Leadership Styles of School Administrators in Relation to Educational Challenges Encountered

Abstract

This study determined the leadership styles of school administrators in relation to the educational challenges encountered in the Jose Panganiban District, Schools Division of Camarines Norte. The study employed a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design using a structured survey questionnaire consisting of two parts: Part I measured the leadership styles practiced by school administrators with indicators adopted from the leadership theories of Bass (1985), Hersey and Blanchard (1969), and Kouzes and Posner (1987), while Part II measured the educational challenges encountered in terms of human relations, communication, student-related concerns, and fiscal management using researcher-developed indicators. The respondents were 29 school administrators and 312 teachers. Findings revealed that school administrators demonstrated strong and flexible leadership practices, with transformational leadership obtaining the highest weighted mean of 3.86, followed by democratic leadership with 3.85. In terms of educational challenges, student-related concerns were frequently encountered by teachers obtaining a weighted mean of 2.55, while school administrators rated them lower obtaining 2.23, interpreted as rarely encountered. Correlation analysis showed that leadership styles were significantly related to most educational challenges as perceived by teachers, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis, while no significant relationship was found from the perspective of school administrators, resulting in the failure to reject the null hypothesis. The study concludes that although strong leadership practices were observed, student-related concerns remain a major challenge requiring a more systematic and coordinated intervention, leading to the development of the Teach-Lead Resolve Activities: Strengthening Teacher Leadership in Managing Student Concerns, which utilizes the Student Case Management and Response Journal for Teachers to support early identification, consistent documentation, and coordinated monitoring of student cases.