School-Based Management in the Philippines: Fostering Innovations in the Public Education System

Abstract

This paper is a case study of the Philippines' Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP), a loan-funded project once considered to be the biggest laboratory on education reform in the history of the Department of Education (DepEd) and wals also hailed a success. A decade after the project closed, it is intructive to revisit the TEEP story and investigate how different it was from previous reform projects. It is worth noting that the winning strategy of using school0based management (SBM) as an integrative and developmental management framework fostered innovations in critical aspects of the project, thus contributing to long-term governance reforms in the basic education sector. This paper is broadly a literature-based study with primary source culled mainly from project reports, evaluation studies and policy issuance generated during and after TEEP implementation. Findings were further enriched by interviews with consultants and experts who were involved in the project. The analysis is anchored on two discourses: a) innovative leadership roles and b) employee-driven innovation, with the main focus on the role of teachers and school heads (the Department of Education's employees in the ground) in fostering innovations in the public education system. Findings suggest that TEEP's success was a confluence of factors but SBM is recognized as the key lever. By fostering trasnparency, enhancing collaborative practices and ensuring stakeholders' participation in almost all levels of decision-making, SBM cultivated the culture of innovation in DepEd schools.

Implementation of School-Based Management as Perceived by the School Governing Council

“…This is important as it will cater to and prepare the learners for the future and needs of the community which further means that as the learners graduates, they will have the opportunity to work and earn a living. Maca (2019) claimed that the beauty of the implementation of SBM is that it promotes programs and innovations that are in response to the current and possibly future needs of society, making the learners relevant to the society as to its knowledge and skills that are being developed. Thus, making it more cohesive and creating a sure and brighter future for the learners and the community as well.…”

“…Thus, schools need to partner with various industries and sectors to fill in the gaps. Maca (2019) stressed that managing resources must be carefully and consistently done to ensure that the implementation of programs and projects is not just active in its launching stage but will sustain in all of its stages of implementation. Mismanaging of resources can have negative effects on the learning environment therefore, it must be monitored and carefully executed.…”

School-Based Management (Sbm) in Elementary Schools: Through the Lens of Teachers

“…In addition, an article discussing School-based Management in the Philippines and its innovations in the public education system stated that by fostering transparency, intensifying collaborative practices, and ensuring stakeholders' participation at nearly all levels of decision-making, SBM honed and cultivated a culture of innovation in DepEd schools. In addition, SBM empowers educational leaders to make decisions regarding the curriculum and learning management, the hiring and administration of the institution's personnel, and the financial management of the school (Maca, 2019).…”

Principals’ Leadership Style towards the Implementation of Decentralized School-Based Management in Selected Secondary Public Schools in Mandaluyong City, Philippines

“…Accountability usually stems in SBM from a higher level of participation from the local community, usually through a school committee which includes school level administrators, parents and teachers as members. In an influential recent book (Maca, 2019), the authors describe possible areas of decision making decentralized to the school level. The list includes topics ranging from monitoring of student performance to the hiring and firing of teachers.…”

“…Decentralization of decision making to the school level is expected to lead to an improvement in the performance of individual schools and consequently the entire education because it clarifies and simplifies governance arrangements for service delivery. "By giving a voice and decision-making power to local stakeholders who know more about local needs than central policy makers do, it is argued that SBM will improve education outcomes..." (Maca 2019). The authors explain in detail the so called 'SBM results chain' between implementation of SBM and school performance.…”