SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT IN THE OPERATIONS AND

PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Maeda Langguyuan Kadtong

Teacher I
Schools Division of Cotabato City
Tamontaka Central School
Cotabato City
ABSTRACT

The study aimed to assess the implementation of School-Based Management in terms of

school operations and performance in the Division of Cotabato City. Specifically, it was an
assessment of SBM implementation in term of five dimensions and school operations in terms of
five areas. Descriptive correlation design was used in order to see relationships of the variables
included in the study. Survey questionnaires were distributed to the respondents in six public
elementary schools in the Division of Cotabato City.
Findings show that all the schools are SBM-PASBE accredited with level 1 of practice. In
general, SBM is implemented according to the guidelines set by DepEd. As to the SBM
implementation in its five dimensions, data shows that the five dimensions of SBM were observed
and practiced often by the schools under this study. Considering the frequency of practice in the
five areas of school operations, data revealed that teachers and parent-respondents rated this as
seldom based on the grand mean score. The description implies low performance in school
operations.

Keywords: School-based management, school operations and performance

1. Introduction

School-Based Management (SBM) is an organizational strategy to improve education by

transferring significant decision-making authority from state and district offices to individual
schools. SBM provides principals, teachers, students, and parents greater control over the
education process by giving them responsibility for decisions about the budget, personnel, and
the curriculum. Through the involvement of teachers, parents, and other community members in
these key decisions, SBM can create more effective learning environments for children
(Worldbank, 2007). The underlying principles of the said program is that the people directly
involved and affected by school operations are the best persons to plan, manage and improve the
school (Bernaldez, M 2011). Therefore, SBM is related to public relation to strengthen the
stakeholder’s participation in the school programs and projects.
The said program was being implemented in several developing countries all over the
world. In Australia, the program was being implemented in early 1960s and 1970s in various
states. Some schools experimented with more open and participatory relationships with parents
and school communities, with the creation of school councils. There was also some talk of more
autonomy for school principals in running their schools. It was with the help of Australian
government that SBM was introduced through the BEAM progam. School-Based Management
(SBM) has five dimensions such as: Dimension 1- School Leadership, Dimension 2 Stakeholders
(Internal and External), Dimension 3- School Improvement Plan, Dimension 4- School
Management of Resources, Dimension 5 – School Performance Accountability (Manual on
School Governing Council, 2012).
In the Philippines, some issues besetting the school system, especially the public school
include high drop- out rate, quality educational service, high repetition rate, and limited holding
capacity of the schools. Over the past decades many initiatives and reform efforts have been
implemented to address these problems. One key response of the national government is the
adoption and implementation of School-Based Management (SBM) anchored on the
decentralization trend of the 70’s. SBM was officially implemented as a governance framework of
DepEd with the passage of R.A. 9155 in 2001 as legal cover. Third Elementary Education
Program (TEED), Secondary Education Development and Improvement Project (SEDIP) and
Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) - three pilot projects implemented by DepED-
support the SBM as a viable structure reform intervention used to improve the quality of
education in the public school so as to produce functionally literate Filipinos.
The Division of Cotabato City in Deped Region XII implemented the School-Based
Management in 2008 with DepEd Order 64, s. 2008 the Allocation for FY 2007 Budget and
DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2008 also known as Guidelines on School-Based Management (SBM)
Grant, a key component of Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda or BESRA. Several seminars,
trainings and orientations were conducted to provide the school heads both elementary and
secondary necessary knowledge and skills to implement the School-Based Management in their
respective schools.
In spite of the implementation of School-Based Management in the said division where
individual schools are now decentralized and school leaders together with stakeholders are given
full authority and power to run the school, still many school issues have not been facilitated.
These issues are the poor access to education, grade repetition of students, and low
achievement rate based on the data base of the division. Insufficient number of classrooms is
also one of the identified issues which still the Department of Education consider a problem
despite the SBM implementation. In fact PSA Fact Sheet dated June 9, 2014, reported that the
classroom- pupil ratio in the said division is 1:65 and there is a need of about 205 classrooms.
The large class size, lack of materials, and lack of parental follow-up were also identified as
problems.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to assess the implementation of School-Based Management in terms of

school operations and performance in the Division of Cotabato City. Specifically, the study seeks
to answer the following questions:
1. What is the school profile in terms of: a) number of years in operation, b) number of
teachers, c) number of students, d) accreditation, e) level of school accreditation, and f) number
of staffs?
2. How do the schools implement the five dimensions of School-Based Management?
To what extent are the five dimensions of School-Based Management implemented?
3. How frequent do the schools practice SBM in relation to their operation in the areas of
(a) communication, (b) decision-making, (c) transparency, (d) school safe and orderly
environment, (e) school equipments and physical facilities?
4. What is the performance of the school in NAT and enrolment rate in the last three
years?
5. Is there significant relationship between School-Based Management implementation
and school operations?
6. Is there significant relationship between School-based Management five dimensions to
school performance in terms of NAT and Enrolment rate?

1.2 Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses are proposed in the study:
1. There is no significant relationship between School-Based Management
implementation and school operations in terms of (a) communication, (b) decision-making, (c)
transparency, (d) school safe and orderly environment, (e) school equipments and physical
facilities.
2. There is no significant relationship between School-Based Management dimensions
and school performance in terms of a) NAT and b) Enrolment rate.
1.3 Significance of the Study
The researcher finds this study important because it assessed the implementation of the
School-Based Management in terms of the school operations and performance in the Division of
Cotabato City.
The Department of Education specifically DepEd Division of Cotabato City may use data
as bases for policy making and program planning for schools to strengthen and improve
corporation among parents, students, teachers, community stakeholders and the school head to
work together towards continuously improving student learning outcomes.
The results may further help the school administrators to review the existing motivational
policies and practices with a hope that they can enhance their school public relation so that they
can provide the opportunity and the environment to: (a) develop shared responsibility in the
children’s learning and holistic development and (b) encourage and facilitate effective community
stakeholder participation in school improvement process focused on children’s learning and
welfare.

1.4 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study is primarily concerned about the assessment of the implementation of School-
Based Management with reference to school operations and perfomance of the schools.
The researcher limited her study to School Heads and teachers. It included the
Kindergarten to Grade VI including the relieving teachers from the identified schools. Parents or
pupil’s guardians in the six School Districts of Division of Cotabato City were also considered as
respondents. The main source of data in responding to the research questions was a survey
questionnaire which was self-made and tested for validity and reliability. These were
supplemented by data from the Focus Group Discussion and Key Informant interviews
conducted.
The public elementary schools identified were District III- Notre Dame Village Central
Elementary School, District IV- Rojas Central Elementary School, District V – Lugay-Lugay
Central School, District VI – Tamontaka Central School, District VII – Datu Siang Central School
and District VIII – Vilo Central Elementary School. It makes use of quota sampling to parents.

2. Methodology

2.1 Research Design

The study used the descriptive correlation design. The correlation is used to find out the
relationship of SBM implementation to the school operations and performance.

2.2 Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in the six (6) selected public elementary schools in the Division
of Cotabato City. The selected schools are: Notre Dame Village Central Elementary School,
Rojas Central Elementary School, Lugay-Lugay Central School, Tamontaka Central School, Datu
Siang Central School and Vilo Central Elementary School. The selection of the study schools was
based on the assumption that these schools were included among twenty-three (23) public
elementary schools that are recipient of SBM program and at the level 1 of practice on SBM-
PASBE.

2.3 Research Respondents

The main participants of the study were the six (6) school heads, two hundred sixty two
(262) teachers, three hundred fifteen (315) parents or guardians of pupils with a total of five
hundred eighty three (583) respondents in the selected public elementary schools.
2.4 Sampling Design
The study utilized cluster sampling technique from one school division to six (6) School
Districts to one school per district. All six (6) school heads and two hundred six two (262)
teachers of the six selected schools were included in the sample. The researcher used quota
sampling techniques for selection of the 315 parent-respondents.

2.5 Instrumentation
 The study used the DepEd data and self-made survey questionnaire. The researcher
used three (3) sets of survey questionnaire, first for the school heads, second for the teachers
and third for the parents or guardians of the students.

2.6 Validation of the Instrument

The draft of the questionnaire was submitted to the School Head and Master Teacher for
corrections and revisions. All the comments and suggestions were incorporated in the instrument.
It was submitted for revision to the experts for final approval. The questionnaire was approved
and was conducted to the school not participating in the study. The questionnaire passed the
validity test.

2.7 Reliability of the Instrument

The final revised instrument of SBM five dimensions and five areas of school operations
was pilot tested to determine its reliability. A total of 10 respondents of the SBM Program who
were not participants of the actual conduct of the study participated in the pilot-test. Using the
Cronbach’s Alpha method with value of .751 for the five (5) dimensions of SBM and .722 for the
school operations, the result is highly reliable.

2.8 Statistical Treatment of Data

The data gathered from the survey questionnaire was analyzed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software.
Data to research problems 1 and 4 on school profile, performance of schools in National
Achievement Test and three years schools’ enrolment made use of descriptive statistics such as
group frequency distribution and percentage.
Data to research problems 2 on extent of the SBM implementation and assessment of
SBM to the school operations five (5) areas were treated using mean, standard deviation.
Research Problem 5 and 6 on determining the significant relationship between five
dimensions of SBM and five (5) areas of school operations and between SBM and school
performance were treated using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient.

3. Results and Discussion

Based on the gathered data, the following are the major findings of the study:

1. The public elementary schools under study haven operated for an average number of
53 years and have an average number of 45 teachers, 1,775 pupils and 5 staffs for school year
2014-2015. Findings show that all the schools are SBM-PASBE accredited with level 1 of
practice.
2. In general, SBM is implemented according to the guidelines set by DepEd.
3. As to the SBM implementation in its five dimensions, data shows that the five
dimensions of SBM were observed and practiced often by the schools under this study.
4. Considering the frequency of practice in the five areas of school operations, data
revealed that teachers and parent-respondents rated this as seldom based on the grand mean
score. The description implies low performance in school operations.
5. In terms of the three years NAT and enrolment rate schools performance, data shows
that the overall NAT average score of six schools is 77.29 percent, described good. For
enrolment rate, data revealed that Notre Dame Village Central Elementary School (NDVCES)
obtained the highest average enrolment rate for the three consecutive school years which is
2,397 followed by Vilo Central Elementary School with an average enrolment rate of 2,38.
6. In terms of correlation of six dimensions of SBM to the five areas of school operations,
data revealed that six dimensions of SBM and five areas of school operations are highly
correlated and statistically significant. This finding rejects the first null hypothesis which states
that “There is no significant relationship between School-Based Management implementation and
school operations in terms of (a) communication, (b) decision-making, (c) transparency, (d)
school safe and orderly environment, (e) school equipments and physical facilities.”
 7. In terms of correlation between the SBM six dimensions to the Grade VI pupils
National Achievement Test results, data has shown that all the six dimensions of SBM and NAT
results are statistically not significant and have strong negative correlation. Therefore, finding
accepts the second null hypotheses which state that “There is no significant relationship between
School-Based Management dimensions and school performance in terms of NAT.”
8. The correlation between SBM five dimensions and Enrolment rate have a strong
correlation and are statistically significant particularly in school leadership and school
performance accountability. The correlation between stakeholders, school improvement plan and
management of resources and enrolment rate found have a strong correlation but statistically not
significant. This finding partly rejects the second null hypotheses. This implies that school
leadership and school performance accountability are significantly related to the enrolment rate.

4. Conclusions

Considering the major findings of the study, the researcher advances the following
conclusions:
First, SBM is implemented in the Division of Cotabato City in its five dimensions
specifically higher in school performance accountability, school improvement plan and school
leadership but low in stakeholders and management of resources. Second, in terms of school
operations, often observed is school safe and orderly environment but there is a need to enhance
school transparency, decision-making, school equipments and physical facilities and school
communication. Third, SBM and NAT are not statistically significantly related, although there was
increase in NAT performance. Fourth, although enrollment increased in all five schools under this
study, it cannot be significantly related to all the five dimensions of SBM except to school
leadership and school performance accountability, therefore school leadership and school
performance accountability may be significant to increase of school enrolment. Fifth, overall, SBM
as a program has contribution to school operations and performance.

5. Recommendations

In the light of the findings and conclusions drawn from the results of the study, the DepEd
should strengthen the implementation of SBM with different schools through the following actions:
1. The school heads need to enhance their leadership skills to ensure that the school
runs effectively and efficiently. They need to know how to access funds for budgetary needs from
a variety of sources in order to provide resources for teaching and learning.
2. The schools under this study need to enhance their communication procedures in
order to encourage more participation and cooperation of their respective stakeholders.
3. The school transparency also needs to be enhanced and the stakeholders must be
given more chance to participate and involved in school decision-making.
4. The SBM has to continue as a program to improve school operations.
5. The SBM dimensions should strictly be followed in order to improve school
performance indicators.

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Researchers’ Profile
1. Personal Information
Name: Maeda Guiadel Langguyuan - Kadtong
Nickname: Maedz
Birthday: December 12, 1978
Age: 36
Birthplace: Benolen, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao
Civil Status: Married
Husband: Lincoln M. Kadtong
2. Educational Attainment and Qualifications
Courses: School Year
Elementary Dalican Pilot Elementary School 1994
Secondary MSU-Mag. High School Department 1998
BSE major in Mathematics Mindanao State University- Maguindanao 2002
MAEd major in Educ’l Admin. Notre Dame University 2012
Ed.D major in Educ’l Mngt. Notre Dame University 2015
3. Awards and Recognitions
Elementary- Second Honors 1994
Secondary- Second Honors with Mercury Drug Corporation
Achievement Award-Excellence in Science 1998
Tertiary- Leadership Awardees’ 2002
Region XII Cotabato City Division - Outstanding Teacher I- 2011
Cotabato City Division District VI - Outstanding Teacher I 2011
District VI - Most Effective Classroom 2011
Cotabato City Division District VI Outstanding Teacher I 2012
District VI - Most Effective Classroom 2012
District VI - Outstanding Classroom 2013
Research Presenter/Researcher- 1st Division Research Congress 2013
Region XII – Big book Writer 2013
District VI – Outstanding Classroom 2014