Bridging Policy and Practice: A Comparative Analysis of Leadership Development Programs for Newly Appointed School Heads in the Philippines

Abstract

Although school leadership is a key contributor to the reform process of the school, most new school heads in the Philippines take their roles without proper, equal and coherent preparation, which this study aims to accommodate with comparative policy analysis. This paper provided a comparative study of the leadership development programs of newly appointed school heads in the Philippines with a view to finding out gaps in the policy and implementation as practiced in the region. The study employed a qualitative policy analysis research design that entailed an AI-aided review of official documents published by DepEd, NEAP, and the CSC based on the framework suggested by Cardno (2018). Being a document-based research study, there were no human participant ethical procedures, which followed the principles of academic integrity. The results showed that there were major differences in the design and delivery of programs on a regional basis. Although most of the programs have proven to be consistent with the Philippine Professional Standards of School Heads (PPSSH), there has been a lack of cohesiveness between such important aspects of digital leadership as Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI), and digital leadership. Among the main issues were ineffective mentoring and monitoring procedures, unequal access, and the unstructured post-training support that in turn limited the effectiveness and sustainability of programs. The research findings conclude that successful development of leadership requires contextualized presentation, inclusive development, and ongoing assistance. It suggests system-wide changes to institutionalize SEL, GESI, and digital competencies, entrench effective mentoring systems and M&E, and equitable access. These measures are necessary to develop a flexible, visionary school leadership pipeline that is in line with the national standards and global SDGs.