CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The ravaging effects of the COVID19 crisis affected all institutions including schools and

its operations. It has affected the delivery of school services including instruction, research and

even community extension activities of many schools. The pandemic also spurred the shift from

face-to-face classes to the conduct of blended learning where most schools resorted to a modular

approach of teaching the students. While countries struggle around the world to rebuild their

economies amidst the surge in community infections, school institutions also have its lion’s share

of managing the crisis so that school operations and delivery of school services will continue,

and the education of the students will not be disrupted (Harris, 2020). As such, the school

principals play a major role in the crisis management initiatives and activities of the school as

they steer the students, school personnel including teachers and communities towards the new

normal.

As mentioned by Zhao (2020), school principals across the globe are expected to be more

adaptable in their management of school resources in order to keep up with constantly changing

rules and conditions, as well as to make more complicated choices that were not previously

required prior to the COVID-19 emergency. In addition to human resources, Reyes-Guerra,

Maslin-Ostrowski, Baraka and Stefanovic (2020) pointed out that they are also in charge of

financial resources, educational activities of both students and teachers, external relations, the

well-being of the two groups, and the education of teaching students. School officials may also
be required to work longer hours owing to the increased effort resulting from the new conditions

brought on by the pandemic as well as the greater cooperation among stakeholders.

Consequently, Gainey (2021) argued that school administrators have been under tremendous

pressure to put up a crisis management strategy for teaching in the middle of an epidemic so that

they may focus on the immediate problems that face them.

In the Philippines, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order No. 12,

series of 2020 which provides for the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) in the

light of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The BE-LCP is DepEd’s response to the

challenges posed by COVID 19 in the field of basic education. It covers the essential

requirements of education in the time of COVID-19, e.g. most essential learning competencies,

multiple learning delivery modalities for teachers, school leaders and learners, required health

standards in schools and workplaces, and special activities. The school principals have to put up

their resources for a sound implementation of the BE-LCP since resilience, adaptability, resource

management, technological literacy, and crisis response have become more pronounced in the

face of the evolving roles as well as competing priorities (Francisco and Nuqui, 2020). The crisis

management strategies of the school principals will define the performance of the school in times

of the crisis and the teachers as well as they define their roles in the changing educational

landscape (Cahapay, 2022).

As such, school principals find themselves in the undesirable position of being a

bottleneck in the system, which is a source of frustration. From above, they rely on directives

regarding COVID-19 replies, processes, procedures, and protocols to function properly

(Francisco and Nuqui, 2021). Depending on how the virus grows, they may alter dramatically,

sometimes in an instant. It goes without saying that some preliminary study has been conducted
into the impacts and influence of COVID 19 on all areas of education, and that this has assisted

in the establishment of relevant markers and some preliminary reference points (Cahapay, 2020).

Also lacking currently is research on how school administrators are reacting to the epidemic or

dealing with the issue in their schools (Kaul, VanGronigen and Simon, 2020). These are the

research gaps that may provide a holistic picture on how school principals manage the crisis

brought by the pandemic.

Hence, this present study which aims to understand the effects of crisis management

skills of school principals during pandemic on the performance of selected public senior high

schools and teachers. The study is of greater importance so that a clear picture of the school

management crisis maybe presented based on the works of school principals who are at present

confronted by the challenges. The researcher observes that school principals are really faced with

big challenges in light of the pandemic which includes instruction, finances, administration and

even sustainability of the plan which continued to be altered based on the changing policies of

the national and local government units. Their greatest challenge perhaps is on the kind of

education that students receive using the new learning modalities and how it will transform them

to become better citizens.