NQESH REVIEWER 2017

REFERENCE READING MATERIALS

For aspiring school heads of DepEd

SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT
Vision

– empowered schools
– proactive school heads
– innovative teachers
– engaged community stakeholders
– improved student academic performance and psycho-social growth

This is the vision of the Department of Education (DepEd) for schools in the
country. This is the essence of School-Based Management (SBM), a strategy
which paves the way for quality education and holistic development for our
school children.

What is School-Based Management?

School-Based Management is the decentralization of decision-making authority

to schools. At the school level, schools heads, teachers, and students work
together with community leaders, and local government officials and other
stakeholders to improve school performance.

Specifically, SBM aims to:

– empower every schools to continuously improve its performance in attaining
desired outcomes for students;
– engage stakeholders in shared decision-making;
– lead the school staff, together with other stakeholders in identifying and
addressing school issues and concerns that affect student outcomes;
– create support network of community-based stakeholders that will mobilize
social, political, cultural and economic resources; and
– make stakeholders accountable for school performance and student
outcomes.

Legal Bases of SBM

The importance of SBM in improving learning outcomes has been emphasized in
different legal documents and issuances.
1. The Local Government Code of the Philippines (R.A. 7160) enables
communities to be more effective partners in the attainment of national goals.
2. The Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004-2010) requires
localized educational management that would enable schools to focus on
enhancing initiative, creativity, innovation and effectiveness.
3. Governance of Basic Education Act (R.A. 9155) emphasizes decentralization

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REFERENCE READING MATERIALS
For aspiring school heads of DepEd

of school governance.
4. Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) provides a package of policy
reforms focused on Key Reform Thrusts (KRTs). KRT I deals on continuous school
improvement through active involvement of stakeholders. It is anchored on the
principle that those who are directly involved in and affected by school
operations are in the best position to plan, manage and improve the school.
5. The Schools First Initiative (SFI) of 2004 empowers educational leaders and
stakeholders to focus on school improvement and total well-being of school
children.

Features of SBM
School-Based Management is enhanced management of schools. It is
characterized by:

Shared Vision – It is the collective dream of major stakeholders for the school. It is
the unifying and sustaining factor that upholds the values, beliefs and culture of
the school community. it is the core message and establishes the principle of
high performance for learners.

Shared Mission – It is the commitment to pursue necessary tasks in realizing the

vision. A shared mission drives the team to undertake actions to effect planned
improvements.

Shared Decision Making – it means ownership of decisions by a team of

stakeholders. It is an effort to transform conventional school organizations into
pro-active Learning Communities (LCs). These LCs are thus empowered to make
decisions that would strengthen the teaching and learning processes.

Collaboration – it is the joint effort of stakeholders in working together toward

improving learning outcomes.

Autonomy – it means stakeholders are free to govern the school as mandated

by R.A. 9155, subject to a set of implementing rules and regulations of the
Department of Education. Others call this decentralization.

Accountability – It is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for all

actions, decisions, policies, outputs and outcomes.

Community Ownership or Shared Governance – it means the forging of

partnership among stakeholders to address the needs and concerns of the
schools most especially those that directly affect learner’s welfare.

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REFERENCE READING MATERIALS
For aspiring school heads of DepEd

Transparency – it means an open presentation to stakeholders of school

accountabilities such as fiscal and material resources as well as school records
among others.

Six Dimensions of SBM

School-based management has six dimensions as follows:

1. School Leadership
Every school must be led by a school head. He/She is expected to provide
strong, dynamic, innovative and competent leadership in promoting and
sustaining quality education.

2. Internal Stakeholders
Internal stakeholders are the school heads, teachers, students and parents of
students and their associations who directly work for the improvement of school
performance. Their inputs about the school’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and
opportunities are necessary in the agenda for school improvement.

3. External Stakeholders
External stakeholders are composed of community members, people from non-
governmental organization or NGOs, and the local government officials who
have a stake in the education of the children. Their participation in the strategic
planning for school improvement and attainment of learning outcomes is
crucial. Aside from helping generate additional resources for the formulation
and implementation of the School Improvement Plan, they should also be
involved in the monitoring and evaluation of learning outcomes.

4. School Improvement Process

The School Improvement Process puts in place a continuing systematic method
of upgrading the delivery of educational services at the school level. It involves
analysis of school needs, planning and implementing appropriate actions. It
calls for a mechanism that would ensure accessibility to quality education. It
also involves comparing and analyzing one’s practices with other SBM
practitioners in the country.

5. Resource Management
Allocating, sourcing and managing resources is a major dimension of SBM.
Resources could be human, material and financial which are necessary for
school operation. With so much to do and with very limited resources, the need
for resource generation, its judicious allocation and utilization is imperative.
Financial resources of schools may come from the General Appropriations Fund,
regular Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), local government

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allocation, Special Education Fund (SEF), community contributions, grants and

other income-generating projects.

6. Performance Accountability
The school heads’ periodic reporting to stakeholders of school performance
especially learning outcomes of students is crucial. Communicating the school’s
real situation such as learning outcomes, financial status, issues and concerns
would generate more support from the external stakeholders for the School
Improvement Plan.

Improved learning outcomes is the ultimate objective of school-based

management. To achieve this goal, a three-scale of SBM Practice has been
devised.

Strategies of Change in SBM

The real spirit of decentralization calls for the strengthening of the school support
system through the mobilization of stakeholders. It entails school improvement
planning and implementation, fund management, monitoring and evaluation,

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REFERENCE READING MATERIALS
For aspiring school heads of DepEd

among others. Decentralization requires strengthening of stakeholders’

participation and understanding of their roles, functions, and responsibilities to
carry out educational programs, projects and services for better student
outcomes.

Continuous Process of Improvement

The school needs to continuously improve through assessment of its level of SBM
practice along the six dimensions. Management system in schools is anchored
on the framework of these six dimensions of SBM. These dimensions guide
stakeholders in their commitment to support change efforts towards achieving
the desired outcomes.

Progression in the scales of SBM practice is achieved as specific milestones in

SBM dimensions are realized.

School Governance
This is a system which operates under the principle of shared responsibility and
accountability among stakeholders. School Governance is operationalized
through the organization of the School Governing Council (SGC)

The SGC creates a safe, equitable and a flexible learning environment based on
the needs of the students, teachers and the community. Within the framework
of SBM, the school through the SGC has the prerogative to develop learning
materials and introduce learning innovations to address poor pupil performance
and high dropout rate. Thus, the SGC assumes full authority, responsibility, and
accountability for the education of the students.

Structures and Roles

Organizational structures provide the support mechanism to guide the
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of various school programs. Both
internal and external stakeholders are responsible for the successful turnout of
efforts for school improvement that leads to better student outcomes.

Support System
A key to the success of SBM is the support system provided by the Department
of Education, Regional, Division, and District Offices. The system facilitates an
environment of trust and confidence in all schools.

All levels of the Department have important roles and functions that support the
collaborative work with schools. All efforts are unified and focused on quality
teaching and learning programs

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REFERENCE READING MATERIALS
For aspiring school heads of DepEd

The support system also addresses teachers’ needs for basic instructional
equipment and materials that could make the learning environment conducive
to the development of students’ full potential.

ERICH D. GARCIA Ed.D | Confidential