and models have been developing and adjusting to societal changes,

consequently blurring clear boundaries between previously well-established

leadership models. The relevant example referred to in this paper is the recent

Leadership for Learning model, which integrates several precedent leadership

frameworks – instructional leadership, transformational leadership, and

distributed leadership. The model is focused on learning at all levels and

describes eight dimensions that encompass not only instruction and assessment

but also organizational culture and social advocacy (Daniëls et al., 2019).

Some administrators took the consequences of the decision into

consideration indicated a rational behavior. However, a rational decision may not

suit every situation, as leadership qualities emphasize factors such as purpose

and value in decisions. Another factor related to the decision process is time. In

this study, the school administrators frequently emphasized the lack of time to

make decisions. Indeed, the efficiency of the decision is defined as the ability to

make the decision without delay as well as to identify the proper option. The

ability to make the “quick and right” decision is emphasized as a leadership

characteristic. The individuals whom school managers will involve in the

 29

decision-making process and the technical subjects with which they need

assistance are associated with their leadership aspect. Particularly, the parties to

be affected by the decision should be included in the decision process, though

this does not mean that the decision can be left to others or running the decision

processes might fail. The problem of decision-making in a school emerges in

particular between teachers and school principals (Bolman & Deal, 2017).

Leadership for learning frameworks appeared in the literature in the early

2000s. One group of authors, mainly coming from the U.S., used this term as a

synonym for instructional leadership with some more detailed and broader

description of what leadership practice entails while still keeping school

improvement and effectiveness as a central objective. Another group of authors,

mainly from the UK, developed a leadership for learning framework characterized

by different underlying assumptions and objectives (MacBeath, 2019), In

common with instructional leadership this framework maintained a focus on

learning, yet through a more collaborative perspective taking into account a wider

range of leadership sources and broadening learning as something not only

including the students, but the school as a whole (Townsend, 2019). Both

conceptualizations of leadership were central in educational reforms that took

place worldwide in the early 2000s with an increased emphasis on accountability.

MacBeath ( 2019) emphasizes the importance of terminology by explaining that

‘instruction’ place teacher, parent, or authority figure at the central stage, while

‘learning’ puts an emphasis on what learners do and how learning is made

 30

manifest. Thus, learning and leading are understood more as activities and not

as roles, in which emotional and human aspects are emphasized. Thus,

leadership for learning compared to instructional leadership emphasizes 1)

capacity building of teachers and staff, 2) greater reliance on multiple forms of

teacher leadership and teacher collaboration, as well as 3) more attention to

school as a learning organization for all, not only students. Leadership for

learning is more responsive to students, embraces a moral purpose of education,

connects with agents outside of school, and neglects hierarchy (Dempster, 2019;

Imig et al., 2019).

Moreover, strong evidence exists for the importance of culture for leadership

practice at the micro (school) level. Values, norms and traditions that shape

organizational culture within schools are found to be strongly associated with

school leadership practice (Kalkan et al., 2020; Karada & Öztekin, 2018 ; Liu et

al., 2021) . Together with the concept of school climate which refers to shared

perceptions and behaviors, school culture might be one of the closest and tightly

related factors that could explain possible variation in leadership practice across

schools. When it comes to specific school contexts – such as school and

principal demographic variables – the literature is generally inconsistent. In a

review paper on this matter, with a focus on instructional leadership, it was

concluded that school size, school performance rating, private schools, and level

of the principal did not significantly account for differences in approaches to

leadership, while gender and the number of years of experience of the principal
 31

were more frequently found to be significantly related to how instructional

leadership is implemented. We were unable to identify similar studies that

specifically refer to leadership for learning and therefore we examine to what

extent 1) school demographics (such as school size, location, private/public, and

number of students whose first language differs from the language of instruction)

and 2) principal demographics (such as gender) are relevant for leadership.

As to Financial Management, the indicators evaluated by the school heads

as “highly observed” described as knowledge and skill level of competencies,

however, indicators interpreted as “observed” are more on the performance

competency which is necessary for a school manager to exhibit. These results

denoted that the school heads are very knowledgeable and skillful in financial

management in terms of knowledge and adherence to the guidelines, policies,

and issuances, ensuring that the fund allocation and procurement are aligned

with the school plan which is a requirement to ensure efficient and effective

school operation. This can provide salient information regarding the need for

school heads to be trained in creating a checking mechanism to ensure that

management of the school finances is properly done and sustained. The study

on” Financial Management Competence of Selected and Promoted School

Heads: A Demographic Comparison” which was written by Fatima Z, Shahzadi,

U., Shah, A. in 2017 recommended that conducting orientation and training for

school heads on financial management could improve their competencies on this

aspect
 32

As mentioned in the article written by Braun and Spielmann in 2020

entitled “Challenges for Higher Education and Staff Development towards

Sustainability: Empowerment of people and shaping of organizations, “not only

the top management and heads of the departments should be expected to take a

strategic vantage point.” Accordingly, each member of the organization needs to

think and act strategically, and these people need to be empowered to

consciously navigate all levels of institutional change.

According to Makore and Shukuru (2017),” the way to improve the quality

of education is to invest in teachers.” The study highlighted the fact that the

availability and quality of the teaching force is evidence of quality education in the

education system. Swaleha (2013) concluded that to sustain the teachers’

interest and make them enthusiastic, dedicated, and committed in the

performance of their roles and responsibilities, they need to be properly informed,

motivated, and well supervised.

This complexity is giving way to models of multilevel governance that are

based on different levels of responsibilities and increased autonomy for school

boards, local authorities, schools and their leaders, to respond to local needs. At

the same time, the nature of exchanges across the system, at the school, local,

regional and national levels are changing, with the participation of a larger

number of stakeholders than previously. This is changing the roles and

responsibilities of those involved in education, including those of school leaders,

 33

who are at the core of the processes of change in schools (Viennet & Pont,

2017).

More concretely, the role of school leaders is shifting from leading the

learning programme within the school to a more complex and refined approach

as facilitators of the collective work of professionals at and around their school.

At the core of this new role is the development of collaborative cultures.

Hargreaves and Connor have called this collaborative professionalism

(Hargreaves & Connor, 2018), while Kools and Stoll (2016) use the concept of

schools as learning organisations. Learning organisations bring together

professionals to learn and collaborate for advancing student learning. Fullan

refers to the need to cultivate collaborative cultures that develop capacity for

results rather than strategies that use individual punitive accountability (Fullan,

2016). Others have addressed the role of leaders in working with teachers and in

networks focused on student outcomes (Harris & Jones, 2018). In these

interpretations, the concept of accountability underscores the professional

responsibility of those involved. Responsibilities for student learning and school

success are shifting to the communities of practitioners in and across schools

rather than to individual teachers.

When it came to instructional directives, the results showed that school

leaders gave their subordinates a lot of thought. The smooth implementation of

school programs and projects was linked to open and direct communication
 34

among school staff. It also increased teachers', students', and stakeholders'

confidence in school leaders, who promoted greater emphasis on the importance

of accountability, shared leadership, and governance. In all of their roles and

duties, a good principal retained a sense of balance to ensure that they were

doing what they felt was best for all of their constituents (Meador, 2017).

Leadership capacity is a concept that explains a case in which

organization members exercise leadership together at different times and in

different areas. Leadership standards refer to definitions that guide the practices

of school leaders and also the processes regarding education, selection,

development, and supervision of school leaders. Leadership potential (LP), on

the other hand, centers on meeting future expectations beyond the defined,

standard leadership behaviors that were exhibited before. LP is a concept that

explains the level of leadership in a person and how much it can be developed.

Everyone has LP to some degree, but it can have different dimensions and be at

different levels (Schumacher, 2018).

Local Studies

The study of Napire (2019) and Perez (2015), in which they both deal with

the Management Practices and the Administrative Disposition of the School

Head. The aim of this analysis was to gather information, analyze it, and address

it in a way that would assist school principals and policymakers in developing

new strategies and making appropriate decisions for the good of the school
 35

district and students. Henceforth, the researcher hoped that through the results

of this study, the school principals and DepEd Officials might have additional

knowledge and eventually bridge the identified gaps in the management aspects

of the school being supervised.

Espinosa (2018) highlighted in his findings that financial management

practices of the school heads help schools to draw up a budget, set objectives,

identifies the sources in terms of human resource, time allocation, teaching and

learning materials and appropriate costing. To enable the principals manage

financial resources more responsively to the performance and instructional needs

of the teachers, it would be very crucial if school leaders like them get a

continuous boost of their own professional development by acquiring relevant

financial skills and abilities required to effectively manage resources in the

school.

According to the findings of Ingay (2018), the level of leadership practice

among school heads is extremely high; the level of job commitment among

school heads is also very high; and the level of teacher morale is also extremely

high. There is a substantial association between school heads' leadership

practices and teachers' morale; there is also a substantial association between

school heads' working dedication and teachers' morale.

Cabral&Millando (2020) findings clearly indicate that the conducted LAC

sessions contribute much to teachers’ professional development. However, there

 36

is a need to provide clearer objectives about its intent and significance to

teaching and learning. Sessions about research and innovation must also be

strengthened. The diverse profile attribute of teachers must also be considered in

designing sessions for professional development.

Gumban & Pelones (2021) study showed that teachers were highly

involved in SLAC activities to ensure professional growth, quality teaching,

collaboration and problem-solving, and school development programs. The

performance of teachers at work had also been found to be very satisfactory in

all its indicators: content knowledge and pedagogy, learning environment and

leaner diversity, curriculum and planning, and assessment and reporting. Based

on simple linear regression, the data showed that when teachers participate in

SLAC activities, their work performance increases. Implications for the

professional development of teachers are given in the study.

Cabral & Millando (2019) study clearly indicated that the conducted LAC

sessions contribute much to teachers' professional development. However, there

is a need to provide clearer objectives about its intent and significance to

teaching and learning. Sessions about research and innovation must also be

strengthened. The diverse profile attribute of teachers must also be considered in

designing sessions for professional development.

Bajar et.a.(2021) study revealed that SLAC sessions contribute to the

general well-being of the teachers in their view of the profession as it reduced

 37

their tasks and promoted workplace collaboration. On the other hand, it also

impacted their pedagogy, which was found to have contributed to their

instructional mastery and teacher efficacy. The researchers, however, caution

that, though the intervention was found to be successful, it should be taken in its

suggestive nature when out-of-field teaching is unavoidable. When feasible, the

idyllic educational landscape should assign teachers according to their respective

specialized fields.

Bajar, J. T. F., Bajar, M. A. F., & Alarcon, E. P. (2021 study suggested

that the SLAC sessions proved to be a helpful mechanism as a remedy,

the researchers also want to emphasize that these findings are to be taken in

its suggestive nature when out-of-field teaching is unavoidable. At an idyllic

educational landscape, it is without contradiction that teachers be

assigned in their respective specialized backgrounds. In the latter end,

teachers undergone different sets of trainings which they should also utilize in

their professional practice.

Gumban, H. F., & Pelones, M. T. P. (2021) study showed that teachers

were highly involved in SLAC activities to ensure professional growth, quality

teaching, collaboration and problem-solving, and school development programs.

The performance of teachers at work had also been found to be very satisfactory

in all its indicators: content knowledge and pedagogy, learning environment and

leaner diversity, curriculum and planning, and assessment and reporting. Based

on simple linear regression, the data showed that when teachers participate in
 38

SLAC activities, their work performance increases. Implications for the

professional development of teachers are given in the study.

In the study of Giron-Arias (2019) it is found significant for school

administrators to improve the School Learning Action Cell with this it will help the

teachers improve their research capabilities. Every SLAC session must be

evaluated in order to identify the areas that are needed to be improved. Once the

training was improved a follow up LAC session about the topic is necessary to

measure if there is further improvement not only to the LAC session but also to

the research capabilities of teachers.

The findings of the study of Valenzuela (2021) indicated that the level of

managerial competencies of school heads has a significant relationship with the

school's performance. The competencies in various areas such as financial

management, school operations, school safety, and management of staff, were

also found to contribute significantly to the school's efficiency and quality.

Findings in the study of Villar et.al, (2021) revealed that the school heads'

leadership practices and the administrative disposition were highly practiced

during the new normal in the education system. In terms of the readiness of the

public schools, the results revealed that the schools are much ready. The school

heads' leadership practices and administrative disposition related the readiness

of the school. The school heads' leadership practices in terms of resiliency in

stress management and the administrative disposition in terms of inclusivity and

accommodative significantly predicted the readiness of the public schools in the

 39

five City Schools Divisions in Laguna. This research contributed to the school’s

governance operations and contingency plan that will be used by the five city

schools in the division of Laguna.

Foreign Studies

Studies in recent years have increasingly centered on leadership types

(transformational, transactional) (Zengin, 2019). The most relevant studies

investigating LP are related to leadership roles and leadership standards (Sezer,

2018). For example, based on the opinions of school administrators,

competencies such as decision-making, generating financial resources, making

use of technological opportunities, predicting the future, and creating a vision as

being among the dimensions of leadership standards that should be possessed

by administrators of schools that can meet today’s demands. Based on the

opinions of teachers, Sezer (2018) examined the extent to which school

administrators can meet educational leadership standards and found the

administrators were inadequate in terms of student-centeredness, vision building,

managerial practices, and ability to increase teachers’ commitment to the

profession. Studies on the leadership characteristics of school administrators

have emphasized the attribute of sensitivity to a wide range of internal and

external changes, which can ensure the best student learning and which can

achieve individual, professional, and institutional change according to these

 40

changes. From this point of view, qualifications such as the tendency to create

and change the accordingly-formed vision, running the decision-making process,

impacting, and creativity emerge as the indicators of LP. Another aspect

identified in studies is that leadership is sensitive to the cultural context due to its

social dimension (e.g. Antoniou & Lu, 2018; Bellibaş et al., 2016). Leadership

practices of school administrators in Turkey has some limitations. One of these

limitations is the system of selecting and assigning administrators. In the current

system, governors at the local level are authorized to supervise the work and

operations of the Provincial National Education Directorate in accordance with

the provisions of the Law on Provincial Administration No. 5442 (Eurydice, 2019).

Yenipinar (2020) study showed that the leadership potential of school

administrators was low does not seem to be compatible with the results of

national and international studies. The sources of this inconsistency may have

stemmed from the topic of this study, the research methodology, and contextual

differences. The concept and practices of central management still exist strongly

in many countries. In a highly centralized education system, schools are required

to work under common rules and norms. Often, bureaucratic practices and

sanctions as a form of punishment cause school administrators to behave

differently. The word “leader” can be perceived as a threat to the existing one

because the word corresponds to such concepts as change, difference, diversity,

and need orientedness.

 41

Research describes cases that illustrate how attempts to transfer

educational policies for school governance and leadership from one educational

system to another were unsuccessful (Harris, 2020; Hooge, 2020; Oplatka &

Arar, 2017 ). Studies on how divergent national educational policies directly

shape school leadership practices provide further evidence of cross-cultural

differences (Hooge, 2020; Miller, 2018 ). The argument further to the socio-

cultural, historical, and political contexts by discussing the differences,

similarities, and conditions in four different regions – England, Scandinavia,

German-speaking countries, and Eastern European countries. They conclude

that leadership is culturally embedded and socially constructed and that the

difference is even greater when countries do not share linguistic and common

cultural heritage. However, empirical evidence about the importance of system

features for leadership practices is still limited. Therefore, the current study

applies quantitative analysis to system-level representative data in order to

answer what has, over the years, primarily been supported by evidence from

case studies and literature reviews.

In 2018, Ezeubor et al. conducted a study focusing on the staff personnel

administrative strategies implemented by principals for fostering teacher-job

satisfaction and discovered that principals must outsource funds internally or

externally to provide teachers with a safe working atmosphere that allows them

to demonstrate their best qualitative teaching. This study is related to this

research because both endeavors to determine the practices expected from a

 42

school manager to ensure that the welfare of the staff is properly managed to

result in their satisfaction in performing their responsibilities.

Studies related to the leadership characteristics of current school

administrators report that the leadership qualifications of school administrators

are already limited, individuals with leadership qualification do not work as school

administrators, and current conditions do not let one exercise leadership. This is

reported to have created some systemic conditions related to selection, training,

motivation, and progress (Schleicher, 2018; Viennet & Pont, 2017). The LP of

school administrators is an appreciated and desired aspect of the development of

the education system, including endeavors for developing schools.

Sakurai, et. Al (2017) assessed the depth of school disaster, safety at

public elementary schools in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia, in terms of

comprehensive school safety, especially school location, disaster management,

and disaster education, and recommended that comprehensive school safety,

disaster preparedness program be carried out jointly and sustainably by several

stakeholders

The study conducted by Lateef and Adelotan in 2020 entitled “The Use of

Information Technologies for Improved School Administration and management

in Ogun State University” confirmed that the use of technology in school

administration and management improves the efficiency of the processes.

 43

The study of Shaibu L, Edeabo C. and Ishaka M.L. (2019) revealed that

one of the problems with the management of school facilities for effective

instructional delivery was poor maintenance culture.

Several studies have shown that instructional monitoring has a major

impact on school success, like the results above. Fikuree, Meyer, Le Feyre, and

Alansari (2021) wrote one of these studies, which emphasized the importance of

principal task effectiveness and its connection to student achievement. This was

backed up by a study by Ma, X, and Marion R. (2019), which found that

instructional leadership strategies had a greater indirect effect on teachers'

effectiveness. The study "Influence of School Heads' Direct Supervision on

Teachers' Role Performance in Public Senior High Schools, Central Region,

Ghana" by Ampofo et al. (2019) found that school heads devote very little time to

supervision, especially in lesson planning and delivery of learning by teachers.

 A study by Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris, and Hopkins, (2019)

identified seven strong claims about school leadership practices that have a

positive effect on school outcomes. This study was one of the first to provide a

clear definition of leadership practices associated with the improvement of school

outcomes. It noted that next to teachers, also school leaders contributed to the

learning of the students in the school, after controlling for the students’

sociocultural context. The practices that made a difference were categorised as

 44

follows: setting goals or objectives, managing the education programme, human

resource development and redesigning the organisation. A recent revision of this

study suggests that there is much more evidence available now to demonstrate

the original claims. The field has matured and is ready for delving further into the

actual nature, practices and outcome of successful school leadership

A comparative study of school leadership research in twenty-four

countries (Arlestig, Day, & Johansson 2016 ) has underscored the importance of

school leadership. Also, it has highlighted differences and similarities in practices

and diversity within different countries. The report points to the complexity of

leadership and the need to use quantitative and qualitative research methods to

understand it further. The authors conclude several points relevant to the context

of school leadership reform that there is a great variety of school leadership

practices, which depend on the context and degree of development, but

leadership is important in all countries. Additional research on school leadership

from other academic disciplines, such as political science, history or sociology,

would allow a better understanding of school leadership in context. Overall, these

studies suggest that there has been a trend across countries to introduce school

leadership reforms. The review has identified similar types of school leadership

reforms, whilst the implementation of practices by country and context varies.

One interpretation is that school leadership reforms are being implemented in

response to a new public management agenda. An agenda that is aligned with a

trend of globalization of education policies. More research is needed for

 45

comparing and understanding the nature of leadership practices, and the types of

reforms which can be adopted depending on the context.

The results of the study of Bolman & Deal (2017) showed that school

administrators “did not want change.” They can be defined as transactional

leaders because of their emphasis on “maintaining the status quo”. Given the

negative impact of stagnation on LP, the education system should promote

mobility and change through mechanisms to be developed. It is recommended

that systems be developed for career planning, promotion, performance

evaluation, accreditation, and accountability in this direction. In particular, the

paths that enable young educators to advance their hopes and realize their

potentials must be defined and structured.

Lavalley (2018) examined the state of rural schools noting that rural

schools face many of the same challenges that urban schools do, but the

solutions for those problems are often different for rural districts than urban

districts. Three areas cited as common concerns between rural and urban

districts were issues of poverty, the achievement gap and teacher recruitment

and retention (Lavalley, 2018). Yet, despite the similarity of these major

concerns, little attention has been paid to the needs of leadership preparation

common between rural and urban settings in order to better understand

opportunities for cross-boundary collaborations to strengthen the leadership

pipeline in all communities and for all children. The looming crisis in the
 46

demographics of school leadership is real, and it is most acute in those settings

at the extreme – in very sparsely populated, rural settings, as well as in densely

populated urban environments, both areas typically characterized by

concentrations of poverty and race that are not found in the more heterogeneous

populations.

Despite the challenges of engagement reported, Preston and Barnes

(2017) discuss findings that reveal the need for school principals to be school

leaders and active community citizens in order to ensure success through the

support of school resources, community involvement in their schools and student

achievement (Preston & Barnes, 2017). School community relationships are also

forged as school leaders explain and enact policy mandates which may not be

aligned with the community and school district’s circumstances (Preston &

Barnes, 2017).

Synthesis

The synthesis of identified research highlights the challenges facing K-12

educational leaders in both rural and urban settings in their quest for quality

education in the twenty-first century. A variety of inter-related issues emerged.

Analysis of the research from this period yielded the following robust themes: the

challenges facing urban and rural educational leaders are similar, yet the root

cause of those challenges may be different. The leadership practices and

characteristics of successful principals is similar across rural and urban contexts;

 47

however, how a leader may use and adapt the practices and characteristics are

based upon the leader’s understanding of and responses to the community

context in which the leader is working. In an environment of acceleration, the

context of the school-community partnership is more important than ever to

support both the economic as well as the social and cultural initiatives of a place.

Retaining and recruiting personnel for both the urban and rural context are focus

areas in the literature. And, finally, the need for ongoing support and professional

development for all leaders was a prominent theme in the research studies

reviewed. The professional development need areas were varied and connected

to instructional leadership as well as management. Issues of cultural competence

surfaced as an area of focus in the research in the quest for equity and social

justice. Findings indicate attention to continuous improvement for leaders in all

contexts is needed. We explore these interrelated issues in rural and urban

contexts by first addressing the definitions at work in the research of rural and

urban school leadership.

 48

Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter covers the research design, technique in gathering data,

and population sampling technique. It included analytical tool, and market

analysis, acquisition used by proponents in research.

Research Design

This study will use correlational approaches to conduct descriptive

research. This study looked at the relationship between variables, hypothesis

testing, and the formation of universally true generalizations, principles, and

theories.

The descriptive study was chosen for this study because it is the most

appropriate in terms of the researcher's goal, which is to collect data in order to

answer the precise question posed as well as to test the study's hypothesis.

According to Shields (2013), descriptive research is used to describe

characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. Furthermore, it was

carried out to characterize a scenario or an area of interest accurately and

factually. Any phenomenon's "what is" is described in this way.

The correlational approach is intended to aid in determining the extent to

which distinct variables in the population of interest are connected to one

another. This approach can be used to determine how much variation is caused
 49

by one variable and how it is related to other variables in the population of

interest.

Furthermore, descriptive correlational research was used to assess the

relationship between the level of management of school leaders and teachers on

SLAC to the level of performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents,

the significant difference between the level of management of school leaders and

teachers on SLAC to their demographic profile; and the significant relationship of

the level of performance in the LAC implementation of the respondents to their

profile.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study are the selected 151 teachers and school

heads in the District of Rodriguez, Rizal.

Table 1 shows the overall number of Junior High School teachers as well

as the number of school administrators who will respond from each school in the

District of Rodriguez. And as part of the research, samples were taken.

The researcher applied the Slovin’s formula given the data needed in

finding the sample with 5% margin of error.

 50

Table 1
Respondents of the Study

Number
Teacher
Name of School
Respondents

Tagumpay NHS 65

Montalban Height NHS 40

Kasiglahan Village NHS 46

Total 151

Research Instrument

The researcher will use a survey questionnaire that is composed of five

parts. The first part deals with the demographic profile of the respondents. The

second part will focus on the level of management of school leaders and

teachers on SLAC in terms of Learners diversity and inclusion, Content and

pedagogy, Assessment and reporting, 21st century skills and ICT integration,

and Curriculum contextualization; and the third part is the level of performance in

the LAC implementation of the respondents in the areas of Learner diversity and
 51

student inclusion, Lesson content and pedagogy, Assessment and reporting, and

Curriculum contextualization, localization and indigenization. Fourth part is about

the problems encountered by the respondents in the implementation of LAC and

fifth the suggested possible solutions to the problems encountered by the

respondents in the implementation of LAC.

To collect data from respondents, the researcher will create a digital survey

form containing a set of questions. A few pieces of personal information about the

respondents were recalled, ensuring that they are eligible to participate. The

purpose of the questionnaire is to assess the extent of the effects of subject

alignment in teaching as well as the levels of teaching performance of senior high

school teachers. The survey questions were in a rating scale format so that the

answers may be clearly identified.

Construction of Questionnaire

The researcher created the questionnaire after conducting several

assessments of related literature and studies. The research adviser, panel, and

subject experts will assist in the creation of the first draft. To make the

questionnaire more suited for gathering the required data, necessary

modifications and revisions was done.

 52

Content validity was assessed to ensure that the instrument is well-

structured. The test items were written down, and questions was cross-

referenced with these items to ensure that all the items are adequately

represented. It was pilot tested with people who aren't in the sample size for a

dry run and feedback on what should be included to the questionnaire. The

revised final draft was validated before being offered to the panel for pre-oral

defense. All recommendations were considered when creating the final

questionnaire, which will then be printed and distributed for data collecting.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher will request authorization to conduct the study from the

Office of Schools District Supervisor of Rodriguez to adhere to customary rules

and regulations. The researcher will seek the participation of the teachers and

administrators involved in the schools and ask them to distribute and answer the

survey form after obtaining the necessary approval from the Schools District

Office. A digital survey was used for the primary data collection technique. The

digital survey form itself included information and instructions about the research

project and its response methods to help respondents. They were advised that if

any explanations or concerns was needed, they could ask for more information.

This was done to garner a better response and to collect more valuable and

appropriate data rather than confusion for the research study. The link for this

digital survey form was disseminated via Facebook Messenger through a focal
 53

person from each school. This is to prevent a mass response that surpasses the

target sample size. The responses were collected directly through Google Drive.

Upon the retrieval of survey forms, the researcher will then analyze and

interpret the data gathered following the sequence of the statement of the

problem in chapter one.

Ethics Protocol

When doing research and gathering information from primary and secondary

sources, essential ethical norms shall be followed, such as confidentiality, informed

consent, citation, and data integrity. To ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the

participants' data, the researcher will follow the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Statistical Treatment of Data

For better appreciation on the analysis of data, the following statistical

treatments were used:

Frequency Distribution: A frequency distribution is a graphical or tabular

representation that shows the number of observations within a specified interval.

The interval size is determined by the data being examined and the analyst's

objectives. This was utilized in tabular form to clearly describe the respondents'

profile.

Formula: N or ∑ f
 54

Percentage Distribution: Is a frequency distribution in which individual

class frequencies are given as a percentage of the total frequency, which is

equal to 100. This was used to determine the distribution of the study's

responses according on profile.

Formula:

Where:

Frequency

total number of respondents

Weighted mean: The weighted mean is a sort of mean that is determined

by multiplying the weight (or probability) associated with a certain event or

outcome by the quantitative outcome and then adding the results. It is extremely

useful when calculating a theoretically expected outcome where each event has

a distinct probability of occurring, which is the primary difference between the

weighted mean and the arithmetic mean. This was used to determine the extent

of the effects of subject alignment in teaching and the level of teaching

performances of the senior high school teachers.

Formula:
 55

Where:

Analysis of Variance (One-Way ANOVA): It is a technique in inferential

statistics designed to test whether more than two sample or significantly different

from each other. This was used to test hypotheses about population means

rather than population variances.

Formula:

Where:

Mean Sum of Squares Between-column/Treatment

Mean Sum of Squares Within-column/Treatment

Pearson-Product Moment Correlation: Is a measure of the strength and

direction of association that exists between two variables measured on at least

an interval scale. This was used to determine relationship between the extent of

the effects of the subject alignment in teaching to the level of teaching

performance of the senior high school teachers and relationship between the
 56

assessment of school administrators and senior high school teachers when it

comes to their teaching performance.

Formula:

Where:

= No. of pairs

= Summation of X

= Summation of Y

= Summation of X2

= Summation of Y2

= Summation of product of X and Y

r= 1.0 to .90 or r= -1.0 to -.90 Very High Correlation; Very significant relationship
r= .89 to .70 or r= -.89 to -.70 High Correlation; Significant relationship
r= .69 to .40 or r= -.69 to -.40 Moderate Correlation; Average relationship
r= .39 to .20 or r= -.39 to -.20 Low Correlation; Small relationship
r= .19 and below Very low Correlation; Almost no relationship
 57

Relationship for the Value of r 

The Value of r Verbal Interpretation

 1 Perfectly Relationship

 0.81 to  0.99 Very High Relationship

 0.71 to  0.80 High Relationship

 0.41 to  0.70 Moderate Relationship

 0.21 to  0.40 Low Relationship

 0.01 to  0.20 Slight Relationship

0 No Relationship

t-Test Paired Two Sample for Means : Is a form of inferential statistic used to
detect whether there is a significant difference in the means of two groups that
may be related in some way. This was used to determine significant difference
between the performances of the infield and outfield teachers when it comes to
their teaching performance as well as significant difference between the
assessment of school administrators and Senior High School teachers when it
comes to their teaching performance.

Formula:

Where:

d = difference per paired value

 58

N = number of Samples

Likert Scale: Is a five (or seven) point scale used to represent how much

an individual agrees or disagrees with a specific proposition. A Likert scale

(usually) offers five alternative responses to a statement or question, allowing

respondents to indicate their positive-to-negative level of agreement or sentiment

about the question or statement. Each category was assigned a numerical value to

examine the response. The legends used in the questionnaire for the Likert Scale are as follows.

The Level of Management of School Leaders and Teachers on SLAC

Scale Limits Verbal Interpretation

5 4.20 – 5.00 Highly Implemented

4 3.40 – 4.19 Much Implemented

3 2.60 – 3.39 Implemented

2 1.80 – 2.59 Less Implemented

1 1.00 – 1.79 Not Implemented

The Status of the Teaching and Learning Process

Scale Limits Verbal Interpretation

5 4.20 – 5.00 Highly Observed

4 3.40 – 4.19 Much Observed

3 2.60 – 3.39 Observed

 59

2 1.80 – 2.59 Less Observed

1 1.00 – 1.79 Not Observed

The problems encountered by the respondents in the implementation of

LAC

Scale Limits Verbal Interpretation

5 4.20 – 5.00 Extremely Serious

4 3.40 – 4.19 Much Serious

3 2.60 – 3.39 Serious

2 1.80 – 2.59 Least Serious

1 1.00 – 1.79 Not a Problem

The suggested possible solutions to the problems encountered by the

respondents in the implementation of LAC

Scale Limits Verbal Interpretation

5 4.20 – 5.00 Very Much Suggested

4 3.40 – 4.19 Much Suggested

3 2.60 – 3.39 Suggested

2 1.80 – 2.59 Less Suggested

 60

1 1.00 – 1.79 Not Suggested

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