Teacher and Community

1STSEM
AY 2020-2021
A MODULE DEVELOPED BY
Dr. ROLDAN D. ATIENZA
Ed 103-The Teachers and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership 1
Module I THE SCHOOL AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE
This chapter focuses on the role of the school as an agent of social
change. It explores significant literatures and theories in understanding the
Key significant role of the school in imparting positive social transformation. The
Concepts chapter includes activities that will provide us with good insights and perspective
(Overview) on the role of the school as an agent of social change. It allows us to critically
reflect on relevant practices and issues of teachers.
Intended 1. Discuss how the school serves as agent of change
Learning 2. Discuss how teachers, students, administrators and other personnel could
Outcomes contribute in affecting positive social change in the society
3. Observe how innovative schools serve as agents of social change
Content
School plays an important role in the development of individuals and societies.
Schools are vital source of knowledge
and innovations, they are contributors to
economic development, they are the
agents of social and cultural
development, and they are the
warehouses of information. Schools also
develop the manpower needs of the
society developing the necessary skills,
values and knowledge needed in
everyday life particularly in the
industry. Furthermore, schools are national and regional symbols serving as
repository of the people’s history and culture. In a nutshell, a school I a dynamic
social organization that develops every learner for various social roles. It
influenced by system anchored on the philosophy, mission, and vision.
School as an Organization
it has its own system of governance influenced by fixed organizational structure
of bureaucracy. In basic education, the Department of Education determines the
bureaucratic structure of schools from national, regional, division, district and the
local school level. At the
national level, the DepEd
secretary acts as the head of the
whole bureaucracy supported
by the Undersecretaries and
Assistant Secretaries. The
Central Office is composed of
4 Bureaus namely (1) Bureau
of Curriculum Development,
(2) Bureau of Learning
Delivery, (3) Bureau of
Learning Resources, and (4)
Bureau of Educational Assessment. The Regional Offices are headed by Regional
Directors supported by different education supervisors. The Division Office are
headed by the Superintendent and also supported by educational supervisors. The
District Office are headed by the District supervisors and supported by
educational supervisors. Lastly, at the school level, the principal serves as the
chief administrative and academic officer of the school. Masters teachers and
classroom teachers support the principal in accomplishing various task.
 School as learning organization- its main function is to help learners

learn and develop knowledge, skill, and values essential for every
individual. Its main function is to implement the curriculum prescribed
by the Department of Education. Guided by the different principles and
theories of teaching and learning, the school carries function by helping
mold the minds and character of student. Students in school with the help
of teachers developed much knowledge skills.
 School as a community- it is composed of teachers, administrators,

students, staff, and other stakeholders united in one purpose and guided
by common values and cultures. As a community, the school is guided by
the following essential elements:
Vision- a sense of direction of what the school hopes to
accomplish for itself, for the people, and for the society.
Values- provides a framework for organizational culture and
behaviour of the entire school
Leadership- provides administrative and management support for
the day-to-day activities and functions of the school.
Culture- pertains to shared values and behaviors of students,
teachers, staff and administration.
The school as a social organization aims to respond to the different changes

and challenges in the society brought by different social and natural forces, it
plays and important role in shaping the future of the society it belongs. The
schools working mechanism has a strong effect not only on the delivery of
quality education but also on the development of human resource needed by the
society.
Activity 1
Identify s successful school. Find out what are the contributions of the school in
the community. Write your findings in the space provided.
School as a Social Organization
Schools are important

organizations that prepare young
children of their future roles as
productive citizens in the country. The
way schools fulfil this function has a
strong effect on the quality of education
they provide. There are several theories
that try to explain the nature of the
schools as a social organization. Under
the systems theory, it is best to examine
some of the characteristics of schools including structure, culture, climate, leader-
ship, decision making, and the relationships among the personnel. (Bozkus, 2014)
 Structure: as social systems, schools’ structure has characteristic of

rational, natural, and open systems. They have hierarchies of authority,
goals, and roles expectation similar to bureaucratic organization.
Individual needs affect employee behaviour, organizational goals are not
firm, informal organization derived from interactions among individual,
and schools. (Bozkus, 2014)
 Culture and Climate: school culture is preserved and transferred to new

members by the socialization process (Kowalski, 2010). New teachers
learn shared values, beliefs, norms when they interact and build
relationships with their colleagues. The school culture is influence by the
philosophy and core values of the school. It is also continuously shaped
by the culture of every individual members of the school. Private schools
especially sectarian school are famous for their ability to sustain their
institutional norms and culture especially among students.
 Leadership and Decision Making: in social system of schools an

important aspect of leadership is the quality and systematic effects of
functions and behaviours of principal as leaders (Bozkus, 2014).
 Relationships: social organizations like school are stemmed from
interaction among people both within and outside of the organization.
Relationships within school building and with the community are
essential elements of socializations and have significant impact on mini
vital processes (Bozkus, 2014).
Activity 2
Identify traditions and discuss the school culture of your college or university.
Social Change and Its Effect in the Educational System
Social change is a broad

term and every society
develops and evolve in a
unique way as influence by
various social factors and
events. Change is always
happening in every aspect
of the society and it
inevitable. The physical
features of the society are always changing as a result of economic developments.
Human relationships and interaction and cultures also have change as a result of
various social forces and events. Many can observe that with the influence of
technology and advancements in science, we expect more change to happen in
the coming years. The future remains unpredictable due to this social change
forces.
The financial institutions 2025 risk index identified 6 megatrends that continue to
shape and influences our society.
 Digitalization’s and Technological Advances- technological

advancements is impacting the finance industry as new challengers are
emerging and growing customer expectations drives significant IT
infrastructure investment.
 Demographic and Behavioral Changes- the changing demographics-
geographical and behavioral profile of customers is forcing financial
institution to deal with divergent customer expectation, and new customer
bases and work forces.
 Global Talent and Skills Race- talent capable of navigating a rapidly
evolving financial landscape will be required to respond to increasing
regulatory pressures, a changing approach to risk management and the
immergence of new markets.
 Business Operating Model Pressures- regulation and the increasing
cause of capital is exerting pressure on business operating structures,
driving segmentation and disintermediation in the financial sector.
 Regulatory Changes and Complexity- regulatory pressures arising from
the financial crisis have increase the cause of capital, prompted large-
scale divestment, reshaped attitudes towards risk, and redrawn the
boundary between retail and wholesale banking.
 Changes in Investment, Capital sources and Returns- none- bank
financial institutions, fintech companies and new investors are bringing
fresh capital into the sector while bank meet capital requirements, manage
stress test and spend and compliance upgrades.
These social changes, among others, demands that all educational

institutions at any level must only respond to these changes but they must also
evolve and be changed.
1. New ways of teaching and learning must be developed and introduced.
2. Instructions must focus on the holistic development of every learners.
3. Technology must be utilized to improve access to quality education.
4. Curriculum must be progressive and innovative.
5. Alternative learning system must be harnessed.
6. New literacies and skills must be developed.
7. Teachers must be equipped with high level of technological,
pedagogical
content knowledge (TPCK).
8. Classroom must be equipped with technology
9. New subjects and courses must be developed to respond to the needs of
the society.
10. Old discipline must evolve to embrace new research and
developments
in the field
11. Critical thinking, creativity and innovation must be developed.
Social Changes and Challenges brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution
The concept of fourth industrial revolution, according to Davis (2016) build on

the Digital Revolution with cyber- physical systems providing new mechanism
and allowing technology to be embedded within societies and even human body.
It is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields
including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing,
and biotechnology, internet of things, 3D printing and autonomous vehicles
(Bernard et al. 2016).
Schwab (2016) describes how the 4th Industrial Revolution is fundamentally

different form the previous three industrial revolutions. Accordingly, these new
and emerging technologies have great potential to continue to connect billions
more people to the web, drastically improve the efficiency of business and
organizations, and help regenerate the natural environment through better asset
management. We are facing a world transformed by technology, in which the
internet, cloud computing, and social media create different opportunities and
challenges in all social; institutions and particularly for the global educational
systems. Bernard (2016) posits that the 4th industrial revolution provides various
opportunities to improve human communication and conflict resolution.
The fourth industrial revolution brought significant social transformation that

created new world economy characterized by:
a. Wider Employment Opportunities
b. Demand for quality, competitive and flexible workers
c. Globalization
d. Millennial Workforce
e. Mobility
f. Technological Advancement
g. New Behaviours
The fourth Industrial revolution calls for the educational system to develop
graduates who are equipped with knowledge and new skills and prepared for
responding to the various social challenges that may come. In order to produce
qualified graduates, the curriculum needs a new orientation. The old literacies
(reading, writing and math), have to be strengthened as well as by adding the new
and merging literacies to produce qualified human who can thrive in digital era.
Change Forces
Sergiovanni (2000, P. 154-155) identified six forces affecting changes in
schools: bureaucratic, personal, market, professional, cultural, and democratic.
Each of these forces is influential in implementing changes in schools.
o Bureaucratic forces are rules, mandates, and other requirements intended
to provide direct supervision, standardized work process, or standardized
outcomes that are used to prescribed change.
o Personal forces are personalities, leadership styles, and interpersonal skills

of change agents that could push for changes to happen in school
o Market forces are competition, incentives, and individual choice that are
used to motivate change.
o Professional forces are standards of expertise, codes of conduct,

collegiality felt obligations, and other professional norms intended to
build professional community to compel change
o Cultural forces are shared values, goals, and ideas about pedagogy,
relationships, and politics intended to build covenantal community that is
used to compel change
o Democratic forces are democratic social contacts and shared

commitments to the common good intended to build a community that is
used to compel change.
Due to these change forces, schools need to build internal commitment to

change and positive social transformation. Internal commitment is an essential
contributor to school effectiveness. Internal commitment means all faculty,
administrators and staff experience a high degree of ownership and a feeling of
responsibility on the changes that they wish to happen. Teachers, students, and
staff must see their roles and responsibilities n the changes that will happen.
Cooperation, collaboration and open communication is essential. Responding to
the different change forces requires empowerment of every member of the school
community. It also requires ethical and moral leadership from school managers
and administrators. Furthermore, all the members of the school must possess
innovative behaviours and creativity.
Characteristics of a Good School as an Agent of Social Change

To effectively serve as an agent of social change, schools need to evolve
and be a model of a good social institution. Reviewing the current literatures on
the characteristics of a good school makes us conclude that good schools are
generally described as being learner-centered. Good schools make an effort to
serve all types of students by providing a good physical and socio-emotional
environment for all students. They provide instructional support system to help
students learn effectively and develop curricular program to further enrich the
knowledge and skills of the students. They respect the ethnic and linguistic
differences among students.
Table 1: Indicators of a Good School from Six Composite Perspectives
Pupil
o Pupils are nice to each other
o Everyone is treated fairly
o There is a friendly atmosphere
o Teachers control the classes but not too strict
o Teachers help you with things you are not good at
Teacher
o Communication is good among all members
o Staff development is good
o The environment is good to work in
o Pupils are happy and well motivated
o All pupils are helped to achieve what they are capable of
Parent
o There is a welcoming friendly atmosphere
o Staff are caring and communicate well with pupils
o Discipline is good
o Extra time is spent with children who learn less quickly
o Relationships are good between teachers and parents
Management
o Pupils are safe
o All members of the school community work toward clear
objectives
o A high quality of information is given to parents and visitors
o Rules are applied evenly and fairly
o All pupils are helped to achieve what they are capable of
Support Staff
o Resources are good and up to date
o Classrooms are clean, warm, and comfortable
o Support staff are given credit for their competence and
Contribution
o The environment is friendly and welcoming
o Staff development involves all staff
Board Member, Trustee
o Excellent reputation with the local community
o Strong leadership from senior management
o A happy and welcoming environment
o Pupils being helped to reach their individual potential
o A safe place for pupils
As an agent of social change, a school must set an example of a good social

institution Schools need to model a dynamic social organization characterized by
the following:
 The school climate must be professional and friendly to all
 There must be positive relationships among students, faculty, staff,
administrators, and stakeholders
 The classroom atmosphere must be mentally and emotionally engaging
for learning
 There is enough and adequate support for learning
 The teachers and other staff received support for professional and
personal growth
 The school must be efficient in managing its resources
 There must be an efficient communication system among teachers,
students, administrators, staff, parents, and other stakeholders
 The school has a system to recognize good works and other achievements
 There must be a strong school and home relationship
 All members of the school community must be treated with respect
The school as an agent of positive social change and transformation must

elicit support and cooperation from all its constituents and stakeholders. The
embers of the school community believe and support its vision and mission. It
encourages collaboration rather than competition. It disassociates itself from
unhealthy academic politics and practices that destroy unity and good relationship
among the faculty and staff.
Schools are guided by a clear vision and a passion to pursue a noble
mission. Schools everywhere are not only centers of learning and knowledge
production. They are the guardians of peoples' freedom and democratic life. They
are shrines of noble ideas and ethical principles. They are the minds and
conscience of the people in the field of education.
Responding to the Needs of the Country and Local Communities
In the Philippines, the genesis of community schools during the American

period planted the seed for the development of a good school-community
partnership and the development of a functionally literate citizenry. Community
schools were expected to contribute to the economic and cultural development of
the people and the communities where they serve. They are shrines of knowledge
and wisdom when there are only few basic education schools in the country. They
are concrete reflections of the state's commitment to ensure equity and access to
quality education. Many of these community schools have evolved into
community colleges and they became the pioneer units of the many state colleges
and universities in the country now.
Trade and agricultural schools are also good models of how a school can
influence positive social changes. These schools aim to contribute to the
economic development of the people and the community. Over the years, these
schools have produced professionals and scientist who are helpful in the
development of agriculture and food production in the country. For example, the
world-renowned University of the Philippines Los Banos, which is famous in the
field of research and in developing a lot of scientists in the field of agriculture,
forestry, and other professional fields in the Philippines and in the Asia-Pacific
region. Some outstanding agriculture schools are Central Luzon State University,
Central Mindanao University, Mariano Marcos State University, Eastern Visayas
State University, and many others agricultural universities.
The University of the Philippines, Manila also made an outstanding
contribution in developing local doctors who are serving in local communities in
the country. Its satellite campuses in Leyte, Davao, and Aurora are excellent
models on how schools can help serve the people.
Silliman University, a private' protestant school established during the
time of the Americans in Dumaguete City is a good example of how a school can
influence the transformation of the society. Silliman did not only produce
outstanding leaders and professionals in various disciplines and fields in the
country. It has immensely influenced the economic and cultural development of
Dumaguete City and the whole island of Negros. Currently, Silliman has a strong
research in marine science that focuses on the conservation of our country's
marine resources. Other schools have done noble contributions to nation building.
The following are just a few examples:
a. The UP Baguio research on the indigenous people culture in the

Cordillera region.
b. Ateneo de Manila University is also known for its contributions in
helping the poor people in various parts of the country and it has
collaborations with other agencies and institutions, like Gawad
Kalinga, in its mission to end poverty and serve the poor.
c. Miriam College partnership in developing children's literacy in poor
communities
d. St. Scholastic a’s College program for empowering women and in
promoting gender equity
e. The UP College of Law, Law Center for providing free legal assistance
to poor people
f. The Central Visayas Institute of Technology for developing science
literacy by building a good science and mathematics program in a
small town of Jagna in the province of Bohol
g. Mindanao State University for advancing the education of Muslims and
other indigenous groups in Mindanao
h. Mary Johnston College of Nursing for serving the health needs of poor
families in Tondo Manila.
i. TESDA Schools all over the country, are helping develop the vocational
and technical skills of millions of students.
Activity 3
Identify other schools known for their noble activities, programs and projects
that have bought positive and social changes in the community or in the country.
Activity 4
Examine your own school. Identify projects and programs that are beneficial
to the society and to the people.
All schools under the K-12 Education Program are expected to function as
agents of social change and transformation. They are expected to contribute to
nation building y developing holistically developed and functionally literate
learners characterized by:
 A healthy mind and body
 Solid moral and spiritual groundings
 Essential knowledge and skills to continuously develop himself/ herself to
the fullest
 Engagement in critical and creative problem solving
 Contribution to the development of a progressive and humane society
 Appreciation of the beauty of the world and cares for the environment for
a sustainable future
Responding to the Needs of a Culturally Diverse Global Community
Various countries in the world are becoming more and more interconnected
due to the growing influence of politics, technology, economic Cooperation,
educational collaborations, and tourism activities. Shim (2011) pointed out that
from a global perspective, people now live in the world wherein entanglement is
an inherent condition of human existence; constant border crossing among
cultural and language boundaries using technology becomes inevitable. As a
result, people live in countries, which are becoming more ethnically, racially,
culturally, and linguistically diverse every year (Shim, 2011). Thus, the growing
case of immigration in various countries also has made the society multicultural.
In the study of Ball (2000), the enormous complexities of today's world

require a new vision for schooling that responds to the needs of the global and
multicultural society in which we live. There is a need to prepare students who
possess high level of knowledge and skills that include high level of cultural
literacy. To be culturally literate according to Hirsch (1987) is to possess the
basic information extending over the major domains of human activity from arts,
sports, and science, needed to thrive in the modern world.
Certain provisions in the school curriculum should allow students to
immerse to different cultures. The thrust of the school curriculum should be
focused on the development of learners who appreciate various cultures and ideas
among different countries (Pawilen et al., 2009).
Schools have great roles in addressing issues and demands of cultural
diversity. Our classrooms too are becoming more complex and diverse (Shim,
2011). Teachers therefore play a significant role in helping the students become
cosmopolitan members of the society. It is therefore essential to study the
preparation of teachers who will accomplish this task. Merryfield (2000) also
noted that despite the increasing demands for teachers to teach for equity,
diversity, and global interconnectedness, colleges of education are not producing
teachers who are internationally adept. Brodin (2010) also observed that the need
for educating all citizens and providing them with information about other
cultures and countries has become imperative.
Roles of Administrators, Teachers, and Students in Promoting Schools as

Agents of Social Changes and Transformation
Leadership and collaboration are essential elements to ensuring success in all

education endeavors. The kind of leadership that school administrators provides
could inspire teachers, staffs, and other school personnel to pursue important
education goals, which could be translated in successful achievements in their
studies. When speak of leadership, we mean effective leadership that pushes
more innovations in a Creative organizational environment. And when talking
about collaboration, it should be meaningful and constructive that allows
creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and Decision-making. Thus, it is
important to understand what drives effective leadership and meaningful
collaboration in schools.
What do effective leaders do? Fullan (2001) identified several strategies that and
leaders in schools could do to be effective in complex times:
1. Educational leaders must be guided by moral purpose. Moral purpose is
about making a positive difference in the lives of students and striving to improve
the quality of working relationship in the school.
2. It is essential for leaders to understand the change process. Any form of
change in school or in the whole education system is not easy. All stakeholders
must understand the change that is going to happen and be guided in the process.
It is essential to understand that opposition, discontentment, discouragement,
negative feedbacks, is natural when undergoing some changes. An effective
leader is a coach, a mentor, and a teacher in the change process.
3. It is essential to build relationships. If relationships are improved,
things will surely get better. Thus, leaders must be consummate relationship
builder within the school with teachers, staff, and students, and between the
school and with all stakeholders. Effective leaders constantly foster purposeful
interaction and communication.
4. Leaders must commit to knowledge creation and sharing. School
leaders should commit themselves constantly in generating and increasing
knowledge inside and outside the school organization. They also share vital
information to all teachers, staff, and stakeholders.
5. Effective leaders seek coherence in everything they do. This is difficult
considering the issues, problems, and demands that schools and the total
education system re racing. However, ensuring coherence is important by
constantly following logic and rationale thinking in making decisions, being
guided by the sch0ol files and philosophy, and being scientific and systematic in
conducting business in school.
Activity 5
Think of what administrators, teachers, and students could do to build
successful schools. Write your answers inside this box
There are other strategies that administrators, teachers, and other personnel can
do to ensure success of the school.
1. Strong principal leadership the principal plays a vital role in the
school- The principal ensures that all educational goals, targets, and plans set by
the school and by the Department of Education should be implemented
effectively.
2. Setting high expectations for students' achievement - the business of the
school is to ensure that all students should be successful in their students;
ensuring that all curriculum competencies should be mastered by the students and
this is measured by the assessment of their learning performance.
3. Empowerment and providing positive support to teachers- teachers
need to be empowered in making decisions for their classes and in the subjects
they teach. Trust and support for teachers are important morale boasters that drive
teachers to do more innovations in their classes.
4. Creating a clear vision and mission- any administrator should help the
school community create a clear vision and a great sense of mission. This sets the
foundation of good leadership - a vision and mission that is shared by all
members of the school community.
5. Monitoring students’ progress and teachers’ performance- effective
school leaders regularly monitor students’ progress and evaluate teachers’
performance. This means providing instructional leadership is important.
6. Establishing a positive school climate- ensuring transparency, integrity,
and honesty in all school transactions, establishing clear standards to follow,
could do this exercising fairness and supporting professional growth of teachers
and staff.
7. Establishing linkages and collaboration with parents, community an all
stakeholders- there is an old African proverb that says “it takes a village to
educate a child” which simply means that ensuring support and participation of
all stakeholders in every school activities and encouraging parents to have active
role in the education of their children are essential.
Assessment
Video Analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOYHcuavoNQ
Performance Task
TED TALK
Module II THE SCHOOL AS AN ORGANIZATION
This chapter discusses the different theories and concepts of organization
as it applies to education. 1t presents significant literatures and studies that
Key include various topics which may help you in understanding the important role of
Concepts an educational institution in the society. This chapter also includes activities that
(Overview) will help you appreciate relevant topics concerning how educational system
operates including leadership and management theories and principles that will
lead towards achieving organizational goals and objectives. Further, this chapter
allows you to critically examine and analyze the relevance of school organization
in the teaching profession.
Intended 1. Discuss various organizational leadership and management theories
Learning 2. Discuss the organizational structure and current educational reforms in the
Outcomes Department of Education
3. Discuss the function of school as an educational organization
Content
The school is considered as one of the major institutions that constitute society. It
is a place where people of different ages learn and acquire education and training
in different grade or year levels. It can be in basic education school (preschool,
elementary, junior and senior high school), technical-vocational institution, or
higher education institution (colleges and universities). Just like any other
organizations, the school is established and organized to pursue a collective goal
and meet specific objectives There are many ways to look at school as an
organization. In this chapter you will learn and understand the different functions
of a school, its structure, and its role in the society. Lastly, the discussion of
organizational theories, leadership, and management theories, in basic education
reforms including the organizational structure of the Department of Education.
Organizational Theories
The establishment of an organization became popular and has
significantly influenced the human activities in all parts of the world. It is evident
in the way how the current government and private organizations are structured
including the system on how people will function to achieve a specific goal.
According to Kashyap (n.d.), ever since the dawn of civilization, people
have always formed organizations
to combine effort for
accomplishment of their common
goal. Some examples are the
Emperors of China who use to
construct irrigation system, the
First Pope who created a
universal church to serve as
religion, and the Egyptians who
constructed the great pyramids. In
simple words, Kashyap (n.d.)
define it as a group of persons
formed to seek certain goals.
The definition of the term organization differs according to approaches
and characteristics defined by different theorist/According to an article
"Organization Theory,"(n.d.), "organization is basically defined as an assembly of
people working together to achieve common objectives through division of
labor."/McNamara (n.d.) also defined organization as group of people
intentionally organized to accomplish an overall, common goal or set goals which
have major subsystems that functions with other subsystems in order to achieve
the overall goal of the organization.
An educational organization setting, a school is established with a clear
vision, mission goals, and objectives (VMGO). School's VMGO is a declaration
of the school's objectives which serves as a guide for planning and decision-
making.
There are several theories that explain the structure of organization and
these are classified as classical or modern organizational theories which deal with
formal organizational concepts. Among these are Taylor's scientific management
approach, Weber's bureaucratic approach, and Fayol's administrative approach.
According to Lagaard (2006), Frederick Winslow Taylor was the primary
contributor of Scientific Management which originated in the beginning of the
20th century which was later adopted by industrial companies. "Scientific
Management was based on idea of systematization where attempts were made to
enhance efficiency of procedures to be best via scientific analyses and
experiments"(Lagaard, 2006, p. 14).
Taylor’s work is
based on the concept of
planning of work to achieve
efficiency, standardization,
specialization and
simplification that promotes
mutual trust between the
management and workers in
order to increase
productivity"
(Organizational Theory,
n.d.). Taylor's work also
proposed four principles of
scientific management articulated below:
1. Science, not rule of thumb - develop a science of each element of man's
work, which replaces the old rule-of-thumb
2. Scientific selection of the worker - scientifically select and then train,
teach and develop the workman, whereas in the past he chose his own
work and trained himself the best he could
3. Management and labor cooperation rather than conflict - heartily
cooperate with the men so as to ensure all of the work being done is in
accordance with the principles of science which has been developed
4. Scientific training of the worker - workers should be trained by experts
using scientific method
The following concepts suggested by: Taylor in order to increase the level of
trust (Organization theories, n.d.):
 the advantages of productivity improvement should go to workers;
 physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated as much as possible;
 capabilities of worker should be developed through training and
 the traditional boss' concept should be eliminated
During the same time when
Taylor developed the theory of
Scientific Management, Henri Fayol
also developed another approach
called the Administrative Theory.
According to Lagaard (2006),
contrary to Taylor's scientific
approach which is categorized as
bottom up approach, Fayol's
administrative principles is in the
form of the management's
hierarchical pyramid structure
which is considered as top down approach and its focus is on administrative
process rather than technical processes.
Van (2009) emphasized that Fayol laid the first foundation for modern
scientific management in the early 1900 which serve as guidelines for decision-
making and management actions. Van (209) further articulated that this
management concept which is known as 14 principles of management is
considered as the underlying factors for successful management:
1. Division of Work - tasks is divided among employees according to their
field of expertise or field of specialization.
2. Authority and Responsibility - the management has the authority to give
orders to subordinates that comes with corresponding responsibility
3. Discipline - is about the core values anchored on the vision and mission of
an organization to form of good conduct which essential to the successful
operation of the organization
4. Unity of Command - all orders received must come from one manager
only otherwise it will cause confusion to employees
5. Unity of Direction - this ensures that all actions are property coordinated
and requires employees to perform and carry out activities as one team
leading to the same objectives using one plan.
6. Subordinate of individual Interest - is about prioritization of
organization's interest over personal interest which applies to all members
of the organization,
7. Remuneration - is about rewards and compensations to efforts that have
been made which could be in a form of monetary or non-monetary that
keeps employees motivated and productive.
8. The Degree of Centralization - this implies the concentration of decision-
making authority at the top management.
9. Scalar Chain - is about the hierarchical structure that is always present at
any type organization. There should be a clear line of in the area of
authority from the top management down to the lowest level.
10. Order - this pertains to the order and safety of employees in order to
function properly at work.
11. Equity - this implies equal treatment among members of the organization
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel - this is about the proper deployment and
management of personnel by providing employees the opportunity to be
considered for tenured position based on their performance.
13. Initiative - this allows employees to express ideas that will help benefit
the company
14. Esprit de Corps - this promotes unity among employees, develops morale
in the workplace, and creates atmosphere of mutual trust and
understanding.
Another contributor to modern organizational theories is Max Weber. He is a

German sociologist known for bureaucratic theory of management and is
considered as the father of sociology. "Weber believed that the most efficient way
to set up an organization is through bureaucracy which is way better than the
traditional structure. Bureaucracy is an organizational structure that is
characterized by many rules, standardized process, procedures and requirements,
number of desks, meticulous division of labor and responsibility, clear hierarchies
and professional, almost impersonal interaction between employees" (Mulder,
2017).
Mulder (2017) and Lagaard (2006) highlighted the three types of power that
can be found in an organization based on Weber's Bureaucratic model and these
are the following:
 Traditional authority - based on historically created legitimacy where
authority is "hereditary and based on dependent subordinates
 Legal, rule-oriented authority - the bureaucratic type of authority, based
on normative rules for career, hierarchy etc.
 Charismatic authority - the personal authority, based on a type of
'seduction and hence, the devotion of supporters.
Mulder (2017) also articulated the following elements that support Fayol's
bureaucratic management:
 All regular activities within a bureaucracy can be regarded as official
duties,
 Management has the authority to impose rules
 Rules can be easily respected on the basis of established methods
In addition, Mulder (2017) explained that "bureaucracy, according to Weber,
is the basis for the systematic formation of any organization and is designed to
ensure efficiency and economic effectiveness which is an ideal model for
management and administration in order to bring an organization's power
structure into focus. Relative to this, Weber lays down the basic principles of
bureaucracy and emphasis on the division of labor, hierarchy, rules and
impersonal relationship." The following are the salient features of Max Weber's
Bureaucratic Theory highlighted by Mulder (2017):
1. Task specialization - sometimes called the division of labor wherein
individual tasks are div into separate jobs which allows to manage tasks
easily. In a school setting, each department has different functions and
each member has different filed of expertise. Teachers for example are
usually assigned with teaching loads based on their area of expertise while
other functions that are administrative in nature are assigned to non-
teaching academic personnel.
2. Hierarchical of authority - Managers are organized into hierarchical
layers, where each layer of management is responsible for its staff and
overall performance. In bureaucratic organizational structures like the
educational system, there are many hierarchical positions from top
management to lower level. The top level of a bureaucratic organizational
structure has the greatest power to control the lower level while the
bottom layers are always subject to supervision and control of the higher
levels.
3. Formal selection - All employees are selected on the basis of technical
skills and competences, which have been acquired through training,
education and experience and are paid accordingly. In the Department of
Education, formal selection process is being followed using an established
set of standards and requirements are applied. Education and training
backgrounds are the primary requirement in school setting when applying
for a position including performance evaluation based on existing
standards is also required for promotion and remuneration.
4. Rules and requirements - Formal rules and requirements are required
ensure uniformity, so that employees know exactly what is expected of
them. In a bureaucratic form of organization like the educational
institutions, the operation is governed by specific policies, standards and
guidelines which can be in a form of a memo or an order. It serves as a
guide for the members of the organization to follow.
5. Impersonal - Regulations and clear requirements create distant and

impersonal relationships between employees, with the additional
advantage of preventing nepotism or involvement from outsiders or
politics. Decisions must be based on rational factors rather than personal
factors.
6. Career orientation - Employees of a bureaucratic organization are
selected on the basis of theirexpertise. This helps in the deployment of the
right people in the right positionsand thereby optimally utilizing human
capital. Professional growth and careerdevelopment is encourage to
support employees become experts in their ownfield and significantly
improve their performance.
Taylor's, Weber's and Fayol's work are some of the many theories that have
significantly contributed in the management of organizations which also became
the foundation of other succeeding organizational theories that are being adopted
by many organizations.
Activity 1
Ask permission to conduct an of faculty members. Identify which among the
theories are applied in the management of their school.
School Leadership
Leadership is an
essential factor that
contributes to the
successful operation of an
organization. The
demand for high quality
instruction to improve
student learning is one of
the many possible things
to consider for initiating
reforms within an
educational institution.
While it is believed that
school leadership is only
secondary to teaching in terms of its impact to student learning. The high quality
of instruction delivered by teachers is influenced by school leaders because they
take part in the selection process of hiring teachers. Thus, leadership is
considered as vital to the effectiveness of educational institutions.
School leaders' primary function is to take charge of the management of
the school. They are expected to have a collective vision of the future direction of
the organization that is clearly understood by its stakeholders in order to meet the
school organization's goals and objectives. Christie, Thompson, &Whiteley
(2009) believe that getting the right people to become school leaders is very
important and by providing them with competencies to be effective leaders is
critical to their profession. The following are some of the important aspects of a
school leader's role highlighted by Christie, Thompson, &Whiteley (2009):
1. Developing a deep understanding of how to support teachers - school
leaders should understand the need of teachers that will capacitate them in
order to become effective teachers
2. Managing the curriculum in ways that promote student learning –

learners have different learning styles; hence curriculum shall be carefully
managed accordingly by planning for appropriate strategies in curriculum
delivery that will suit the learning styles of students
3. Developing the ability to transform schools into more effective
organization to foster powerful teaching and learning for all students -
transformational leadership is one of the leadership theories that requires
leaders to have passion and energy to achieve great things. Leaders should
have in-depth understanding of powerful teaching and learning through
the use of brain-based instruction that promotes active-inquiry, in-depth
learning, and performance assessment,including culture of excellence that
will lead to the effective teaching and learning
Leadership is inherent to the teaching profession. According to Jackson (cited
in ASCD, 2015), teacher leaders transcends formally defined roles in building
which means that every teacher, any teacher, at some point in their career,
becomes a teacher leader. The roles and responsibilities of teacher nowadays are
becoming more complex in view of the reforms in education brought about by
global demands. The skills required for teachers is no longer just for teaching but
also include administrative functions that are required of a teacher leader.
According to Gabriel (2005), teacher leaders possess a semblance of authority but
no formal power. While not all leadership positions are formal in nature and are
not fixed, every school teacher do not serve or may not have served as official
leaders but may be assigned to leadership roles. Among the roles that teacher
leaders may assume are the following:
 Grade Level/Subject Coordinator - this may include instructional
leadership and administrative functions
 Department Chair Coordinator - serves as liaison officer between
administration and colleagues
 Curriculum and Assessment Specialist - leads teachers to follow
curriculum standards and develop appropriate assessment
 Mentor Coach serves as mentor for co-teachers
 Facilitator facilitates professional development
Leadership according to Yukl (2013) is different from managers. It includes

motivating subordinates and creating favorable conditions for doing their work
which is considered as one of the managerial roles. Leaders can influence the
effectiveness of an organization through the following:
 The choice of objectives and strategies to pursue
 The motivation of members to achieve the objectives
 The mutual trust and cooperation of and coordination of work activities
 The organization and coordination of work activities
 The allocation of resources to activities and objectives
 The development of members skills and confidence
 The learning and sharing of knowledge by members
 The enlistment support and cooperation from outsiders
 The design of formal structure, programs, systems
 The shared belief and values of members
Becoming an effective teacher and a leader at the same time requires passion,
perseverance, and competency not just to influence students but also to make
meaningful changes in their lives while attending school. ASCD (2015)
emphasized the need to advance the role of a teacher as a leader by initiating
teacher leadership training the moment that the individual begins their teacher
preparation work. This will help them in demonstrating skills in managing and
planning for high level of quality instruction suited to needs of students that will
prepare them in the fast-changing needs of the society.
School leaders involved various leadership styles which include
transformational, instructional, and distributed leadership.
 Instructional Leadership
The primary role of a School Principal is to promote learning and make
students successful in their academic endeavors. It requires instructional
leadership that is critical to the success and effectiveness of the curriculum and
instruction. Instructional leadership is based on three-dimensional approach
which includes defining the school's mission, managing the instructional
program, and promoting a positive school climate Hallinger, 2010, as cited in
Nedelco, 2013). It is being shared with teachers through coaching, reflection,
collegial investigation, study teams, exploration, and problem solving (Base &
Base, 2004). In short, it promotes collaboration between the School Principal and
teachers to develop curriculum and instruction in order to improve student's
performance. Hallinger defines this as a leadership being focused predominantly
on the role of a school head in coordinating, controlling, supervising, and
developing curriculum and instruction.
 Transformational Leadership
According to Bass & Riggio (2006), this leadership theory was
conceptualized by James MacGregor Burns in 1978. Transformational leaders are
type of leaders who inspire their followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes by
inspiring them and, in the process, develop their own capacity (Bass & Riggio,
2006). This leadership approach supports the instructional leadership style. It
focuses on developing one's capacity to innovate and support the development of
changes to practices of teaching and learning (Hallinger, 2010, as cited in
Nedelco, 2013).
 Distributed Leadership
Distributed leadership is considered as a
shared effort by more than one person. "It
serves interests of systemic thrivability by
promoting patterns of joint optimization of
shared visions, values, and individuals among
groups rather than the maximization of any
subset of particular individual interest"
(Chatwani, 2018)." In education setting,
distributed leadership draws from different
perspectives to supports the instructional
leadership team by establishing a system of
improving curriculum and instruction through
collaboration. It is believed that leadership can
be more effective when it is distributed among
group of individuals with different
competencies but a shared mission and vision
to foster culture of learning.
Activity 2
Identify the leadership functions of teachers within your school. Find out their
contributions within the school.
The School as an Educational Organization

When you hear the word school, perhaps you think of the physical
structure, teachers, students, library, or maybe even a playground. Most of us are
familiar with schools and more often than not, what we only see are perceived
images of the things that what see inside a school.
While school serves as a venue to help learners develop competencies, as
a future
and educational leader it is also important for you to learn and understand what
constitute a school and how it functions. Before entering into the teaching
profession, it is also essential to know who are the persons responsible behind its
operation of the school and understand their functions and responsibilities.
The establishment of a basic education school in the Philippines requires a
School Principal Administrator, Academic Non-Teaching Personnel (registrar,
librarian, school physician, school dientist, school nurse, school office staff,
guidance counselor, support staff, etc.), and teaching staff as embodied in DECS
Order No. 12, series of 1991.
 Administrator/ Principal - each school need a leader that will guide
faculty members and support staff in fulfilling school's mandate. School
administrators who work in elementary, junior high school, and senior
high school are known as Principals who are responsible for leading the
entire organization of school. They are in charge of managing the major
administrative tasks and supervising all the teachers and students which
include evaluation of teachers, handling student discipline, developing,
implementing and evaluating school programs and projects, policy
development, hiring of teachers, delegating tasks and teaching
assignments, and maintaining a positive relationship with parents,
community and other stakeholders.
 Teaching Personnel/ Faculty Members - they are the licensed teachers
assigned to teach in different subject areas in different grade levels and
are responsible for managing classroom environment, facilitating
instruction and assessment of student learning. They work with school
administrators, parents and the community to improve student learning
and to promote school programs and projects.
 Academic Non-teaching Personnel - they are the non-teaching personnel
assigned to support to help maintain a positive learning environment and
to keep the school clean and safe from harm. They work as teacher aids,
librarians, guidance counselors, office personnel, and security and
maintenance staff.
 Students- they are the primary stakeholders that benefits the school. they
come from different groups, cultures, and backgrounds whose ultimate
goal is to be trained and educated. They make teaching profession a
challenging work for teachers and serve as bridge in connecting wit
parents and the community.
 Community - it is the location where the school is situated. It plays a
very important role in creating a positive learning environment. The
partnership between the school and the community help strengthens the
relationship of teachers with parents, government officials, and private
organizations that help promote school programs and projects.
An example in Figure 1 shows how a public basic education school is

structured. A basic education school is usually headed by a School Principal.
Under the School Administrator Principal are the subordinates that include
Assistant Principal and Administration Staff. Below the Assistant Principal are
the Head Teachers, Teachers, Head Teachers, and the Teachers. Under the
teachers are the students, support staff, Barangay Officials, Local Government
Units (LGUs) and Private Organizations.
Figure 1 -Sample Organization Chart of a Public Basic Education School
In the sample organizational structure of private basic education school in

Figure 2, there is a designated Instructional Leader and Administrative Manager
under the School Principal. The Instructional Leader's task is to manage the
functions teachers while the Administrative Manager is in charge of managing
the functions of non-teaching personnel and support staff.
Activity 3
Identify a basic education school. Ask permission from the School Administrator/
Principal to find out how the school organization is structured including the
assignment of each member within.
Reforms in the Department of Education

When the trifocalization of the Philippine educational system took place
in the early nineties, technical-vocational education and training and higher
education were separated from basic education. By virtue of RA 7722 and RA
7784 the Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority were created. The mandate of the Department of
Education Culture and Sports (DECS) was then refocused to basic education
which covers elementary, secondary, and non-formal education, including culture
and sports (DepEd, n.d.) In 2001, Republic Act No. 9155 otherwise known as the
"Governance of Basic Education Act," was passed transforming the name of
DECS to the Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the roles of its
offices from the national level down to the school level. The RA 9155 provided
the overall framework for school head empowerment by strengthening their
leadership roles and school-based management within the context of transparency
and local accountability (DepEd, n.d).
By virtue of RA 9155, culture and sports-related functions, programs, and

activities were transferred to other relevant government agencies. The Komisyon
ng Wikang Filipino, National Historical institute, Record Management and
Archive Office, and the National Library which are previously under the DepEd
were administratively attached to the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCCA). Sports competition was also transferred to the Philippine Sports
Commission while programs for school sports and physical fitness activities
remained under DepEd.
Given its mandate, DepEd has initiated many reforms that have
significantly contributed in the improvement of the Philippine basic education
system to provide evry Filipinos with education they need to compete in global
context.
 The Enhanced Basic Education
According to the Senate Economic Planning Office (SECO) (2011), the
Philippines, together with Djibouti and Angola of Africa are the only three
remaining countries in the world that retains 10-year basic education system.
SECO (2011) articulated that the continuous deterioration of the quality of
education in the Philippines despite of the constitutional guarantees has prompted
DepEd to push for the implementation of the K to 12 program, which entails the
institutional of the kindergarten and the additional two more years of high school
in the basic education cycle.
The following are the issues that influenced the implementation of the K to 12
programs highlighted by SECO (2011):
1. Net elementary participation rates have declined from 90.1 percent in
2002 to 88 percent in 2010. Fewer children of school age proceed to high
school and an even smaller number pursue college education.
2. Access to education is unequal, with the poor having significantly lower
participation rates than the non-poor.
3. Efficiency is a problem as manifested in the still high, albeit declining
dropout school leaver rates.
4. The results of Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey
(FLEMMS) showed that out-of-school with ages 6 to 15 years old do not
attend classes mainly due to lack of personal interest, high cost of
education, too young to go to school.
5. . Low score in the country's national assessment test.
6. The result of international test such as Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) shows that Philippines is
among the worst participating countries.
SECO (2011) added that the deterioration in the quality of education was
attributed to the 10-year basic education cycle. As such, the government exerted
effort to address the issues by attempting to increase the number of years in basic
education. However, such idea was opposed by students and parents since
additional years in school will entail additional expenses for parents. This is
perhaps, due to lack of information regarding the benefits of having a longer year
of basic education.
There are many compelling reasons why the Philippine government pushed
for enhancement of the basic education system. In an article published by K-12
Philippines (2015). six reasons were highlighted why the Philippines should shift
to K to 12, these are the following:
1. Additional is the only country in Asia with 10-year basic education
2. Poor quality of education
3. Too many non-practical subjects
4. Not prepared for college education
5. Too young for labor force
6. No global recognition
Finally, in 2012, RA No. 10533 otherwise known as the "Enhanced Basic

Education Act" was passed institutionalizing the K to 12 curriculum which added
Kindergarten and two more years of Senior High School in the basic education
program. The K to 12 Program have brought development opportunities to the
basic education system to address issues and concerns in quality basic education.
The following are the salient features of the K to 12 highlighted by DepEd:
1. 1.Strengthening of the Kindergarten in the Philippines
2. Making the curriculum relevant to learners
3. Building proficiency
4. Ensuring integrated and seamless learning
5. Gearing up for the future
6. Nurturing the holistically developed Filipino
The goal of the K to 12 basic education programs is to prepare Filipino
students for tertiary education and in the field of work by providing those with
enough time in basic education to master skills and develop competencies that
will enable them perform better when they decided to go to the field work.
Institutionalization of Kindergarten
General kindergarten program refers to the 10-month program provided to
children who are at least five years old in regular elementary schools using
thematic and integrative curriculum to ensure the development of foundational
skills among children to prepare them for grade 1 (DepEd 2012).
Prior to the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum in the Philippines,
kindergarten is optional to parents. By virtue of RA 8672 otherwise known as the
"Barangay – Level Total Protection of Children Act of 1990," has mandated the
local government units in coordination with Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) to establish a day-care center in every community
covering kindergarten program. The implementation of early childhood education
was then strengthened by the passage of RA 898 known as the "Early Childhood
Care and Development Council (ECCD) Act 2001" which mandated the ECCD
through DSWD to provide programs needed by young children that will promote
their optimum growth and development.
In 2011, Republic Act No. 10517 otherwise known as the "Kindergarten
Education Act," was passed institutionalizing the kindergarten into the basic
education system. The passing of the said law is in consonance with the
Millennium Development Goals on achieving Education for All (EFA) by year
2015. Kindergarten was applied to elementary school system being the first stage
of compulsory and mandatory formal education and was made an integral part of
the basic education system of the country. RA10517 also provided equal
opportunities for all children to avail of accessible mandatory and compulsory
kindergarten education that effectively promotes physical, social, affective,
cognitive, and creative-aesthetic development that will prepare them for formal
elementary schooling.
With the passage of RA10410 otherwise known as the "Early Years Act
of 2013," children ages 0-4 became the responsibility of the ECCD Council while
the responsibility to help develop children in their formative years between ages
5-8 was given to DepEd by virtue of RA. 10533 known as the "Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2012 which covers the inclusion of Kindergarten in the basic
education system."
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
Consistent with the policy of the state to make education learner-oriented
and responsive to the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity, the circumstances
and diversity of learners per RA 10517, the mother tongue-based multilingual
education (MTB-MLE) was made as medium of instruction for teaching and
learning in the kindergarten level by virtue of DepEd Order No.32, series of
2012.
Mother tongue is seen as an important medium of instruction by using a
local language understood by the learners. Rutus Foundation (2018) articulated
the following benefits associated with an education that takes into account
children's mother tongue:
 Children learn better and faster in a language they can understand
 They enjoy school more and feel more at home
 Pupil tend to increase self-esteem
 Parents participation is increased by helping kids in their homework and
participating in school activities
 When children take advantage of their multilingualism, they also enjoy
higher socio-economic status including higher earnings
 On average, schools perform better, reporting less repetition
 Finally, children stay in school longer
Contextualized Curriculum
In terms of curriculum, DepEd has restructured the content of the old
basic education curricula to make it more relevant to learners through
contextualization and enhancement. Curriculum contextualization is done by
using examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations for teaching
and learning that are based
on local culture, history, and
reality. The enhanced
curriculum also aims to
provide students the
opportunity to acquire in-
depth knowledge, skills,
values, and attitudes through
continuity and consistency
across all levels and subjects (K12 Official Gazelle, n.d.).
Curriculum was also made seamless using spiral progression concept by
teaching the simplest concept to more complicated concept through grade levels
which will ensure a mastery of knowledge and skills after each level.
 Senior High School
The additional 2 years of Senior High School is one of the most relevant
reforms that may be considered. The 2 years of senior high school was made to
provide students sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop
lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills
development, employment, and entrepreneurship (K12 Official Gazette, n.d.). As
such, the following tracks were included in the senior high school:
o Academic Track
 Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM)
 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)
 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
o Technical Vocational-Livelihood
 Agri-Fishery
 Home Economics
 Information and Communication
o Sports
o Design
Organizational Structure of the Department of Education

When the Department of Education as restructured in 2001 through the
passage of RA 9155, DECS was renamed to DepEd and shifted the focus of its
mandate to basic education. By virtue of Executive Order No. 366, series of 2004
directing a strategic review of the operations and organizations of the executive
branch, DepEd initiated a rationalization plan which include the rationalized
structure and staffing pattern of offices in central, regional, and school’s division
levels (Department of Education, 2015).
According to DepEd, the new DepEd organizational structure is a result of
the thorough study conducted by the DepEd Change Management Team (CMT)
vis-à-vis the long-term education reforms. Consistent with the pertinent
provisions of RA 9155, DepEd also continued to adopt the decentralization and
shared governance to ensure accountability and relevance to the needs and
demands of its stakeholders. Organizational strands were also identified by the
DepEd CMT that reflects the similarity of functions and objectives of offices. As
such, new organizational structure was adopted and took effect in January 1,
2016.
In the new organizational structure, there are newly created offices while
other existing offices were renamed, merged, transferred, and some are abolished
like the Bureau of Physical Education. Under the Office of the Secretary (OSEC)
there are 5 Undersecretaries for Curriculum and Instruction, Governance and
Operations, Legal and Legislative Affairs, Finance and Administration, and
Strategic Management including 5 Assistant Secretaries for Curriculum and
Instruction, Governance and Operations, Legal and Legislative Affairs, Finance
and Administration and the Chief of Staff.
The organizational structure of the Department of Education is an
example of a typical structure where there is hierarchy of the chain of command.
The person at the top which is the DepEd Secretary oversees the next level down
which are the undersecretaries for Curriculum and Instruction, Governance and
Operations, Legal and Legislative Affairs, Finance and Administration, and
Strategic Management Office including Field Operations, attached Offices and
Coordinating Councils.
Undersecretaries which are the next level of managers to the Secretary
oversee the first line of line of managers who are in charge in different
departments that are broken down based on their specialization.
In hierarchical model of organizational structure like DepEd,
decentralization and of authority and decision making is also applied. Managers
at the lower level like the undersecretaries, directors, superintendent and so on are
delegated with functions that allow them make decision for faster operation of
programs and projects. It also allows them to gain relevant experience and held
improve the quality of human resource as well.
Assessment
Performance Task
Differentiated Instruction
1. Writing
2. Developing a Script
3. Creating a Storyboard
4. Locating Multimedia
5. Creating the Digital Story
6. Sharing and Uploading
CHAPTER 3: The School as a Cultural Institution
This chapter highlights the role of the school as a cultural institution. It presents thedifferent
guiding principles and practical strategies in turning toxic schoolculture to a positiveone. The
chapter is composed of numerous learner-centered tasks that will hone students’ understanding on
the role of the school as a cultural institution. It also allows the studentsto critically assess the
common practices and issues in promoting positive school culture. Theobjectives of this chapter
are the following:
 Define culture and school culture
 Distinguish the different elements of school culture
 Identify and explain the levels of school culture
 Discover how to assess school culture
 Determine the different strategies in creating a positive school culture
Introduction
Every school is unique in their own way and their uniqueness commonly originateson how
they impose different cultures inside and outside their school premises.Selznick(1957) claimed that
culture is the distinctive identity ofa school from the other schools.But some school cultures are
common across schools and some are unique and embeddedin a particular school's history and
location.
As an educator, one should be knowledgeable not only on the content or what toteach and
the pedagogy or how to teach but also the culture or where to teach. Thelatter is given much
importance simply because students will learn best if theyare set inapositive school culture.
This chapter presents the most common yet the most unseen area in education whichis
viewing the school as a cultural institution. It is the most common because every schoolhas their
own set ofculture but still the most unseen because teachers tend to disregardthe importance of
culture in developing optimum potential of their students. Most of thestudents donot know the
school's vision, mission, and history but it will be worst andI know everyonewill agree if even
teachers do not know the main foundation of theirschool culture.
Truly, changing the school cultures is more than changing teaching and learningstrategies,
assessment, curricula, building and structures, and roles and responsibilities. This chapter will lead
you in turning toxic school culture into a positive one.
Definition of Culture
Nowadays, due to knowledge explosion, several definitions of school culture haveemerged.
Every teacher has his or her own definition of what school culture is. But beforewe define what
school culture is, let us first define what culture is.
As a result of anthropological investigation of people, culture evolved in thetwentieth
century. Theorists began to define culture and redefine how culture impacts life(Raymer, 2006).
The first modern definition of culture can be rooted with the definition ofEdward Tyler, a well-
known anthropologist who defined culture as a complex whole whichincludes knowledge, belief,
arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habitsacquired by man as a member of
society.
In addition, Deal and Peterson (2002) claimed that the term culture best denotes thecomplex
elements of values, traditions, language, and purpose in a given setting. Moreover,Wincek (1995)
further stated that culture is comprise of intertwining of assumptions,values, and beliefs from
which a group's norms, practices, rituals, and meaning emergewhile Clifford Geertz, another
anthropologist refurbished the definition of culture to the fabric of meaning in terms ofwhich
human beings interpret their experience and guide their actions: culture is an ordered system of
meaning and of symbols in terms of whichsocial interaction takes place (Tharp, 2009).
In simple way, Bower (1966) defined culture as the way we do things around here whereas Schein
(1985) provides a comprehensive definition, calling it as a pattern of basic assumptions - invented,
discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with problems… that worked well
enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to betaught to newmembers as the correct way to
perceive, think, and feel in relation to thoseproblems.
Among the given definitions, Geertz' definition of culture is being used more widelytoday
according to Tharp (2009), however, Deal and Peterson (2009) argued that fromthe many different
conceptions of culture, none is universally accepted as the one bestdefinition.
Definition of School Culture

School culture is characterized by deeply rooted traditions, values, and beliefs, someof
which are common across schools and some of which are unique and embedded ina
particularschool's history and location. Culture informs the ways in which "things getdone around
here" and, just as important, frames how change efforts are perceived. Basedin accumulated
experiences, a school's rules and regulations, policies, and procedures,whether written or informal,
are the lasting artifacts of old organizational lessons (Kruse &Louis, 2009).
Likewise, Schein (1985) defined school culture as complex webs of traditions andrituals
that have built up over time as teachers, students, parents, and administrators worktogether and deal
with crises and accomplishments.
The use of the term culture in the school context refers to thebasic assumptions,beliefs, and
practices that are shared by the members of aschool community. Theseassumptions, beliefs, and
practices mould how a school views itself and its environment.They shape its operations and how it
functions. School culture affects the way people in aschool think, perform, and learn (Starrat,
1993).
Furthermore, Waller (1932) opined that schools have a culture that is definitely theirown.
There are, in the school, complex rituals of personal relationships, a set of folkways,mores, and
irrational sanctions, a moral code based upon them. There are games, whichare sublimated wars,
teams, and an elaborate set of ceremonies concerning them. Thereare traditions, and traditionalists
waging their world-old battle against innovators.
School culture, therefore, is most clearly seen in the ways people relate to and
worktogether; the management of the school's structures, systems, and physical environment;and
the extent to which there is a learning focus for both pupils and adults, including thenature of that
focus (Stoll & Fink, 1998) or simply the distinctive identity of the schools(Selznick, 1957).
 Activity 1: Let us test how creative you are. Define school culture by thinking an adjective
that starts with the acronym.
S–
C-
H-
O-
O-
L-
C–
U-
L-
T-
U-
R-
E–
Other Cultures in a School

In every school, there are several cultures existing. Pupil cultures, teacher cultures,
leadership cultures, non-teaching staff cultures, and even parent cultures do exist. All stakeholders
in a school including students, parents, teachers, staff members, and school dministrators
experience school culture. But among the different cultures existing in aschool, teacher cultures
have received most attention in relation to school's improvement
Hargreaves (1994) highlights the four existing teaching cultures:
1. Individualism-refers to classrooms as "egg-crates" or '"castles" Autonomy,
isolation and insulation prevail, and blame and support are avoided.
2. Collaboration - refers to the teachers who choose, spontaneously and
voluntarily to work together, without external control agenda. This include:
“comfortable” activities - sharing ideas and materials- and rigorous forms,
including mutual observation and focused reflective enquiry.
3. Contrived collegially- refers to the teacher's collaborative workingrelationships
which are compulsorily imposed, with fixed times and places set for
collaboration, for example planning meetings during preparation time.
4. Balkanization - refers to the teachers who are neither isolated nor workas a
whole school. Smaller collaborative groups form, for example withinsecondary
school departments, between senior and junior teachers, andclass teachers and
resource support teachers.
Becoming familiar with the culture of a particular school takes time. Some tangible
things that may give an initial indication include the following (Starrat, 1993)
 school's statement of purpose
 school management plan
 school policies such as the student welfare
 school's prospectus
 school's motto
 information booklet for casual teachers
 information/induction booklet for newly appointed staff
 school's newsletter
 interactions between teachers and students
Lastly, Foster and Bates (1984) proposed that influencing school culture could result
in positive or negative orientation depending on the agenda of the leader.
Typology of School Cultures

Given the different contextual influences described earlier, it is not surprising thatschool's
cultures vary. What is interesting, however, is that schools with similar contextualcharacteristics
have different mindsets. Over recent years, typologies that describe andlabel different idealized
types of school culture have been created. While such typologiescannot capture subtle nuances of
individual schools and possible sub-cultures withinschools, they are useful as discussion starters to
help teachers consider different facets oftheir school's cultures Stoll (1998).
Stoll and Fink (1996) developed a model in determining the school culture. Theyfocused on the
school's current effectiveness, but also argue that the rapidly acceleratingpace of change makes
standing still impossible and therefore schools are either gettingbetter or getting worse.
These two concepts enable school cultures to be examined ontwo dimensions,

effectiveness-ineffectiveness, and improving-declining.
1. Moving refers on the following:
 Boosting pupils' progress and development
 Working together to respond to changing context
 Know where they're going and having the will and skill to get there
 Possess norms of improving schools
2. Cruising focuses on the following:
 Appear to be effective
 Usually in more affluent areas
 Pupils achieve in spite of teaching quality
 Not preparing pupils for changing world
 Possess powerful norms that inhibit change
3. Strolling highlights the following:
 Neither particularly effective nor ineffective
 Moving at inadequate rate to cope with pace of change
 Meandering into future to pupils' detriment
 Ill-defined and sometimes conflicting aims inhibit improvement
4. Struggling centers on the following:

 Ineffective and they know it
 Expend considerable energy to improve
 Unproductive 'thrashing about
 Will ultimately succeed because have the will if rot the skill
 Often identified as 'failing', which is demotivational
5. Sinking refers on the following:
 Ineffective: norms of isolation, blame, self-reliance, and loss of faith powerfully
inhibit improvement
 Staff unable to change
 Often in deprived areas where they blame parenting or unprepared children
 Need dramatic action and significant support
 Activity 2: Time to look around. Answer the following questions.
1. What different subcultures do you observe in your school? Does it employpositive or

negative effects?
2. Among the four given teaching cultures, which is the most appropriateto your school?
Why?
3. How do structures in you school affect school culture? How does schoolculture affect the
structures?
 Activity 3: Let us talk! Interview a teacher, a principal, and a parent about their
perspectives on the following features of school culture according to Stoll (1998)
Name of the School: _______________________________________________________

Address of the School: _____________________________________________________
Teacher: Principal: Parent:
1. How does school’s age can
impact cultural change?
2. How does school’s externa;
contexts influence school
culture?
3. How does school culture vary
between primary and secondary
schools?
4. How do school’s pupils and
their social background
influence school culture?
5. How do changes in society pose
challenges to a school’s
culture?
Other Observations
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
School Mission, Vision, and Values
The foundation of school culture's elements lays at the mission and vision of theschool.
Underlying the mission and vision statements are thevalues the school holds whichdetermine what
philosophies and standards the individuals will assimilate and incorporateinto his or her everyday
teaching and learning (Rhodes, Stevens, and Hemmings, 2011).
Every school craft their mission and vision statements to draw the directions of
theinstitution. The mission and vision mirror what the school wishes and hopes to
eventuallybecome and accomplish (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Even though these are called
statements,they are embodied by all of the values, beliefs, norms, and assumptions that school
holds(Confeld, 2016).
Tne Department of Education created their vision and mission that every publicschool
should reinforce. Below are DepEd's vision, mission, and core values.
THE DEPED VISION THE DEPED MISSION
We dream of Filipinos who passionately To protect and promote the right of

love their country and whose values every Filipino to quality, equitable,
and competencies enable them to culture-based, and complete basic
realize their full potential and contribute education where:
meaningfully to building the nation. Studentslearn in a child-friendly,
gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating
As a learner-centered public institution, environment.
the Department of Education Teachers facilitate learning and
continuously improves itself to better constantly nurture every learner.
serve its stakeholders. Administrators and staff, as stewards
of the institution, ensure an enabling
DEPED CORE VALUES and supportive environment for
Maka-Diyos effective learning to happen.
Maka-tao Family, community, and other
 Activity 4: Do you know the vision and mission stakeholders
of your school? are Examine your school’s
actively engaged and
Makakalikasan
vision and mission by collecting the copies of the past
sharevision and mission
responsibility statements of
for developing lifethe
Makabansa
school. Try to compare them on the present vision and mission thenlong write your observations
learners.
on the space below.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
In addition to the mission and vision statements, a school has values, beliefs, assumptions, and
norms that guides and controls the behavior of the individuals involved.Value d expressed as the
way the school communicates what it represents and ushers decision-making and priorities.
Moreover, according to Ott (1989), values are the core of what the school considers important.
Values are the standards set for what is good, what quality means, what defines excellence -
in other words, what is valued.
Beliefs are understandings about the world around us They are consciouslyheld, cognitive
views about truth and reality (Ott, 1989). In addition, beliefs are howwe understand the world
andpeople around us while assumptions are a set of beliefs perceptions, and values thatguide
behavior. Collectively, the term norms encapsulateallof these aspects. Norms are unspoken
expectations and rules that staff and studentsare supposed to follow based on the beliefs, values,
and assumptions of the school(Peterson &Deai, 2009).
Norms are the unspoken rules for what is regarded as customary or acceptablebehaviorand
action within the school (Stoll, 1998) Sarason (1996) shared that norms shapereactions to
externallyor externally proposed or imposed improvements. It is, therefore,important for those
working in schools and outsiders supporting them to understandtheir norms because acceptance of
improvement projects by a school depends on the fitbetween the norms embedded in the changes
and those within the school's own culture.
Stoll and Fink (1996) determined ten cultural norms that influence schoolimprovement.
Because norms are frequently unspoken, catchphrases articulate their coremessages. The ten
cultural norms of improving schools are:
1. Shared goals- "we know where we're going"
2. Responsibility for success - "we must succeed"
3. Collegiality- "we're working on this together"
4. Continuous improvement - "we can get better"
5. Lifelong learning - "learning is for everyone”
6. Risk taking - "we learn by tryingsomething new”
7. Support -"there's always someone there to help"
8. Mutual respect - "everyone has something to offer"
9. Openness - "we can discuss our differences"
10. Celebration and humor-"we feel good about ourselves"
The norms are interconnected and feed off each other. They do not just represent asnapshot
of an effective school but also focus on fundamental issues of how people relateto and value each
other (Stoll, 1998).
School Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies

A life devoid of ritual and ceremony would be one without richness and zest. The small
daily rituals of our lives provide time for reflection, connection, and meaningfulexperience
(Peterson and Deal, 2009). There are set of rituals, traditions, and ceremoniesin every school.
These make a school unique from other schools and make the schoolactive and alive. Joining
rituals, celebrating traditions, and conducting ceremonies aregreat opportunities to convene as one
while integrating the vision, mission, values, andgoals of the school (Confeld, 2016)
Peterson andDeal (2009) defined school rituals as procedures or routines that are infused
with deeper significance. Every school has hundreds of routines that later on rituals such as
greeting the teacher as students encounter them along thecorridor, conducting flag ceremonies
every morning, and observing the honoring gesture or "pagmamano” gesture. Indeed, rituals help
transform common experience into uncommon events.Moreover, school traditions are significant
events that have a special history and meaning occur year in and year out. Unlike ceremonies, they
need not belarge communal events (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Some examples of school traditions
areconducting freshmen orientation holding recollection activities to the graduating batch,and
arranging school camping.
Finally, schoolceremonies are elaborated as culturally sanctioned events that
providewelcome spiritual boost. Most schools have formal ceremonies that mark transitions inthe
school year. These periodic communal events bind people to each other and shapeunwritten
cultural values (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Some examples of school ceremoniesare holding the
annual graduation rites, joining some local cultural activities and celebratingChristmas through
Christmas Parties.
 Activity 5: Do you join extracurricular activities? Complete the table below bydetermining
five (5) school rituals, traditions, and ceremonies and explaintheir purposes.
School Rituals Purpose
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
School Traditions Purpose

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
School Ceremonies Purpose

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
School History and Stories
A school'smission, vision, values, rituals, traditions, and ceremonies are all elementsof the
culture that are current and happening in the present. When discussing the historyand stories of an
organization, the past is being represented (Confeld, 2016).
Peterson and Deal (2009) shared that learning from past mistakes and successes is vital to
creating and maintaining a positive school culture. The retelling of the past canbring some
necessary initiatives into action, revive traditions and rituals that have shriveledaway, and assist
staff in surrendering previous obsolete memories. But let usalways remember that the culture of a
school is built up over time as people work together, playtogether, fight together, and laugh
together.
Being ablerecall stories may be much more meaningful and influential in reconnecting
teachers and admin and administrators to what is important for teaching and the valuesthat the
school holds.
Let us bear in our minds that every story that is told has a differentpurpose, no matter how long or
short (Peterson & Deal, 2009).
 Activity 6: Do you really know your school? Trace the history of the school and construct a
timeline citing specific milestones.
Founding of your school
School Artifacts, Architecture, and Symbols
Finally, these three-schoolartifacts, architecture, andsymbols are the key to createand
sustain a positive school culture. The artifacts and symbols are the tangible objects that represent
the intangible values and beliefs of the school (Peterson & Deal, 2009).Moreover, these have
variety of possibilities such as logos, mascots, banners, awards, flags, trophies, and the like.In
addition, even school administrators may serve as a walking symbols as he or she send messages
through words, actions, and body language.
Moreover, Confeld (2016) claimed that physical environment of the school buildingand the
surrounding area are essential in influencing how individuals think and feel aboutwhat is valued. It
is not necessary for schools to have an endless budget in order tomaintain the physical
environment. Displaying student's colorful artwork, awards, and thevalues of the school can be
enough to support individuals in feeling optimistic and happyabout being at school (Peterson &
Deal, 2009).
 Activity 7: Are you a loyal student? Draw and explain the meaning of the logo of your
school.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Levels of School Culture

Starratt (1993) crafted a diagram that might help us imagine the school as beingcomprised
of layers resembling an onion. The outer layer represents the operational levelof the school. This is
the level of school life which one experiences on walking into a schoolbuilding, seeing children on
their way to class etc.
Underneath that layer is the organizational level of the school. This layer is made upof
allthose organizing structures of the school such as the weekly schedule of classes. Thenext layer is
made up of the programs of the school. This includes various components ofthe academic program,
as well as the extracurricular programs. Under program layer, isthe policy layer. It is here that we
find the policies by which the school is run.
Beneath that layer, we find the goals and purposes level. Here we find the generalgoals of
the school. The mission statement if there is one, sometimes even a philosophystatement. These
statements tell what the school community is striving to do, or become,or achieve
Nearing the center or core of the onion, we find the level of beliefs and assumptions. Here
would be what might be called the school'stacit educational platform. We say tacit, because most of
the beliefs and assumptions are rarely explicated. We assume that children come to school to learn,
we believe that parents have the best intentions for their children, assume that teachers want
children to learn something in their classes, we assume people are rational, we believe that the state
has the best interests of the children at heart in enforcing mandatory school attendance laws etc.
The list of beliefs and assumptions isinfinite, for they include beliefs about the most basicmatters in
life.
At the core of the diagram, sometimes flowing into the layer of beliefs andassumptions, are
the myths and meanings by which people make sense out of their lives,by which they define value,
by which human striving is to be judged, which help to placeoneself in a definable order of things.
The core is almost beyond articulation.
Nevertheless, it is in that core of myth, meaning, and belief that leaders find thegrounding
for their vision of what the school might or ought to become. At the core we find myths of heroism,
of human destiny and of the nature of human society. Those mythsare usually embodied in story, in
poems, in highly symbolic literature. They shape ourconvictions, our beliefs, and our attitudes
towards most things. Because of them, we canreach consensus on our beliefs and assumptions
(Starrat, 1993).
 Activity 8: Let us go round and round. Determine the levels of school culture withinyour
school. Write one example for each level. Write your answer on thediagram.
Assessing School Culture

In assessing the culture within your school, you may use the instrument developed
byGruenert and Valentine (2015). The Culture Typology Survey allows individual to recognizeand
rate the degree to whichhe or she observes and engages in certain behaviors withinthe school
environment.
Moreover, this activity is not judging the culture of the school, but rather allowing
individuals to tabulate the actions at the school.
There are twelve key aspects ofschool culture and six types of cultures. The twelvekey
aspects are:
1. Student Achievement
2. Collegial Awareness
3. Shared Values
4. Decision Making
5. Risk Taking
6. Trust
7. Openness
8. Parent Relations
9. Leadership
10. Communication
11. Socialization
12. Organization History
Along with these are the six types of school cultures:

1. Toxic
2. Fragmented
3. Balkanized
4. Contrived Collegial
5. Comfortable Collaborative
6. Collaborative
 Activity 9: What kind of school culture do you have? Answer the Culture Typology Survey
developed by Gruenert and Valentine (2015).
Toxic School Culture.
The dream of every educational leader is to have the desirable school culture
whereeverything workswell but not all the have plan runs the way they have visualized it.
Sometimes, it goes the other way around.
School culture is the underlying set of norms, values, traditions, ceremonies, and unwritten
educators cope with problems, deal with changing students and staff, and deal with success and
failure. Over time the group develops a set of values and beliefs thatare the glue that keeps it
together. Oftentimes the culture is positive, nurturing, andprofessional-and supportive of change
and improvement. Sometimes, though, the culturehas developed dysfunctional values and beliefs,
negative traditions, and caustic ways ofinteracting. These are what Deal and Peterson (1998) called
toxic cultures.
Toxic school cultures lack a mission and vision, value laziness and apathy,
appreciateseparateness and exclusivity, and have negative peer relationships (Peterson,
2002).According to Gruenert and Whitaker (2015), these cultures focus on failures and use theseas
an excuse to remain stagnant. Also, they added that toxic school cultures encourageindividualsto
see failures as the inevitableresults of circumstances outside of their controlrather than as
opportunities for improvement.
According to Peterson (2002), schools with negative or toxic culture have:
1. Lack a clear sense of purpose
2. Have norms that reinforce inertia
3. Blame students for lack of progress
4. Discourage collaboration
5. Often have actively hostile relations among staff.
Moreover, in toxic cultures, staff:
1. View students as the problem rather than as their valued clients.
2. Are sometimes parts of negative subcultures that are hostile and critical
ofchange
3. Believe they are doing the best they can and don't search out new ideas.
4. Frequently share stories and historical perspectives on the school that are
oftennegative, discouraging, and demoralizing.
5. Complain, criticize, and distrust any new ideas, approaches, or suggestions
forimprovement raised by planning committees.
6. Rarely share idea5, materials, or solutions to classroom problems.
7. Have few ceremonies or school traditions that celebrate what is good andhopeful
about their place of work.
These schools are not fun places to work in and seldom try to improve what is goingon.
Toxic cultures inhibit and limit improvement efforts in several ways.
 In these cultures, staff are afraid to offer suggestions or new ideas for fear of being attacked
or criticized.
 Planning sessions lead by the school improvement council or committee are often half-
hearted due to the negativity and sense of hopelessness fostered by hostile staff that refuse
to see that improvement is possible.
 New staff that bring hope and a sense of possibility are quickly squelched and resocialized
into negative ways of thinking.
 Programs that are planned are poorly implemented because the motivation and commitment
to change is weak or nonexistent.
 Plans fail for lack of will.
 No one wants to work in these kinds of schools. But, it takes leadership, time, and focus to
rebuild these festering institutions. Fortunately, most schools are not this negative, though
many have some of these cultural patterns that make change problematic.
How do schools deal with "toxicity" in their culture? Deal and Peterson (1999) suggest
several things educators can do. These include:
 Confront negativity and hostility head-on and work to redirect negative energies.
 Protect emergent sources of positive focus and effort.
 Actively recruit more positive and constructive staff.
 Vigorously celebrate the positive and the improving sides of the school.
 Ensure that improvement efforts and plans are successful by supporting with time, energy,
and resources.
 Reconnect staff to the mission of schools: To help all children learn and grow.
It is up to school leaders-principals, teachers, and often parents-to help overcomethe

debilitating influence of negative cultures and to rebuild and reinforce positive student-focused
cultures. Without positive, supportive cultures, reforms will falter, staff moraleand commitment
will wither, and student learning will decline.
 Activity 10: Toxic or positive? Assess your school's culture by checking the right statement
for your school.
 1. The school celebrates successes.
 2. The school blames the students for lack of progress.
 3. The school emphasizes accomplishment and collaboration.
 4. The school discourages collaboration.
 5. The school foster commitment to staff and student learning.
 6. The school breeds hostility among the staff.
(If you checked 1, 3, and 5, your school has positive culture but if you checked 2, 4, and
6,there is a problem with your school culture)
Creating a Positive School Culture

An obvious goal for school leaders is for schools to develop and maintain stringcultures.
School with string cultures will have effective leadership with exceptionalstudent performance
(Jones, 2009). To create a new culture of change, school principalsand teacher-leaders must focus
on an overall organizational transformation that includesthe following successful practices:
 Defining the role of the school principal, teacher, and school community through open
communication and academic growth activities that can best serve the needs of a particular
school community.
 Scheduling effective communication mechanisms, such as staff lunchroom visits,
department forums, staff meeting pop-ins, and all-district personnel rallies.
 Sharing successes through employee union newsletters, internal correspondence, and
community relations that breed further successes for diverse student populations.
 Visualizing school wide and classroom goals that support the goals of a school site and
district to generate key results and offering staff development training that supports these
results.
Moreover, Deal (1985) identified eight attributes of effective schools with strong cultures:
1. Shared values and a consensus on "how we get things done around here.”
2. The principal as a hero or heroine who embodies core values.
3. Distinctive rituals that embody widely shared beliefs.
4. Employees as situational heroes or heroine.
5. Rituals of acculturation and cultural renewal.
6. Significant rituals to celebrate and transform core values.
7. Balance between innovation and tradition and between autonomy and control.
8. Widespread participation in cultural rituals.
 Activity 11: Which is you school's favorite? Choose only one among the eight (8) attributes
of effective schools according to Deal (1985) which is the mostprominent in your school?
Elaborate your answer by giving examples.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
In addition, Phillips and Wagner (2003) identified thirteen possible characteristics for
cultural improvement in schools:
1. Collegiality - the way adults treat each other.
2. Efficacy - the feeling of ownership or capacity to influence decisions.
3. High Expectations- excellence is acknowledged; improvement is celebrated.
4. Experimentation and Entrepreneurship-new ideas abound and inventions occur.
5. Trust and Confidence- participants believe in the leaders and each other.
6. Tangible Support - efforts at improvement are substantive with abundantresources
made available by all.
7. Appreciation and Recognition Improvement - people feel special and actspecial.
8. Humor - caring is expressed through "kidding"
9. Shared Decision-Making by all Participants- anyone affected by a decision
isinvolved in making and implementing the decision.
10. Protect what is Important- participant keep the vision and avoid trivial tasks.
11. Traditions- celebrations.
12. Open and Honest Communication- information flows throughout theorganization
in formal and informal channels.
13. Metaphors and Stories- evidence of behavior being communicated andinfluenced
by internal imagery.
 Activity 12: Pledge to be part of a positive school culture. Write an essay about yourlittle
steps on how you will impose positive culture within your school.
SUMMARY
School culture plays a vital role in the success of every academic institution. The students,
staff, teachers, school administrators, and other stakeholders should unite in promoting positive
school culture. If one from the stakeholders will not cooperate, the entire system will be affected.
 Culture is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts,morals, law, custom, and
any other capabilities and habits acquired byman as a member of society.
 School culture as complex webs of traditions and rituals that have bult up over timeas
teachers, students, parents, and administrators work togetherand deal with arises and
accomplishments (Schein, 1985).
 Hargreaves (1994) highlights the four existing teaching cultures:individualism,
collaboration, balkanization, and contrived collegially.
 The followingare the elements of schoolculture: vision, mission, values, rituals, traditions,
ceremonies, stories, history, artifacts, architecture,and symbols.
 There are different levels of school culture. It starts with the school operations going to the
school myths.
 In assessing the culture within the school, Gruenert and Valentine(2015) developed the
Culture Typology Survey which assesses theschool culture.
 There are twelve key aspects of school culture: student achievement,collegial awareness,
shared values, decision making, risk taking trust,openness, parent relations, leadership,
communication, socialization,and organization history.
 Along with these are the sixtypes of schoolcultures: toxic, fragmented,balkanized, contrived
collegial comfortable collaborative, andcollaborative.
 According to Peterson (2002),schools with negative or toxic culturehave: lack a dear sense
of purpose, have norms that reinforce inertia,blame students for lack of progress, discourage
collaboration, and oftenhave actively hostile relations among staff.
CHAPTER 4: The Teacher as a Leader in Educational Reforms
This chapter focuses on the role of the teacher as a leader in educational reforms. Moreover,
it presents the significant factors that are way for teachers in become teacherleaders. The different
phases of teachers as they transition into becoming teacher leaders arealso emphasized in this
chapter. The objectives of this chapter are the following:
1. Discuss the different definitions attributed to teacher leadership
2. Explore the impact of teacher leadership to student learning school improvementand
teacher retention
3.Determine the role of teacher leadership in school reforms.
4. Determine the reasons that deter teachers from becoming teacher leaders
5. Discover the factors that pave way for teachers to become teacher leaders
6. Discuss the different phases teachers go through as they transition into becomingteacher leaders
Introduction
The recent reforms in the Philippine educational system bring to light the importanceof the
role of teachers in ensuring that initiatives to improve the teaching-learning processare
implemented efficiently and effectively.
In order for these reforms to take place, it is necessary to have teachers who willsupport
these initiatives. Thus, the need for teacher-leaders. Teachers play a vital role inensuring the
success of the implementation of the educational reforms in the country forthe following reasons.
First, teachers are in close coordination with the students. Theyregularly interact with the students
and in the performance of their functions as teachers they know firsthand how the reforms impact
their students. Two, since teachers are theones who implement the reforms in the classroom, they
are aware of how these newinitiatives directly influence or affect the way they teach. Last, teachers
arecommunication with various stakeholders. They are in close contact with colleagues, parents
and the community. As such, the relationship with these significant groups allowsthem to see how
the new initiatives in education affect the various stakeholders.
Interest in teacher leadership has been growing because studies reveal that it hasa great
impact in improving schools, student achievement and teacher retention (Berry,2016; Pankake and
Abrego, 2017).
Teacher - Leadership and School Improvement

Too often, when schools encounter problems or issues, they rely on an expert withoutany
knowledge about the culture of the school or its people to address these issues. Assuch, most of the
recommendations are not always followed because most lack a basicunderstanding of the real
causes of the issues or concern. Teacher-leaders are in the bestposition to address these issues
because they are aware of the reasons why said issues orconcerns happened in the first place and
how it happened. Having directly experience theconcerns and this sense of familiarity with the
school community allow teacher-leaders toaddress specific needs and issues affecting the school
(Nappi, 2014).
Teacher Leadership and Student Achievement

Teachers who are given the opportunity to make decisions in the classroom arefound to
have a lasting effect on improving the performance of their students. This wasproven by Richard
Ingersoll, a professor of education and sociology at the University ofPennsylvania Graduate School
Of Education and the lead author of the research when heand his team conduct a four year study
from 2011 to 2015, which included data from nearlymillion teachers from more than 25,000
schools, in 16 states. In the said study, they foundout that when teachers were given more leverage
to put teaching and learning at thecenter of the instructional decision, have students who scored 10
percentile higher inmath and English language arts on state tests compared with other schools who
rank lowon teacher leadership (Will, 2017).
The Kenyan government has been working hard to improve mathematics mastery asa
means to boost national development. However, despite this initiative, the performanceof the
students in mathematics in secondary schools remains low. Researches in Kenyahave given priority
to classroom practices rather than developing teacher leadership. Inorder to find out how
mathematics teachers assured leadership roles in the classroom andhow their daily practices affect
mastery in mathematics among students was conducted.In this study, it was revealed that teacher
leadership plays a big role in improving students'performance in mathematics as these teachers
manifested continuous engagement,showed commitment, openness to new knowledge and different
views and a strongfocus on growth These teachers who greatly improved their students'
performance inmathematics are sensitive, flexible and open to alternatives (Lipesa, 2018).
These two examples are just among a myriad of studies that reveal the importanceof teacher
leadership in improving the performance of students. This can be attributed tothe fact that teachers
know their students well. As such, they are in a better position toaddress the needs and concerns of
these students.
Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention

When teachers are truly satisfied with the work that they do, they stay. However, astudy
reveals that teachers leave because of a various reasons. This may be brought aboutby low pay,
personal circumstances, stress, working conditions and isolation (BormanDowling, 2008). Unlike
other professions, teachers, particularly novice teachers feelIsolated because they are left on their
own most of the time. Once classes begin, theyare left on their own to do their role in the classroom
which involves teaching, managingthe class and assessing students. Having no one to discuss the
challenges encountered byteachers lead them to leave the profession ("Understanding the
importance of TeacherRetention," 2017). Since seclusion has been identified as a primary reason
why teachersleave the profession, it is imperative that they have someone whom they can discuss
andcollaborate with in order to help them get through with challenging issues and concerns
(Basich, 2018). If seclusion has been identified as one of the main reasons why teachersleave,
motivation has been identified as one of the reasons why teachers stay Teachers'motivation
emanates from establishment of professional ties and relationships with otherteachers, recognition
of professional contribution, evaluation of teachers, and programs forteacher development and
leadership (Warren, 2018). Thus, teacher leadership contributes a lot in making teachers stay.
Teacher leaders do not only provide other teachers withassistance, they also play an important role
in influencing the work environment to changein order to make it ideal for collaboration and
growth
This chapter will discuss teacher leadership in the context of the recent educationalreforms
in the Philippines. More specifically, this chapter will explore the definition ofteacher leadership,
the importance of teacher leadership in influencing innovations inthe classroom, the impact of
teacher leadership in students' performance, the challengesencountered by teacher leaders and
lastly, enhancing teacher leadership.
Definition of Teacher Leadership

Teachers play a powerful role in effecting reforms in the classroom. As such, theleadership
roles of teachers should be studied in the light of what is needed by schools andstudents, and how
educational initiatives will be implemented, sustained and managed.Teacher Leadership has been
defined in various ways. The definitions attributed toteacher leadership revolve around functions
within and those that extend beyond theclassroom
Teacher Leadership may involve Administrative Functions

Teacher leadership is often equated with administrative functions. Often, teachers
whoexhibit leadership qualities are given leadership functions outside the classroom. Teacherswho
are assigned as an administrator usually assume leadership and management functions.
Leadership and management are two distinct concepts but should be assumed byteacher
leaders. According to Tony Bush (2007), leaders inspire change while managerswork on making
sure that school operations continue to function efficiently and effectively. Although, these are
distinct concepts, teacher leaders who assume administrative rolesshould take on both functions.
The history of teacher leadership suggests that teachers then did not have leadershiproles.
Teachers will only be given leadership roles if they assume a position (Sanocki, 2013).As such,
teacher leadership was equated with an official function or designation. However,with the many
changes that are happening in the educational landscape, teacher leadershiphas evolved.
Schools nowadays are confronted with a lot of issues. These issues may revolvecontent,
pedagogy, beliefs or values. Pressures coming from external sources such aslegislation,
government policies and other stakeholders become an integral considerationthat teacher leaders
should address. Administrators who are both leaders and managerswill find means and ways to face
the challenges of these external demands without losingsight of what is relevant to the school's
vision and mission and most important of all,the students. A teacher-leader who assumes an
administrative role must be able to staycommitted to the vision of making sure that the students'
best interest will remain theprimordial consideration of the school.
Teacher Leadership does not always refer to formal administrative roles. Teachersaccording
to Danielson (2006) become leaders because of certain qualities or actionsthat they do. In a study
that attempted to look into the definition of teacher-leadership,Cosenza (2015) found several ways
how teachers view leadership. Based on the study,definitions attributed to teacher leadership aside
from assuming formal roles, it alsoinvolves collaboration, sharing of best practices, taking action,
and role modeling.
Teacher Leadership involves Collaboration

Teacher-leaders collaborate with others. Gone are the days when the soleresponsibility of
making decisions relies on administrators or school heads. Teacher leadersare beginning to see the
important role that they play not only inside the classroom butalso in terms of how to make
improvements in the school for the benefit of the studentsand various stakeholders. When teachers
collaborate, they bring with them a vast wealthof Knosslerige and classroom experience in which
they could use as bases of decisions. Through collaborating with others, teachers are able to come
up with common decisionsthat are not only beneficial to their practice but at the same time to their
students as well
In order to elucidate the role of collaboration in developing teacher leadership, astudy was
conducted to determine how a partnership between a local high school andcollege in the United
States has fostered the promotion of teacher leadership among thosewho mentor pre service
teachers. This study was brought about by complaints comingfrom mentors who were training pre
service teachers that they do not get anything outof training pre service teachers. Through constant
communication and collaboration,mentor teachers were given an opportunity not only teach
method courses in the collegebut were also able to learn from college professors about new
techniques and strategies in the classroom. Through collaboration, the high school teachers were
exposed to newstrategies being discussed in class and use these in order that pre-service teachers
willbe able to see how these are applied in the classroom. The study was able to prove that through
collaboration, the high school teachers were able to do more than merely trainingthe pre service
teachers, they also developed themselves as teachers (Eargle, 2013).
Teacher Leadership includes Sharing of Best Practices

Teacher leaders are those who are well-experienced, respected, creative,
innovative,knowledgeable, strong propensity for learning, committed, passionate and committed
todeveloping students. Most important of all, they share their knowledge, expertise andexperience
to improve students learning (Lumpkin, Clayton and Wilson, 2014). In essence,teachers are
regarded as leaders if they share their knowledge, expertise and skills withother teachers in the
hope of contributing to the professional development of others.
There are various ways of sharing best practices (Spence, 2017). In a study that aimedto
determine how teachers share practices, it was established that there are three ways inwhich
teachers share what they do.
One way of doing this is by sharing of concrete materials or resources. Theseinclude
physical and online resources such as materials, equipment, or websites (Carroll,Rosson, Dunlap
and Isenhour, 2005). Aside from sharing physical artifacts, teachers canuse technology by going
online to share what they do best. Teacher leaders make sure thatother teachers will learn from
their expertise when they share their best practices online(Spencer, 2017).
Another way in which teachers can share their practices is by sharing classroomactivities
which involve lesson plans, grading and strategies in developing lessons (Carrollet al, 2005).
Teachers, especially those with a vast wealth of experience can share theirsuccesses and failures in
implementing lessons. In this way, teachers who are new in thefield can learn from the experience
of others. Teachers who also share best practices allow other teachers to observe them while
teaching. This is a good way of showing other teachers how to implement a lesson in the best
possible way.
The third way of sharing practices is by showing other teacher works of students orproducts that
the students have developed (Carroll, et al, 2005). By showing evidences, otherteachers will be
able to know that certain strategies work and that these can be replicated.
Teacher leadership involves Taking Action

Teacher leaders recognize the fact that their own professional development dependson
themselves. Teachers who take initiative in improving themselves are seen as leadersbecause they
find ways on improving themselves to grow professionally. These teachers donot rely on others for
their own development but actively seeks ways to grow professionally.These teachers see the value
of doing further studies and attending continuing professionaldevelopment programs to further
hone skills and grow in knowledge.
In a qualitative study conducted to determine how teacher leaders emerge, it wasrevealed
that teachers initially take action to pursue further studies to be able to improvetheir quality of
teaching and also improve student learning. By staying committed to Continuous learning, teachers
are prompted into action by engaging in collaborative workwith others as well as questioning
practices that are not so relevant. The study concludesthat with the commitment of teacher leaders
to improve them, they are also bringingabout significant changes in school (Fairman and
Mackenzie, 2012).
Teacher Leadership includes Role Modeling
Teachers who are seen as leaders exhibit exemplary actions that are regarded asa means to
guide students and teachers. These teachers usually exhibit professionaldispositions that are worth
emulating and personal traits that would serve as motivationfor others to follow.
Teachers can become role-models in the following areas: sharing of resources
andinstructional expertise with others, specializing in curriculum, supporting the
classroom,facilitating learning, leading the school, coaching using data, mentoring,
instigatingchange, and learning (Harrison and Killon, 2007).
As mentioned earlier, teacher-leaders often shares resources. This can be exemplifiedwhen
seasoned teachers share their references, instructional materials and online resourceswith other
teachers, especially the new ones. The act of sharing resources enables teacherleaders to help new
teachers adjust to their new responsibilities with ease.
Aside from sharing resources, teacher-leaders who act as role models make sure thatthey
not only notice the challenges faced by many in the classroom, they also address thesechallenges
by doing research, applying solutions and sharing these solutions or practiceswith others. These
teachers also make sure that they seek the help of other experts whenthe need arises
Teacher leaders know the curriculum and make sure that they share his knowledgewith
others. Teacher leaders model this knowledge by ensuring that other teachers knowand use the
curriculum Standards in planning the lessons, aligning strategies and usingappropriate assessments
in class.
There will be instances wherein teachers will be seeking for help in terms of asking afellow
teacher how to teach a particular concept. Teacher leaders welcome other teachersto do classroom
observations, team teaches certain lessons and providing suggestions onhow lessons can be
improved further.
Teachers can also facilitate the development of other teachers by sharing theirexpertise.
Teachers learn best when they listen to each other. This makes professionallearning more
meaningful and at the same time more beneficial to the students.
Serving as a mentor is a good way to model good leadership skills. Teachers who
haveworked in a school setting for a long time should mentor young teachers not only abouthow to
plan a lesson or the curriculum standards but also about policies, guidelines andother expectations.
An effective teacher leader should be able to accept responsibilities. Throughengagement not only
on responsibilities within the classroom, these role models also acceptother responsibilities as well.
This includes heading a committee, becoming a representativeof the school or even as simple as
accepting administrative functions. Willingness to acceptresponsibilities does not only equip
teachers with additional knowledge and skills, it alsoallows them to discover their strengths as they
embark on different responsibilities, therebygaining confidence on what they can do as a
professional teacher.
Teacher leaders use data before making any educational decisions. They are fully awarethat
all decisions made in the classroom should have a sound educational basis. A good rolemodel
would lead the discussion on the available data, providing opportunities for othersto analyze the
data and using these as a means of improving the teaching learning process.
Effective teachers are always thinking of ways to improve the teaching learningprocess. As
a catalyst of change, these teachers are never satisfied with existing practicesand are constantly
seeking ways to challenge the system so that improvements will comeabout.
Teacher leaders are lifelong learners. They never cease to learn. They pursue further
studies, attend classes, join workshops and gives priority to continuing professionaldevelopment.
These teachers who are constantly finding means and ways on improvingtheir craft are usually
sharing their insights of reflections with others after making themaware of the new strategies that
they have been using in class. Teachers who are lifelong learners Inspire others to learn as much as
they can to become effective teachers (HarrisonandKilon, 2007).
Attributes of Teacher Leaders in the Philippines
The concept of Teacher Leadership can be best understood within the context of theculture
in the Philippines, although formal role play a significant part in the definition ofteacher leadership,
attributes of teacher leaders surfaced in the study of Oracion in 2014. According to the study, there
are seven attributes associated with teacher leadership. These teachers are self-motivated, possess
positive outlook, service oriented, responsibleand dedicated have high expectations, humble, and
trustworthy.
It is noteworthy to state that in the Philippines, personal attributes are essential in defining
teacher leadership. Teacher leaders are those who can work on their own withoutbeing told. They
have the motivation to do other responsibilities for the common good. These teachers are also
optimistic of growth and change. They have a positive outlookthat inspires others to do the same.
They know the value of work. They know theirresponsibilities and would pursue to finish the task
at hand. They have high expectationsand would not settle for mediocre work. They are humble and
could get along with easilywith the rest and they are dependable. People trust them because they
can deliver.
The aforementioned characteristics of teacher leaders are definitions attributed toteachers
who have shown propensity to lead others. These characteristics enable the teacherleaders to
contribute in effecting reforms to the betterment of the school and the students.
I. Points for Reflection:
1. Are teacher leaders important? Why? Why not?
2. Who are the teachers that you consider as leaders?
3. What do you consider as their remarkable characteristics or traits that
make them teacher leaders
4. As a future teacher, how will you make yourself a leader in your own right?
II. Activity
A. Interview three teachers. Ask them the following questions:
 Who do you consider as teacher leaders?
 What qualities do you think teacher leaders should possess?
B. Compare your findings with the definitions given on Teacher Leadership.What

can you conclude? Write your own definition of teacher leadership.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Teachers Leadership and Educational Reforms

Champions of Learning
In an attempt to improve the educational system, schools have sought ways toinfluence the
curricula or instruction. These reforms are meant to improve the waystudents learn. The success of
these reforms depends so much on teachers.
Teachers play a big part in ensuring that all reforms or innovations which usuallyemanate
from external sources be aligned with existing practices. As such teacher leadersare more
knowledgeable to know whether or not reforms would work because they are immersed in the
classroom and they know certain considerations that they need to makein order for these reforms to
take place. These considerations include class size, nature ofthe students, resources available and
apacity of teachers in implementing reforms.
There are three leadership practices which teacher-leaders do in order to promote student
learning. These are setting drections, developing people and redesigning theorganization
(Leithwood, Louis, Anderson and Wahlstrom, 2010).
Setting Directions
Directions give teachers a sense of purpose. Articulating the directions of theschool provide
teachers with a shared mission. Teachers who are able to guide others inunderstanding the direction
of the school will make it easier for the rest to work along acommon vision. Teacher leaders do not
only articulate the directions of the school, theyalso make sure that their colleagues understand the
reasons behind the vision and howthis is concretized. When directions are clear, teachers can work
hand in hand to makesure that students will benefit much from learning.
Developing People
Oftentimes, reforms entail not only the teachers' willingness to conform or motivationto
work towards the achievement of the goals of the school it also entails capacity building. Teacher
leaders see the need to develop colleagues as a way of fulfilling the goals of the school. Teacher
leaders make sure that they havethe capacity to work towards the vision of the schooland provide
avenues for others to do the same. As such, they continuously work hard to developthemselves and
others in order to makesure that students will learn much in the process.
Redesigning the Organization

Since teachers understand the context of the organization, they are in the bestposition to
determine the structure that would best benefit the students. Teacher leadersare keen in determining
which structures would work best in promoting a culture ofcollaboration among teachers. Through
building a culture of collaboration, teachers andadministrators will be able to work well in order to
design the curriculum in a way thatstudents will maximize students' learning and adopt an
appropriate pedagogical approachthat will make learning meaningful.
Teacher leaders as Agents of Innovation
Today's world demands that students acquire knowledge and skills that are relevantto the
present times. As such, schools are pushing innovative reforms in the classroom. Allteachers have
the best interest of their students in mind. Thus, any form of innovation thatwill benefit students
should be welcomed by teachers. However, this is not always the case.Teacher leaders know that
for innovative practices to be accepted, it has to be practicedfirst before it has to be shared with
other teachers. There exists a notion that engaging inworkshops or other forms of professional
development programs is already sufficient inmaking teachers accept the innovations that are being
introduced. However, this is notalways the case. For innovations to be practiced, teacher leaders
take the initiative to learnmore about them, practice these in the classroom and then share practical
experienceswith others. It is through sharing of these practical experiences that teachers are
providedwith avenues to see the benefits of using these innovations in their classrooms. Aside
fromtrying out these innovations, teacher leaders also see the value of having a
supportiveenvironment. When teachers share their practices, they need all the support they can
getfrom colleagues,administrators and students (Suikevika and Zobend, 2017).
In inculcating innovation, teacher-leaders first and foremost show an openness tolearn,
willingness to take risks and eagerness to try out the new reforms being introduced inthe
classroom. The study of Butkevika and Zobena in 2017 has proven that teacher-leadersdemonstrate
the propensity to learn something new and the readiness to implement it inthe classroom. They are
willing to experience the benefits of trying out the new approachor methodology being introduced
and at the same time share these experiences withothers. Sharing these practical experiences with
others is essential as they can specificallystate the approaches they took, the challenges they
experienced and the successes theyencountered. As such, it gives others the opportunity to learn
from the experience and atthe same time, a motivation to try the innovations themselves.
Butkevika and Zobena (2017) further suggest that teacher-leaders also provide
otherteachers a safe space to experiment and try innovative approaches. They do not onlyprovide
professional guidance but also emotional support. This is important in the sensethat teachers need
to be in an environment where they can rejoice over successes andfind solace and support in times
of failures, Teachers need not be afraid to fail so that theywill not be discouraged to innovate thus,
it is important that teachers need each other'ssupport to allow innovation to take pace
It has to be noted that innovation cannot take place without any support. Teacher-leaders
know this, which is why they anytime to support others.
I. Points for reflection
1.Do you think that teasers can maximize students learning? If yes, why? Ifno, why
not?
2.How can teachers maximize students learning?
3. How can teacher best adopt innovative practices in teaching?
4. Does the current educational system provide enough support to
encourageinnovative practices to take place? Why? Why not
II. Interview a teacher. Ask the teacher the following questions:

1. What innovative practices have you tried this year?
2. What prompted you to try it?
3. Will you influence others to try this innovative practice? Why? Why Not?
4. If you want others to try this innovative practice, how are you going toinfluence
others to adopt this practice?
III. Ask a fellow student in education the following questions:

1. What can you say about the reforms that are happening in education now?
2. How do these reforms impact you as a student?
3. As a future teacher, what are the steps that you are going to take to ensurethat you
will contribute much to the development of your students?
Challenges of Teacher-Leaders
Too often, teachers who have been in the field for four to ten years are at the point intheir
careers when they have already gained enough experience and expertise which couldbe used to
help other teachers. These teachers have already mustered enough confidenceto share their
expertise with others. Another reason why these teachers are ready toembark on a leadership role is
because it is a way for them to reach out to other teachers.As teachers, it cannot be discounted that
most of the work done remains between theteacher and the students (Rasberry and Mahajan, 2008).
Opportunity to work side by sidewith other teachers happens so rarely. Lastly, these teachers who
are ready to move on toleadership roles see these as an opportunity to grow. There are teachers
who are also inneed of doing other things in order to grow professionally (Johnson and Donaldson,
2007).
Inasmuch as most teachers would like to step-up and share their expertise withcolleagues,
there are major deterrents that dissuade them from assuming leadershiproles. In a study conducted
by Johnson and Donaldson (2007), teachers are confrontedwith issues that revolve around the
norms of school culture. Among the issues identifiedare autonomy, egalitarianism, and deference to
seniority.
Autonomy has been identified as one of the reasons; teacher-leaders find it difficultto work
with others. Teachers are so used being in charge of their own class that some arenot so eager to
welcome other teachers who are willing to help, let alone observe them.This then, defeats the
purpose of teachers working together to improve the teachingprocess.
Aside from autonomy, egalitarianism has been identified as a challenge to teacher-leaders.
The added responsibility requires teacher-leaders to be in constant communicationwith school
administrators and this presents an issue to most teachers. Teacher-leadersare perceived by other
teachers as being given special treatment when the truth is, theonly reason that they are constantly
with administrators or supervisors is because theyneed to coordinate plans with the higher
administration.
Finally, teacher-leaders find it difficult to share their expertise with others becausetoo often,
their age is being equated with qualifications. Based on the abovementionedstudy, older teachers
find it hard to accept that the younger teachers are more qualified toshare their knowledge and
expertise and as such, this often leads to resentment.
In the Philippines, there are various reasons why teachers are deterred from
assumingleadership roles. One, the educational system is so entrenched on the "principal-
oriented"nature of leadership. This means that for most schools in the Philippines, the concept
ofleadership is still attributed to formal roles. Principals are often seen as loaded with workand
responsibilities and as such, do not have time to teach students. Many teachers donot want to give
up teaching. As such, since the only available choice is either to assumea leadership role in the
form of becoming a principal, many opt to stay in the classroom.Two, there is also a lack of
leadership training existing in the country which preventsteachers from assuming leadership roles.
There is no formal and deliberate attempt to trainteachers to assume leadership roles and as such,
there is no opportunity for teachers tosee other possibilities related to leadership. Three, teacher
classification hinders teachersfrom becoming leaders. Classifications would revolve around
teaching positions which isbased on qualifications rather than functions. Alegado, 2018).
Aside from those mentioned by Alegado, there are other challenges that preventteachers
from assuming leadership roles. Filipinos value relationships above all. Teachersare afraid that if
they assume a leadership role, their relationship with colleagues will beaffected. Most teachers do
not want to be labelled as "pro-admin" or a favorite of theprincipal. Another reason cited is more
personal in nature. Circumstances in life preventmany from assuming leadership roles. Those who
are married would prioritize their familyover work. Others have other priorities like earning more
and for some, health issues. Someteachers on the other hand would attribute the lack of time for not
accepting leadershiproles. Those who assumed informal leadership roles attend to a lot of
responsibilities andfins would mean staying at school for a longer period of time. This does not
encourage other teachers from assuming similar roles for fear that they too would not have
enoughtime to do other responsibilities at home (Oracion, 2015).
With the challenges faced by teacher leaders, it is imperative that these issues beseriously
looked into. There are so many things that teacher-leaders can contribute in theteaching - learning
process. As such, these challenges should be addressed so that moreteachers will finally have the
courage and motivation to take on leadership roles.
I. Points to Ponder:
1.Do you think that the challenges mentioned in the study of Johnson andDonaldson
in 2007, and Oracion in 2015 are still prevalent in schools? Why?Why not?
2.Can you think of other challenges that teacher-leaders face?
3. How can schools better address the challenges?
II. Interview a teacher-leader. Ask her the following questions:
1. What prompted you to assume a leadership role?
2. What are the challenges that you encountered?
3. How were you able to overcome these challenges?
PROMOTING TEACHER-LEADERSHIP
In the Philippines, there are several factors that pave way for teachers to becomeleaders.
One, is the teacher's background and previous experience on leadership. Manyof those who were
interviewed in the study of Oracion in 2015 said that their previousleadership experience back
when they were students themselves paved way for them toassume leadership responsibilities.
Two, would have to do with the competence of theprincipal. Most of the principals involved in the
study have either completed their doctoralstudies or in the process of completing their doctoral
degree. Most of these principals havebeen in the service for 33 years. Obtaining these advance
degrees and years of experienceenabled the principals to have the competence to be open to
suggestions and new ideas,make appropriate decisions and advice and knowledgeable about the
teaching-learningprocess. The fact that teachers have someone to talk to and emulate are essential
factorsthat would help teachers assume leadership roles in the sense that they know that someoneis
there to support them. Three, the practice of distributed leadership. Although based onthe study, the
principals had their own interpretation of distributing their responsibilities,nonetheless, for most;
their responsibilities were shared with others. This includesdissemination of information or matters
that involve decision making. Four, collaborationand consultation also paved way for teachers to
assume leadership roles. Although majordecisions are done by principals, everyone acknowledged
that consultations should bedone in order to get the perspective and viewpoints of various
stakeholders. For most,consultations are done in the form of meetings. Thus, leadership of teachers
is honedwhen they are asked to contribute or share their knowledge or thoughts. Five, the factthat
principals defined their role as an influencer paved way for others to follow theexamples of their
leaders. Acting as role models, teachers are able to go into the directionthat their leaders want to
achieve. They set good standards and values that serve as goodbenchmark for teachers to follow.
They serve as an inspiration because they know howto transform lives and this is done by example.
Six, the principals are good motivators. Byknowing the capacities and capabilities of the teachers,
most of the principals were ableto encourage their teachers to develop themselves, professionally
and personally. Theywere encouraged to pursue further studies, join competitions and take on
responsibilitiesthat are challenging. The teachers know that despite taking on challenging roles
andresponsibilities, they are aware that they will be supported by the principals. Last, mostof the
principals were focused on instruction. They acted as curriculum heads and theyhave the students'
best interest when they perform their function as leaders. This certainlypaves way for most teachers
to understand that the students should be at the centerof the teaching - learning process. For most
teachers, this is truly inspirational becausealmost all teachers believe that they are in the profession
because of the students. Whenthey see that their principals have the students best interest at heart,
this would lead themto assume roles that would benefit the students.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION

There are three exciting developments happening in the field of education that willpave way
for the need to promote teacher leaders. According to the founder and CEOof the Center of
Teaching Quality, Barnett Berry, the following shifts in education willpromote the need to develop
teacher-leaders:
1. New forms of assessments are becoming more accepted and used by educators.
Performance-based assessments are being used more than standardizedbased
assessments. The shift from a traditional paper and pencil form ofassessment leads
to a new form of evaluating students. Expertise of teacherswho have been in the
field and for quite some time combined with newresearches will allow new teacher
leaders to emerge.
2. Organizational structures are becoming leaner and flatter making it possiblefor teachers
to collaborate closely as they are provided more autonomy andfreedom to engage in decision
making.
Teachers can now work closely together and can share practices that workwith the
students. The fact that they are no longer bound by restrictive policieswill enable new
teacher leaders to make decisions based on what they deem isappropriate for their students.
3.Teachers have more opportunities to network with other teachers making itpossible to
benchmark and share best practices (Shwartz, 2016).
Technological advancements and more opportunities given to teachersallow for
more collaboration. By providing teachers platforms to discuss theirexperiences and share
best practices.
The new developments require new types of leaders to emerge in education.However,

policy support is necessary. In order to develop teacher leaders, Berry concludesthat in order to
promote teacher-leaders, the following must be present:
1. An idea and plan for teacher leadership - there should be a clear direction of thetasks to
be done and should involve the teachers in the formulation of the goals.
2. A helpful administration - administration should be able to empower teachersby
providing them with opportunities to make decisions and at the same timeestablish leadership
programs that will further hone the leadership skills of teachers.
3. There should be appropriate resources - there should be available supportgiven to the
development of teachers in order for them to grow professionally.
4. Work structures should allow authentic collaboration - a more innovativeapproach to
embedding professional development is necessary for teachers tobe able to engage in more
authentic collaboration. The aim is for teachers to be given time to work together in order to share
what they know, and improveteaching through sharing of best practices. Engaging teachers to
team-teachover the same set of students will provide teachers with enough time to designtheir
lessons which are appropriate to the learners.
5.Supportive social norms and working relationships - respecting differences isimportant
because it signifies an acknowledgement of varying expertise. Theultimate role of teachers is to
make sure that more people will benefit fromtheir expertise. Thus, there should be a policy that will
necessitate teachers toshare their expertise to a majority of people.
6.There should be indistinct lines that delineate teaching and leading – empoweringteachers
does not mean there will be a shift of roles between the administratorsand the teachers, however, it
would require that both need to work together inorder to lead.
7. The whole school system must be willing to take risks and should pursue aninquiry
approach in assessing the teaching-learning processschools andteachers should be willing to take
risks, to try to innovate and learn from theprocess. Schools should assess how they promote the
development of teachersand see how these will ultimately impact on student learning (Berry,
2016).
I. Points to Ponder:
1. How do you think schools should support teachers to become leaders?
2. Do you think that the present educational system support the developmentof
teacher leaders? If yes, why? If no, why not?
II. Interview a school administrator and ask the following questions:

1. Does the school have programs that will empower teachers to becomeleaders?
If yes, what are these programs? If none, why not?
2. What can administrators do to encourage teachers to take on leadershiproles?
PAVING THE WAY FOR TEACHERS TO BECOME LEADERS

The remarkable impact that the teachers have in the teaching-learning process makesit vital
to have a deliberate and systematic approach that will pave the way for the teachersto become
leaders. Killion, Harrison, Colton, Bryan, Delahan and Cooke in 2016 identifiedthe various ways
for schools to develop leaders:
1. It is imperative to first and foremost have a solid definition of teacher leadershipand the
desired outcomes in order to determine the roles and responsibilitiesof teacher leaders (Killion et
al., 2016, p. 10). In the Philippines, most studiesreveal that teacher-leadership is always associated
with formal leadership roles.However, various definitions of teacher leadership would prove that
leadershiproles extend beyond the formal roles or designation. As such, it is necessarythat the
community which consists of heads, teachers, staff, students andother stakeholders should come
together to define their concept of teacherleadership alongside with the roles and responsibilities
associated with it.This would enable various stakeholders, particularly teachers to share
theirexperiences, challenges, and expectations. By doing so, this will assuage thefears and
apprehensions of teachers from taking an additional responsibilities.
2. It is also necessary to create a work environment that will support the developmentof
teacher leaders. A healthy work environment would require a culture ofacceptance and supportive
structures, culture in the workplace would refer tothe beliefs, practices, noms and values of the
people (Killion et al., 2016). This isformed by shared experiences and relationships established by
the people. Thestudy of Alegado in 2018 revealed that the Philippines still equate leadership
withthe roles of the principals. Since the structure in the country is hierarchical, it isimportant to
recognize the powerful role of teachers in effecting change in theeducational system. In order to
have a healthy culture it is necessary to have thefollowing: relational trust, collective responsibility,
commitment to continuousdevelopment, recognition and celebrations. Oracion (2015) stated in her
studythat trust and relationships are important. Trust will exist if teachers continue tobe clear with
their goals, consistent and sincere with their intentions. They alsoneed to be competent enough to
handle responsibilities and honest to sharetheir vulnerabilities. Moreover, when teachers work
together for the commongood of the students, they are able to influence each other in coming up
withlessons and activities that will bring out the best in the students. Committing tocontinuous
development is also essential in making sure that teachers will growprofessionally. This may come
in the form of attending seminars, observing otherteachers, doing peer observation and giving each
other feedback. Celebratingand recognizing the expertise of each teacher are important
considerationsto make in order to show how much each one is valued. This may be difficultin a
culture that still promotes deference to hierarchy, but, to truly value andrespect each one is
essential in paving the way to develop teacher leaders. Inthe same light, when administrators give
teachers the liberty to make classroomdecisions that are aligned with the direction of the school, it
gives teachers theopportunity to innovate reforms in the classroom which can lead to betterlearning
for the students (Killion, et. al., 2016, p.12).
Aside from having a healthy culture, structures are also necessary topromote teacher
leadership. Structures include processes, procedures,resources and policies that are aligned with the
school's vision and mission andthe definition and goals of teacher leadership (Killion, et. al., 2016).
In order to giveappropriate structural support, the following are needed: comprehensive planfor
teacher leadership, changing of roles, preparation support and supervision,and provision for
opportunities to lead. A comprehensive plan would include theengagement of various stakeholders
to take part in formulating the leadershipprogram, and provision of adequate resources to support
the new initiatives.In addition, there will also be a shift in terms of roles and responsibilities.
Thisshould be clear to all stakeholders. Roles and responsibilities will have to beshared and that
there should be a clear distinction of the roles of teacherleaders from that of administrators and
teachers. For the leadership plan towork, it is, necessary that everyone must be willing to shift their
beliefs, normsand values on how they share responsibilities and view leadership. Preparationand
support would entail pursuing further studies, attending seminars andworkshops on leadership,
mentoring and coaching in accordance with theidentified leadership standards, regular feedback,
goal setting and reflection.Careful planning of the leadership program will also provide teachers
withopportunities to lead. By identifying events, tasks and activities that will enableteachers to
share their expertise, the teachers' leadership skills are honed.Lastly, it is important to designate
someone to champion teacher leadership inthe community. This would ensure continuity of the
program and would signalthe school's commitment in transforming teachers to become leaders
(Killionet. al., 2016, p.12).
3.It is vital to cultivate appropriate dispositions for teacher leadership (Killion et. al., -2016,
p.12). Based on the previous studies, particularly those researches done inthe Philippines, teachers
were found not to be too keen on assuming leadershiproles whether formally or informally. This
can be attributed to their beliefs onleadership. Thus, in order to develop teacher leaders, it is
necessary to havea set of dispositions that all leaders should possess regardless of functions.This
includes a passion and commitment for student learning, should possessa broader perspective,
humble, courageous and willing to take risks, confident,flexible and possesses enthusiasm for
continuous learning.
All teachers have the students' best interest at heart. Thus, teacher leaderswill support
anyone who is determined to improve the way students learn. Theyserve as a major force that can
influence anyone into finding means and ways toimprove the teaching learning process.
Teacher leaders have the humility to work with others because theyrecognize and
acknowledge the expertise of each one. Thus, teacher leaders donot assume that they know
everything and would willingly work with others.
Teacher leaders are willing to take risks as they are fully aware that thereare various ways
of finding solutions to challenges. They rise above challengesand continuously provide an
environment where teachers can ask, try andexperiment.
Having accumulated a wealth of experience, teacher leaders are confidentto share their
expertise. They also have the flexibility to adapt to changes.
Teacher leaders value their own professional development. Theycontinuously find means
and ways to grow professionally and personally. Theyalso believe that everyone has the capacity to
grow. As such, they possess agrowth mindset that encourages everyone to see their own
possibilities forgrowth.
4.It is also important to assess the impact of the teacher leadership program (Killionet. al.,
2016, p.12). One way to determine if the program is working is by evaluating the impact of
student’s leadership on the following areas: examining the teacher leadership program which
includes the supports provided available avenues for leadership, schemes and structures, usefulness
and impact of the program on various stakeholders. This should be done annually in order to
improve the program. The second area that needs to be assessed is the performance of the other
teachers using identified performance indicators which are aligned with the function of the leader.
This also includes the performance of the other teachers and students. This is also done to improve
practices. A third area to assess is a personal and collaborative reflection of one’s own practice.
This is done yearly to determine what needs to be improved and strengthened (Killion, et. Al.,
2016).
I. Points to Ponder
1. How can schools in the Philippines develops teachers to become teacher leaders?
2. Do you think it is possible for schools in the Philippines to have a leadership

plan? Why? Why not?
II. Interview a school administrator. Ask them to share with you their teacher- leadership
program.
III. Based on your interview, what do you think is the impact of teacher- leadership in the
country’s educational reforms?
TRANSITIONING INTO TEACHERS LEADERS

The provision of structures and deliberate programs for teacher leadership gives teachers
and opportunity to assume leadership roles. Although this support mechanisms are important, it is
also important to determine the path that teachers go through before assuming leadership roles. The
different stages according to Sanocki (2013) are as follows:
The first stage of the teacher’s journey towards transitioning into leadership roles is that
they all start as classroom teacher (Sanocki, 2013, p. 136). Teachers enter the profession with 2
mission to teach students. As such, to accept responsibilities which will not impact students
directly is something that does not appeal to them. In this stage, teaching is their sole focus.
The second stage is characterized by the teacher’s own reflection of the journey as he or she
experiences distributed leadership. The teacher continues to reflect about her journey, taking into
consideration what work and what needs to be improved. Through reflection, the teacher begins to
access her/ his own values and beliefs on leadership (Sanocki, 2013, p. 137).
The third stage is described as overcoming fears on leadership. This is brought about by
constantly reflecting on one own practice (Sanocki, 2013, p. 137).
In the fourth stage, teacher leaders gain confidence in doing the roles as they work with
others while giving utmost respect to the more experienced and senior teachers and recognizing
that they need to operate within the confines of the hierarchical leadership structure (Sanocki,
2013, p. 137).
In the fifth stage, the teacher leader continues to perform her role in improving the
community by collaborating and working with various stake holders to improve the curriculum,
with pedagogy, and assessment and serving as a link between administration ad teachers (Sanocki,
2013, p. 137).
In the sixth stage, teacher leaders continue to perform their function as they seek ways on
how to implement positive and essential reform within the school. This teachers continue to pursue
reform that will greatly impact the teaching learning process (Sanocki, 2013, p. 138).
I. Points to Ponder
1. As a future teacher, do you think that you will accept leadership responsibilities?
Why?
Why not?
II. Interview a teacher leader. Ask her/ him about her/ his journey towards teacher
leadership. What phase or stage is she/ he at this point in time? Explain your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
SUMMARY
 Recent reforms in the field of education have made it necessary for a new kind of leaders to
emerge- teacher leaders.
 Teachers- leadership has been define in various ways. Aside from the traditional definition
attributed to leadership wherein teachers assume formal administrative roles, the term also
includes teachers who collaborate, share best practices take action, and act as role models.
 Teacher leadership has an impact on student- learning. Teacher- leaders can improve
curriculum and instruction through introducing innovations in the classroom. Teachers-
leaders realize that they can improve students- learning because of their ability to set the
school’s directions, promote the professional development of other teachers, and redesign
the school structure to better address the needs of the students.
 Teacher leadership impacts on teacher retention. Teachers tend to leave because of isolation
or seclusion. However, teacher leaders can help these teachers overcome their isolation by
guiding and mentoring them. They can serve as coaches to give than feedback about their
performance.
 Teacher leadership impact school improvement. Teacher’s leaders because of their
experience and knowledge are able to suggest way on how to improve the school.
 In the Philippines, there are certain traits attributed the teacher leaders. These are humility,
self- motivation, positive disposition, sense of service, dedication, high expectations, and
trustworthy.
 Teacher leaders are instrumental in educational reforms. They serve as champions of
learning and agents of innovation. Teachers who are leaders are willing to learn, practice
this new learning and shared these practices to others. They empower other teachers to take
risks by proving safe spaces where everyone is supported.
 There are many challenges that prevent teachers from assuming leadership role. Autonomy,
and egalitarianism and qualification have been identified as obstacles for teachers to assume
their leadership role. Most teachers are so used to working on their own and the presence of
another teacher who will guide them is often times perceived as a threat. In the Philippines,
hierarchical structure, lack of training and leadership is always equated with the principal.
There are also personal reasons cited such as concern in the family, relational concern, time
and health.
 In order to entice to take on formal and informal leadership roles, policy and structural
support should be made available to teachers to have the disposition to learn and share
knowledge to others in order to improve the teaching- learning process and ultimately,
maximize students’ learning. It is also important to have a good role model who can guide
and support teachers as they transition into leadership roles.
 There are six stages in which teacher go through as thet transition into becoming teacher
leaders.

Teacher and Community

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Teacher and Community

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Teacher and Community

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1STSEM

 School as learning organization- its main function is to help learners

 School as a community- it is composed of teachers, administrators,

The school as a social organization aims to respond to the different changes

Schools are important

 Structure: as social systems, schools’ structure has characteristic of

 Culture and Climate: school culture is preserved and transferred to new

 Leadership and Decision Making: in social system of schools an

Social Change and Its Effect in the Educational System

Social change is a broad

 Digitalization’s and Technological Advances- technological

These social changes, among others, demands that all educational

Social Changes and Challenges brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution

The concept of fourth industrial revolution, according to Davis (2016) build on

Schwab (2016) describes how the 4th Industrial Revolution is fundamentally

The fourth industrial revolution brought significant social transformation that

o Personal forces are personalities, leadership styles, and interpersonal skills

o Professional forces are standards of expertise, codes of conduct,

o Democratic forces are democratic social contacts and shared

Due to these change forces, schools need to build internal commitment to

Characteristics of a Good School as an Agent of Social Change

Table 1: Indicators of a Good School from Six Composite Perspectives

As an agent of social change, a school must set an example of a good social

The school as an agent of positive social change and transformation must

Responding to the Needs of the Country and Local Communities

In the Philippines, the genesis of community schools during the American

a. The UP Baguio research on the indigenous people culture in the

In the study of Ball (2000), the enormous complexities of today's world

Roles of Administrators, Teachers, and Students in Promoting Schools as

Leadership and collaboration are essential elements to ensuring success in all

Another contributor to modern organizational theories is Max Weber. He is a

5. Impersonal - Regulations and clear requirements create distant and

2. Managing the curriculum in ways that promote student learning –

Leadership according to Yukl (2013) is different from managers. It includes

The School as an Educational Organization

An example in Figure 1 shows how a public basic education school is

Figure 1 -Sample Organization Chart of a Public Basic Education School

In the sample organizational structure of private basic education school in

Reforms in the Department of Education

By virtue of RA 9155, culture and sports-related functions, programs, and

Finally, in 2012, RA No. 10533 otherwise known as the "Enhanced Basic

Organizational Structure of the Department of Education

Definition of School Culture

Other Cultures in a School

Typology of School Cultures

These two concepts enable school cultures to be examined ontwo dimensions,

4. Struggling centers on the following:

 Activity 2: Time to look around. Answer the following questions.

1. What different subcultures do you observe in your school? Does it employpositive or

Name of the School: _______________________________________________________

School Mission, Vision, and Values

THE DEPED VISION THE DEPED MISSION

We dream of Filipinos who passionately To protect and promote the right of

on the space below.

School Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies

School Traditions Purpose

School Ceremonies Purpose

Founding of your school