INSIDE: Private Schools as Governments Partner in Delivering Basic Education Services

PAASCU and PACUCOA Accredited

May July 2010

Research Approaches on Leadership

Teodolfo P. Santiago Leadership is being defined as influencing others to work willingly toward achieving objectives. It means, crystallizing a direction or a course of action for others, and then tapping into all the authority, charisma, and traits the leader can muster to make others want to follow the leader in achieving the leaders goal. Leadership stems from a social influence process which emerges from the ranks of the group according to consensus of the members (informal leadership). However, a leader can also be appointed by someone who has authority to give power in order for the appointed/delegated person to function as leader or to head a group (formal leadership). Thus, a person who turned to be a leader could have both procedures (formal and informal leadership) in acquiring leadership status. Leadership is an important part of management. The primary role of a leader is to influence others to work voluntarily and concretize goals and objectives (preferably with enthusiasm). A leader usually emerges from the ranks. Nevertheless, the manager is usually assigned/appointed by someone who has an authority. The primary task of a manager is to design goals and objectives, formulate vision/mission, organize appropriate structures and plan/direct activities for the institution/organization. Furthermore, leaders fill many roles such as interacting with and motivating subordinates and leading groups whose members are inter-acting with another group in order to accomplish effectively a certain goal or objective. LCCM Research Digest One major distinction between definitions of leadership effectiveness is the type of consequence or outcome selected as the effectiveness criterion such as group performance, attainment of group goals, group survival, group growth, growth preparedness, group capacity to deal with crisis, subordinate satisfaction with the leader, subordinate with group goals, the psychological well-being and development of group members, and the leaders retention of status in the group. Research Approaches Leadership has been the subject of various studies and researches using many approaches, depending on the researchers perception of leadership and their methodological preferences. According to Yuki (1989), all researches on leadership can be classified in one of the following approaches. Power-Influence Approach This approach attempts to explain leadership effectives in terms of the amount of power possessed by a leader, the types of power, and how power is exercised. Dessler (2001) presented the ten principles of empowering people, namely: 1. Tell people what their responsibilities are. 2. Give them authority equal to the responsibilities assigned to them. 3. Set standards of excellence. 4. Provide them with training that will enable them to meet the standards. 1

5. Give them knowledge and information. 6. Provide them with feedback on their performance. 7. Recognize them for their achievements. 8. Trust them. 9. Give them permission to fail. 10. Treat them with dignity and respect. Moreover, power-influence approach would give both leaders and subordinates excitement to find their respective task an enjoyable venue in actualizing themselves, exhibit self-efficacy, and thereby boost motivation and employee commitment. The Trait Approach In leadership, the theory that leaders have basic identifiable traits or characteristics that contributes to their success as leaders. Psychologists Shelly Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke say that personal traits and power comprise the foundations of leadership, these are the two pre-requisites you need before you can lead (Dessler, 2001). The idea that leaders are characterized by certain traits was initially inspired by a great man concept of leadership. This concept held that people like Steve Jobs, Microsofts Bill Gates, and Hewlett-Packards Carly Fiorina are great leaders because they were born with definable personality traits. Behavioral Approach Researchers began to look at leadership as an observable process or activity. The goal of this approach is to determine what behavior were associated with effective leadership. Some Behavioral Approaches are: 1. Job-centered leader behavior. In this behavioral approach, the primary concern of the leader is the efficient completion of the task. 2. Employee-centered leader behavior. The leader in this behavioral approach is interested in developing a cohesive work group and ensuring that workers/employees are basically satisfies with their jobs or well-being of the personnel. Situational Approach This particular approach examines how the situation enhances or nullifies the effects of selected leader behaviors or traits, rather than taking a broader view of the way traits, power, behavior, and situation interact to determine leadership effectiveness.

Charismatic/Transformational Approach This refer to the process of influencing people, create major changes in the attitudes and assumptions of the members in the organization and building commitment for the organizations mission/vision, and objectives. Summary Leadership is the process of influencing / encouraging / enchanting others (workers/personnel) to perform their respective tasks enthusiastically toward achieving goals and objectives of an institution/organization. In an organization / institution, the potential leader is determined partially by traits and cognitive ability, conceptual skills combined with essential and necessary experiences to various situations, technical work, human passion to excel and charisma which leaders apply in different degrees at various organizational / institutional levels. Moreover, leaders utilizes various leadership styles / approaches, ranging from deliberative, consultative and autocratic methodology of leadership, as we had mentioned earlier such as power-influence, traits behavior, situational, and charismatic approaches on leadership. In addition, leaders employ effective analysis to situations and design proper solution with trust and confidence to themselves and to people who participated during the deliberation and decision making. And they also motivate others who have the potential to become future leaders. References Davis, K. (2002). Organizational behavior: Human behavior at work (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Dessler, G. (2001). Management: Leading people and organizations in the 21st century. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Teodolfo P. Santiago
Candidate, Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science & Technology

LCCM Research Digest

Private Schools as Governments Partner in Delivering Basic Education Services

Venancio N. Santos, Jr.
Basic education is the education intended to meet basic learning needs which lays the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses early childhood, elementary and high school education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners and includes education for those with special needs. According to the Department of Education (DepEd), the goal of basic education is to provide the school age population and young adults with skills, knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens. The formal basic education system in the Philippines consists of six years of schooling at the elementary level and four years at the secondary level. Elementary education is compulsory and free in public schools while secondary education is not compulsory, but also free in public high schools. The official entry age for primary level is six years old. Prior to primary education most Filipino children get early childhood care and development at three to four years old and preschool education at five years old. Although it is not yet an official part of the formal basic education ladder, it is a government policy to provide early childhood development and education services to all children in preparation for grade school (Caoili-Rodriguez, 2007). The budgetary constraint is one of the major hurdles of the DepEd every year. The delivery of quality education is restricted by funding allocation that is unable to match the annual growth in pupil/student population. Consequently, schools experience shortages in critical school resources such as classrooms, teachers, desks, textbooks and other instructional materials (Caoili-Rodriguez, 2007). Within this situation, the governments primary strategy is to harness the participation of all strategic partners to meet the needs of basic education, and the private education sector is one of them. The private schools (sectarian and nonsectarian), which operate upon obtaining government permit are considered partners of the government. First, they provide for basic education services to the families that can afford to pay. And second, some of them are partners in the Education Subcontracting Scheme (ESCS) and Education Voucher Scheme (EVS) (Caoili-Rodriguez, 2007).

According to Arcelo (as cited in Cruz, 1997), private schools first started out as catechetical schools founded by the Catholic religious congregations that came to our shores with the Spanish conquest of our islands. Another type of sectarian school founded by Protestant mission boards came into being with the American occupation. Aside from their efficient operations which have resulted in significant contributions to national development, private schools have also played a major role in the discharge of one of the important functions of education as a transmitter of culture from one generation to the next. Private schools have helped immeasurably in fostering national pride among Filipinos in their common cultural heritage, which was distilled from pre-Hispanic times, blended with the distinct features of Graeco-Roman and Christian civilization during the Spanish colonization of our country, and further enriched by the egalitarian ideals and democratic structure of the American regime (Arcelo, as cited in Cruz, 1997).
Table 1
Private Schools Enrolment for Elementary, SY 2004-05 to 2008-09
School year 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Total enrolment 13,015,487 12,913,845 13,145,210 13,411,286 13,686,643 Enrolment in private 926,122 931,383 1,048,554 1,092,781 1,112,137 1,022,195 % of total enrolment 7.12% 7.21% 7.98% 8.15% 8.13% 7.72% No. of schools 42,362 42,620 43,584 44,140 44,691 43,479 No. of private schools 5,350 5,437 6,232 6,664 7,084 6,153 % of total no. of schools 12.63% 12.76% 14.30% 15.10% 15.85% 14.13%

Average 13,234,494

Source: Department of Education

Data from DepEd reveal that private elementary schools numbered 7,084 comprising 15.85% of all elementary schools in 2009. Enrolment in private elementary schools is around 8.13%. From school year 2004-05 to 2008-09, the average shares of private schools in enrolment in elementary was at 7.72. The share of private enrolment in elementary steadily increased from school year 2004-05 to 2007-08, however, it slid down to 8.13% in school year 2008-09 from 8.15% in 2007-08.
Table 2
Private Schools Enrolment for Secondary, SY 2004-05 to 2008-09
School year 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Total enrolment 13,015,487 12,913,845 13,145,210 13,411,286 13,686,643 Enrolment in private 926,122 931,383 1,048,554 1,092,781 1,112,137 1,022,195 % of total No. of enrolment schools 7.12% 7.21% 7.98% 8.15% 8.13% 7.72% 42,362 42,620 43,584 44,140 44,691 43,479 No. of private schools 5,350 5,437 6,232 6,664 7,084 6,153 % of total no. of schools 12.63% 12.76% 14.30% 15.10% 15.85% 14.13%

Average 13,234,494

Source: Department of Education

LCCM Research Digest

Just recently, DepEd announced to unveil the 12-year basic education cycle, a new program aimed at providing students practical education so they could get employment even without a college diploma. Whatever the plans of the new administration in improving the quality of basic education in the country, private schools are there, ready to support and serve.

Grade V pupils of La Consolacion College Manila (LCCM) in their shining yellow outfit during the field demonstration. LCCM, founded in 1902 by the Augustinian Sisters, is one of the private catholic schools offering basic education (preschool, elementary and secondary).

References Department of Education (2009). Fact sheet: Basic education statistics. Pasig City: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.deped.gov.ph/cpanel/uploads/iss uanceImg/Factsheet2009%20Sept%2022.p df
Cruz, I. (1997). Building a nation: Private education in the Philippines. Makati City: Fund for Assistance to Private Education. Caoli-Rodriguez R. (2007). The Philippines country case study: Country profile commissioned for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2008: Education for All by 2015: will we make it. UNESCO.

On the other hand, private secondary schools numbered 4,707 in 2009, 46.76% of the total number of secondary schools in the country. Although students enrolled in private secondary schools steadily increased from school year 2004-05 to 2008-09, its enrolment share was slid down to 19.85% in school year 2008-09 from the previous school year 20.49%, a decreased by 0.64 percentage points. From school year 2004-05 to 2008-09, the average share of private secondary schools in enrolment was at 20.25%.
Table 3 Number of Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers, SY 2004-05 to 2008-09
Elementary School Private % of total Total no. of year school no. of teachers teachers teachers 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Average 380,268 384,658 390,107 397,468 405,558 391,612 39,995 42,849 46,461 49,440 52,308 46,211 10.52% 11.14% 11.91% 12.44% 12.90% 11.78% Total no. of teachers 171,829 175,178 179,744 184,883 193,224 180,972 Secondary Total no. Private % of total of private school school no. of teachers teachers teachers 48,714 49,499 51,553 53,018 55,166 51,590 28.35% 28.26% 28.68% 28.68% 28.55% 28.50% 88,709 92,348 98,014 102,458 107,474 97,801

Venancio N. Santos, Jr.

Junior Researcher Research and Publications Center

Source: Department of Education

LCCM Research Digest is published by the Research and Publications Center (RES) to serve as a sounding board of up-to-date ideas and actions related to research, classroom management, and delivery of the faculty in the different schools of the College. It encourages and welcomes condensed versions or a short summary of research or review essays, conference papers, lecture notes, teaching guides, and other classroom materials for its quarterly publication. Editorial Board: Sr. Imelda A. Mora, OSA, President Dr. Divina M. Edralin, Consultant Mr. Giovanni R. Barbajera, Director

Aside from providing for basic education services, private schools are also employers of 107,474 teachers in 2009. Counting the dependents of these teachers at an average of four per household, the private elementary and secondary schools are thus the livelihood for no less than 429,896 Filipinos. Private schools have also helped immeasurably in shaping the values, attitudes, and behavioral norms which have formed the best elements of Philippines society as we know them today. Thus, the private education sector has contributed to the development of national solidarity by helping the Filipino people internalize the values that have defined our spiritual, political, and social mores and shaped our national aspirations as a people (Arcelo as cited in Cruz, 1997).

Lay-out:

Venancio N. Santos, Jr.

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LCCM Research Digest