Seeds of leadership: A qualitative study on school leaders’ experiences in curriculum implementation and management practices in the Schools Division of Batangas City
Background: With nearly 25,000 schools in the Philippines lacking appointed principals, the burden on acting school heads has intensified, amplifying both operational and instructional challenges and underscoring the need for deeper empirical inquiry into their experiences.
Aim: This qualitative study examined the challenges, strategies, and emerging opportunities in curriculum delivery and school operations management within the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Batangas City in the Philippines.
Method/approach: The study involved 93 public school heads selected through convenience sampling. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data were gathered through open‑ended survey responses and analysed thematically to identify patterns across instructional and operational domains. Ethical approval was secured, and all participants provided informed consent or assent to ensure voluntary participation and confidentiality.
Results/findings: Curriculum delivery in the SDO Batangas City is hindered by teacher readiness gaps, misaligned assessments, time loss, resource shortages, and diverse learner needs, while school operations face administrative overload, facility decline, and limited manpower. School heads respond through supervision, capacity building, collaborative planning, differentiated instruction, resource optimisation, and stronger communication. Opportunities for innovation include data-driven instruction, technology integration, teacher development, digital governance, workflow automation, and distributed leadership.
Conclusion: The study concludes that improving curriculum delivery and school operations in the Schools Division of Batangas City requires coherent systems of instructional leadership, operational efficiency, and stakeholder collaboration.
Implications for children and families: School management is not an easy task. It requires vision, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous improvement. In the Philippines, where there is a shortage of school leaders, you need to strengthen systems and practices that respond to the demands of the 21st century.
Implications for practitioners: Effective school management goes beyond administration, requiring strategic planning, capacity building, and data-driven decisions to prepare students to be digitally competent, globally aware, and future-ready citizens.
Keywords: curriculum delivery, school operations management, Schools Division of Batangas City
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: