Leadership Dynamics within Secondary High Schools in the Philippines: Exploring Transactional Leadership and Participatory Management Styles

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the transactional leadership and participatory management styles used by secondary school heads in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines. The objectives of this research are to examine how secondary school heads in Tawi-Tawi practice transactional leadership and to explore how they implement participatory management styles. By collecting the narrative text data from the teacher and school head participants, the study utilized a qualitative research design to understand the intricate phenomena and interpretations of these leadership styles, concerning the Tawi-Tawi secondary education department.  Purposive sampling was employed to select ten teachers and nine school heads as key informants for the study to allow for a thorough analysis. The researcher-made questionnaires were used in the collection of the narrative text data. Before receiving approval from the heads of the school for on-site data collection, ethical clearance was acquired, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality. Semi-structured interviews took place in a comfortable place and were captured through cellphone voice recording. The data collected were categorized and grouped into five themes using thematic analysis. The emerging themes that depict school heads’ practice of transactional leadership were the qualities of a good leader, efficiency of school heads’ leadership styles, teachers’ involvement in decision-making, school heads’ course of action to teachers’ mistakes, and teachers’ reward for good performance. The study concludes with the importance of well-rounded leadership styles, suggesting that Tawi-Tawi school heads can create a dynamic learning atmosphere by combining participatory inclusivity and transactional efficiency