CASE STUDY SCHOOL HEADS PERFORMANCE IN TERMS WITH THE 5 KRA

Submitted to: DR. ROLANDO O. OLITA

Submitted by: LEVILYN F. FEDELICIO

Executive Summary Education should be seen as an activity directed at self-empowerment, attempting to bring influences to bear that will imbue the person's character, attitude, abilities and capacities with a sense of personal meaning. Rapid growth in scientific and medical discoveries, technology, including information communications technology (ICT), and the worlds population. But it is also a context of growing unevenness in such developments in different parts of the world and/or within individual countries. The consequences of this situation include a blurring of boundaries, growing gaps between people, groups and countries and the end of certainty including a diminution of credibility of traditional knowledge and authority of expertise, especially in professions such as education. The society we have, including the identity and cohesion within that society and its understanding and acceptance of other societies, is seen to be largely created in our schools. Schools are one of the few remaining institutions to offer partnerships to families in socialisation and investment through learning. School education helps people make sense of the changes as well as fostering sustainability, including through lifelong learning. The creation, acquisition, communication and wise use of knowledge are of particular importance. In brief, societys most important investment is increasingly seen to be in the education of its people - we suffer in the absence of good education: we prosper in its presence. In this situation of high expectations of each countrys educational provision, those leading schools have an enormous responsibility. It is no wonder that the school improvement movement of the past 20 years has put a great emphasis on the role of leaders. Effective school leaders are key to large-scale, sustainable education reform. School leaders and those aspiring to leadership persistently cite job-related stress and time fragmentation, the growing pressure of high-stakes testing and accountability, and the social problems that schools are assuming in trying to instruct students as major factors influencing their standing . External forces and demands infiltrate schools and can have a powerful influence on the career of an administrator. A school leader today, for example, is apt to be experiencing the pressure of budget cuts; overcrowding; shortage of qualified teachers; and a set of local, state, and federal mandates, many of which are unfunded. Harsh realities from the outside, such as poverty, inadequate health care, and unemployment, create enormous challenges for a leader inside a school. The culture and norms found within schools can also present unique challenges for the leader. Administration is interpreting policies and making them operational. Leadership, however, involves establishing a clear vision, communicating it to others and having them willing to follow you. Effective leadership--which is required in successful

administration--calls for being able to coordinate and balance conflicts between individuals or groups. A leader has the skills to come to the forefront in a crisis situation and take charge in creative ways that lead to resolution. While there is considerable overlap between administration and leadership, there are also differences. A leader is not necessarily an administrator and vice versa.

Introduction This case study is a short review about the school heads performance in terms of the KRA. Education systems are extremely demanding of the managerial, technical, and

financial capacity of governments, and, thus, as a service, education is too complex to be efficiently produced and distributed in a centralized fashion. Thus, the government adopts this innovation to decentralize the authority to the school level. Responsibility and decision-making over school operations is transferred to principals, teachers, parents, sometimes students, and other school community members. The school-level actors, however, have to conform to, or operate, within a set of centrally determined policies. In general, SBM programs transfer authority over one or more of the following activities: budget allocation, hiring and firing of teachers and other school staff, curriculum development, textbook and other educational material procurement, infrastructure improvement, setting the school calendar to better meet the specific needs of the local community, and monitoring and evaluation of teacher performance and student learning outcomes. SBM also includes school-development plans, school grants, and sometimes information dissemination of educational results (otherwise known as report cards). Literature Review The role of the school principal in an effective public educational system in the Global environment is most crucial. The school Principal is considered the main catalyst in managing educational excellence. The quality of educational programs, teaching processes and the degree of students' development (cognitive, emotional, social and physical) depends to a great extent, on the Principal. If the degree and quality of a school is dependent on the level of initiative, creativity, efforts and cohesiveness of a wellorchestrated staff/a new model for an effective public educational system in Antigua and Barbuda must include the retraining of school Principals. According to Kurt, L.V. (2008) this retraining must prepare them to promote educational excellence by promoting and maintaining teacher/student initiative, creativity and personal growth. In this atmosphere, teachers and students will experience a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of power, a desire to become involved in activities, and a feeling of high self-esteem. The product of these feelings are job satisfaction, enthusiasm, good morale, progress and ultimately, excellence. Furthermore, this new model must train the Principals to develop a philosophy, goals and objectives for their schools within the guidelines of the centralised policies of national, regional and global competencies, realities and expectation. The Principal must be "expertized" to guide and manage staff, parents, students, resources reality and civil community into a dynamic team for the most effective outcome. In order to meet the heightened, multiple expectations now placed on schools, as well as to have engaged teachers, it is argued that schools need to become learning

organisations, consciously and continuously pursuing quality improvement. Within schools that are learning organisations evolve new types of relationship between students, teachers and leaders based around a reasonably common set of characteristics that include a trusting and collaborative climate, a shared and monitored mission, taking initiatives and risks, and ongoing, relevant professional development. Cited by Collins, S. D.( (2008) the key relationships in the ways school leaders strengthen teacher recruitment, development and retention were shown to include factors such as teacher satisfaction, school effectiveness, improvement, capacity, teacher leadership, distributive leadership, organisational learning, and development. School leaders can be a major influence on these school-level factors as well as help buffer against the excesses of the mounting and sometimes contradictory external pressures. A skilled and well-supported leadership team in schools can help foster a sense of ownership and purpose in the way that teachers approach their job. Conferring professional autonomy to teachers will enhance the attractiveness of the profession as a career choice and will improve the quality of the classroom teaching practice. Teachers who work together in a meaningful and purposeful ways have been found to be more likely to remain in the profession because they feel valued and supported in their work. A study conducted about the School Based Management in the Philippines in 2007 despite the clear commitment of governments and international agencies to the education sector, efficient and equitable access is still proving to be elusive to many, especially for girls, indigenous peoples and other poor and marginalized groups. There are many international initiatives that are focusing on these access issues with great commitment, but, even where the vast majority of children do have access to education facilities, the quality of that education is often very poor. This has become increasingly apparent from the scores from international learning tests in which most students from developing countries fail to excel. Evidence has shown that merely increasing resource allocation without also introducing institutional reforms to the education sector will not increase equity or improve the quality of education. In a study School Leaders Empowerment by Ramon, d. (2010) empowerment means letting go of the authority to make certain decisions. This is good management practice but also about facing reality - that modern school employees won't accept jobs where they have no say in their day to day decisions.

Still, old habits die hard and some school managers will struggle for awhile to change their roles from prime decision maker to facilitator. Empowerment is not the same thing as teachers engagement but it does help teachers and school administrators feel more engaged. Several factors contribute to effective empowerment. Your organizational culture must support empowerment. A study conducted by Devenedera, S. J. (2008) empowerment wont work if managers feel threatened by a loss of authority, for example. There is also the question of what to empower and when. In addition, self-awareness is essential to be sure that you are not actually disempowering employees. Empowerment is viewed as authority that school managers grant teachers. The reality is that many teachers already have a lot of power. It is important to recognize their power and motivate them to channel it productively. Empowering them means acknowledging how powerful they already are. The same applies to knowledge workers whose innovations can build your school. In the old days when most teachers did only routine jobs such as teaching, they had no power other than what school managers condescended to grant them - this was called job enrichment! Now, teachers are doing the critical jobs and managers are increasingly facilitators or coaches who need to get out of the way and let powerful teachers do the school management and improvement. This is a profound shift in educational power. Nevertheless, it is hard for teachers to fully utilize their power because the other reality is that school managers still have the power to promote or fire them. So, both sides have their own sort of power and today the balance is more even than it used to be. An even balance of power implies partnership, not empowerment. The catch is that partners expect an even balance of reward distribution as well The key is not so much to empower employees who are already powerful but to motivate them to channel their power to maximize educational and management results. Principals are the central figure of school organization. What they say, do or think has a significant effect on organizational performance. A principal's interaction and participation can increase learning climate, productivity, achievement and school reputation. The accomplishments of a school and even whether or not it achieves its goals and mission can be determined by the principal's effectiveness in their vision, both foresight and hindsight .

A principal's effectiveness can have a positive effect on student academic achievement, organizational management, and staff development. Their leadership can promote human relationships, management motivation, collegial relationships, school improvement; and collaboration with stakeholders including students, teachers, parents, staff, and the community. Pineda, H. P. 92010) stated that a good principal envisions a mission for the school that accomplishes the needs of the community. To sum up, leadership is about the organisational improvement: more specifically it is all about establishing widely agreed upon and worthwhile directions for the organisation and doing whatever it takes to prod and support people to move in those directions. Our generic definition of leadershipis very simple, then, it is about direction and influence. Literature on educational leadership is particularly related to the social and organizational structure of educational systems in the western world. However, the structure of educational systems differs widely across countries, and education systems are structured in very different ways.

Methodology The case study was conducted through interviews and data collection from the school concerned and the school teachers. A thorough analysis of the situation was observed and recorded. Study The study was focused on the school principal of a medium school in Pinamalayan East district. In the pursuit of our aspirations for the education of our school and with the full implementation of School Based Management the school head which is under these case study is assigned in one of the districts in Mindoro town.

The school through the principal, stirred up by its dedication and commitment to innovation, is moving forward in achieving a higher educational status reflected by highly competitive pupils and cooperative stakeholders. The school is focused on lifting ts standard by redirecting all of its resources into the development of the personnel, improvement of the facilities and energizing its relationship with the community which in the end elevated the quality of every pupil.

Educational plans and targets are new; nonetheless they will continue to be appropriate and relevant for as long as there is a child unable to have access to basic schooling or having access is unable to complete at least six years of education. In no education reform or improvement will flourish except when there is acceptance from within that change is from the betterfor the best. Track the right way on implementation, the stakeholders draft the mission, vision and goals of our school which will serve as the schools guiding tool in implementation of the Department of Educations mission and vision. One person alone cannot reach each student and help each student succeed. The school requires leaders who are able to lead in many different ways and in numerous circumstances. Principal, teacher, and student leadership are invaluable to the effort. Collaboration within grade levels, across grade levels, and across schools provides the backbone for the sustainability of the education.

The school principal and other school leaders must look within themselves to ensure that they have the necessary skills, attitudes, and mind-sets to lead improvement.

The schools follows the core values as ordered by the Department of Education. It terms of the 5 KRA, the following observations and study is presented below.

1. Curriculum (K12 and BEC) The school is offering pre-school, K12 Program for Grade I, and II-VI classes following the Basic Education Curriculum. New entrants were given School Reading Assessment Tests (SRA) to determine the readiness of the pupils. Four pronged approach was used in teaching English and Filipino. In the delivery of the BEC program and projects for the pupils, the school through the school head and teachers centered in the development of HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) and the Numeracy Skills to determine the level of pupils performance to reason out and solve word problems. Learning activities are provided to learn the skills effectively. The school keeps abreast with the intensive and rigid administration of varied enhancement tools for mastery of unmastered competencies and skills and remediation in five (5) learning areas to increase MPS. Relevant to the conduct of formal testing tool, the achievement tests are given at

the need of the first and second semester, periodic tests for every grading period by respective teachers in each grade level follow the correct format and percentage. 2. Physical Facilities The school physical facilities of the school are unlikely improvement, the classrooms are not well ventilated enough, there is a canteen situated within the school run by a parent, and one main problem comfort rooms which are not finished and according to the school head, it needs improvement and additional budget from the Department.

needs small is the really

Classroom facilities such as chairs and tables were given by the Department of Education and by the stakeholders. The children used textbooks from the Department of Education at the ratio of 1:15 in all subject areas. Electrification and wter system for the school facilities was made through MOOE Fund. With the tie up with the PTA, LGU, NGOs and teachers, the realization of the mission and vision will be at hand. 3. Community The school is situated in a hilly and mountainous area wherein the community is peaceful and living a simple way. The community falls below average where peoples primary way of living are farming. The school and the community has a good relationship because parents are very cooperative despite their best efforts to improve the school and achieve the goals and objectives, the school cannot meet it without sufficient school funding. 4. Partnership This area of the schools which is partnership is the extent to which the requirements and expectations of key stakeholder groups are met or exceeded by RIT, including students and their families; alumni; RIT faculty and staff; business community; government; donors. The school had gained more donors and sponsors from different sectors to help improve the school through the projects and programs to be implemented. 5. Implementation of Special Programs and Projects Continuous implementation of the Department of Educations programs and projects are being implemented by the school head and teachers. However despite of the lack of financial supports, the school meets its goals and objectives. The school through the school principal, teachers and stakeholders organized special programs to develop the pupils hidden talents and potentials.

Analysis Governments around the world are introducing a range of strategies aimed at improving the financing and delivery of education services, and have recently added an emphasis on improving quality as well as increasing quantity (in terms of enrollment rates). The decentralization of educational decision-making is one such strategy. Advocates of this strategy maintain that decentralizing decision-making encourages demand and ensures that schools reflect local priorities and values. By giving a voice and decision-making power to local stakeholders who know more about the local education systems than central policymakers, decentralization can improve educational outcomes and increase client satisfaction. One way to decentralize decision-making power in education is popularly known as School-based Management (SBM). There are other definitions and names for this concept, but they all refer to the decentralization of authority from the central government to the school level. SBM emphasizes the individual school (as represented by any combination of principals, teachers, parents, students, and other members of the school community) as the primary unit for improving education and the redistribution of decision-making authority over school operations as the primary means by which this improvement can be stimulated and sustained. In a certain level, it makes intuitive sense that your childs public school principal does everything within her power to improve the standardized test scores of her students. The study finds that transformational leadership is a necessary but insufficient condition for instructional leadership. When transformational and shared instructional leadership coexist in an integrated form of leadership, the influence on school performance, measured by the quality of its pedagogy and the achievement of its students, is substantial. Conclusions and Recommendations Principals typically work with constituents on the career-path continuum from entry level to veteran. If principals want to increase their influence, they must focus on the vital leadership traits, necessary performance standards, and required degrees of support needed to build a solid foundation with all members of the team. Once a new principal has been hired, his or her first priority must be to demonstrate competencies and assure all constituents that he or she is deserving of the new title. Adequate time must be devoted to

demonstrating competence at this level, the Position level. The work focus at this level involves clarifying and establishing rights, accepting responsibilities with various people, offering good ideas, and attaining recognition as a leader rather than a boss.

References and Appendices KRA, http://www.humanresources.hrvinet.com/what-are-key-result-areas-kra/ http://ourhappyschool.com/education/school-based-management-sbm-philippine-schools Filipino Leadership in Educational Institutions http://edlineses.multiply.com/journal/item/5 Introducing Principals to the Role of Instructional Leadership, http://www.saskschoolboards.ca/research/leadership/95-14.htm#c1 http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/PRAXIS/pdf/0410.pdf SIP (School Improvement Plan) SBM implementation Plan Annual Implementation Plan