REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

School of Gradute Studies and Research

G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

LEARNING
MODULE
EDUC 204 – EDUCATIONAL nd
2 SEMESTER – 2020
MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITY # 14

NAME:
_____________________

COURSE:
___________________

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

 School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

Module Learning Outcome

At the end of this module, the students must be able to:
 Explain the meaning, advantages, disadvantages and demands of SBM;
 State practices aligned to SBM; and
 Explain the roles, functions and competencies of school heads in SBM.


Essential Content

Module 14:

The School Head in School-Based Management (SBM)

What is School-Based Management or SBM?

Is School Head the only one that matters in SBM?

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

 School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

Introduction

The Local Governance Code of 1991 (RA 7160) provided for a more responsive local government
structure through a system of decentralization where local governments are given more power, authority,
responsibilities and resources. Likewise, with the introduction of School-Based Management in Philippine
schools, schools are given more power to direct their affairs with the learning and development of learners as
ultimate goal. In this Module, you are expected to learn the rewards and challenges in implementing SBM
especially on the part of the school head.

Discussion

Abstraction – Let us Conceptualize!

The Meaning of School-Based Management (SBM)

Ms. Ligaya, the school head, is smart. She knew she could not solve the problems all alone so she involved the
teachers, the parents, the student leaders and leaders of the community. She knew that by involving them these
members of the school community will feel a sense of importance and a sense of ownership. Because they
were the ones directly involved with the problems, they themselves are in the best position to solve the
problem. The actions that Ms. Ligaya took are all in accordance with School-Based Management.

What is School-Based Management? School-Based Management is a decentralized management initiative by

developing power or authority to school heads, teachers, parents and students. SBM is a strategy to improve
education by transferring significant decision-making authority from the DepEd Central Office, regional
offices, division 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,
REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC
School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay
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.

SBM and the Principle of Subsidiarity

SBM is in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity which states that it is the people at the lowest level who
will know best their problems and so are in the best position to address the same. This tenet holds that
“nothing should be done by a larger or more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and
simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be done by that more decentralized entity should
be done by that more decentralized entity.” Those in the higher echelon are far removed from the scene and are
therefore not as involved and as informed as those from those below.

Advantages of SBM

The following are strengths of SBM:

 Allow competent individuals in the schools to make decisions that will improve learning;
 Give the entire school community a voice in key decisions;
 Focus accountability for decisions;
 Lead to greater creativity in the design of programs;
 Redirect resources to support the goals developed in each school;
 Lead to realistic budgeting as parents and teachers become more aware of the school’s financial status,
spending limitations, and the cost of its programs; and
 Improve morale of teachers and nurture new leadership at all levels.

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

Through SBM, decision making authority is devolved to school heads, teachers, parents and students. This is
school empowerment. This reduces bureaucratic controls on schools and encourages school heads, teachers
and parents to use greater initiative in meeting the needs of students and community. This results in a sense of
community ownership which makes the school realize its mission and vision. Involving stakeholders – parents,
teachers, students and other members of the community – is also helpful in the mobilization of local resources
to complement public resources. Concrete proof of this is the number of classrooms built as a result of the
strong partnership between schools and communities and successful school-community programs.

Through SBM, problems and needs at the school level get solved faster and specific personalities and cultures
are taken into consideration. These personalities and cultures are usually ignored in multi-layered in
hierarchical organization like DepEd. In hierarchical organization, straight jacket rules, procedures and
allocation norms are given and apply to all. It takes time to solve problems if schools have to wait for answers
from above. As a result, teachers, parents and students are frustrated due to delays.

In SBM, schools take the responsibility to plan and implement their School Improvement Plans (SIP). It is the
schools themselves, not DepEd higher offices, that know best their problems and the solutions to these
problems. It is the schools that determine the number and kind of teachers they need, the kind of learning
materials and resources they need.

Since schools are given more power to direct themselves, they are made accountable for results. SBM makes
schools accountable to the stakeholders.

Legal Basis of SBM

The Philippine Constitution provides that Congress shall enact a local government code that will
institutionalize a system of decentralization (Article 10, Sec. 3) whereby local
REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC
School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

government units shall be extended more power, authority…. The Local Government Code in 1991 is a
fulfillment of this Constitutional provision.

This means that long before the Department of education (DepEd) legally introduced decentralization in
schools through School-Based Management (SBM) in 2001 through the enactment of RA 9155, local
government units were already empowered for local governance. RA 9155, Basic Governance Act transfers
the power and authority as well as the resources to the school level. School empowerment is based on the
assumption that the school heads including teachers, key leaders in the community, parents know best the root
and solution to the problem.

Conditions for the Success of SBM

 Teachers, school heads must be given the opportunity to make choices. They must actively participate
in school improvement planning.
 The involvement of parents and teachers must be strongly encouraged and highly welcomed.
 Stakeholders must participate in the development of a School Improvement Plan. They must have a
say on resource allocation to meet specific needs.
 Higher authorities must actively encourage thoughtful experimentation and innovation in an
atmosphere where mistakes are viewed as learning experiences. They must be willing to share their
authority with the academic and the larger community.
 Teachers must develop reflection, problem solving.

In addition, based on international experience, the following must be present for SBM to succeed in schools:
 Have basic resources;
 Have developed an effective school support system;
 Are provided with regular information on their performance;
 Are given advice on how they may improve; and
 Emphasize the motivational element in the management work of the principal.

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

The success of SBM very much depends on the school head. Below are his/her functions:

Functions of a School Head

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ATTITUDES
ROLES FUNCTIONS
REQUIRED
Visionary principal, Lead in setting the vision, mission and Change the future orientation
motivator, advocate, and goals of the school.
planner
Builder of networks and Organize/expand school, community and Networking, organizing, social mobilization,
support systems local government networks and groups advocacy
that will actively participate in school
improvement.
 Lead in developing the School Development of teamwork, building consensus
Improvement Plan with the participation and skills in negotiation and conflict resolution
of the staff and the community.
Lead in developing and maintaining the Participatory planning and administrative
School Management Information management
System. Generation and use of data and information as
basis for planning and management
Curriculum developer Create a physical and psychological Development of collective accountability for
climate conducive to teaching and school and student performance.
learning.
Localize and implement school Designing of the curriculum to address both
curriculum. national goals, local needs and aspirations.
Encourage development and use of Creation of an open learning system based on
innovative instructional methods focused several resource materials rather than on single
on improving learning outcomes, textbooks.
increasing access to basic education, Participatory and peer-based instructional
improving the holding power of schools supervision.
and addressing specific local problems.
Fiscal Resource Manager Administer and manage all personnel, Fund management
physical and fiscal resources of the
school
Encourage and accept donations, gifts, Serving as model for transparency and
bequests and grants for educational accountability especially in financial
purposes and report all such donations to management
the appropriate offices.

Factors of School Effectiveness Based on Research

Effective practices need to be institutionalized for them to become part of the school culture. To build
professional capacity and establish mechanism that supports the continuing quality improvement of school is
an assurance that effective schools even become more effective. School-Based Management (SBM) is the
mechanism introduced by the Department of Education in the Philippines to continuously work on effective
schools. As the term implies, in SBM, schools are given greater autonomy to make decisions regarding
education for children.

The research finding of OECD confirms “that school autonomy has a positive relationship with student
performance when accountability measures are in place and/or when school principals and teachers collaborate
in school management” (OECD, 2012). China and Singapore have been “devolving more responsibility to the
school level (Stewart, 2008). In Finland, accountability rests on the trust placed by families and government in
the professional competence of teachers (Stewart, 2008).

In the Philippines, the devolving of more responsibility to the schools was done through the School-Based
Management (SBM). SBM was introduced during the implementation of the Third Elementary Education
Project (TEEP), 1999-2005. In 2005. TEEP conducted a study to determine the effect of school-based
management on student performance in the Philippine s using the administrative dataset of all public schools
in 23 school districts over a 3-year period, 2003-3005. The result showed that the introduction of SBM had a
statistically significant, although small, overall positive effect on average school-level test scores in 23 school
districts in the Philippines.

With SBM, significant decision-making authority was transferred from state and district offices to individual
schools. SBM provided 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
REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC
School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

environments for children. (Source: Office of Research Education/Consumer Guide). To further strengthen the
School-Based Management (SBM) practice and re-emphasize the centrality of the learners and the
involvement of relevant community in basic education service delivery, the Department of education
(DepEd)embarked on revisiting the SBM framework, assessment process and tool to improve on already
recognized successful SBM practices across the regions (DO 83, s. 2012). To institutionalize decentralization
efforts at the school level and in line with Republic Act No. 9155 also known as Governance of Basic
Education Act of 2001, the Department of Education (DepEd) provided School-Based Management (SBM)
Grants as additional funds to public and secondary schools… to augment the school fund on Maintenance and
Other Operating Expenses (DO 45, s, 2015)

Factors that Contribute to School Effectiveness

Research findings point to the following factors that spell school effectiveness:
1. Human Factors – These include a dynamic school head, highly selected competent and committed
teachers, highly motivated pupils with high expectations, and a supportive community.
2. Non-Human factors, Processes – These refer to clear and shared vision-mission (focus), high
expectations/ambitious standards, emphasis on accountability, aligned curriculum, instruction and
assessment with state/DepEd standards, efficiency or optimal utilization of resources and facilities,
collaboration and communication, focused professional development, and global and future
orientation.

These factors are exemplified by high performing schools in the Philippines and abroad and by the best
education performing countries in the world.
In the Philippines, the practice of School-Based Management, gave greater autonomy to schools to make
decisions in collaboration with parents and community towards greater school effectiveness. The SBM
Assessment Tool is an instrument used to assess schools’ effectiveness and its use for accreditation of schools
is an assurance that effective practices get institutionalized to build the school’s culture of excellence.

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

The heart of all these elements, both human and non-human is the school head, the school leader. This means
that all these factors that contribute to school effectiveness come forth only with a dynamic and a
transformational school leader.

TAKEAWAYS
 SBM means School-Based Management. It is the empowerment of schools to direct their own affairs for high
performance.
 It involves the school head leading his/her teachers, students, parents and other members of the community to
address problems and concerns with the ultimate goal of improving school performance. It is based on the
principle of subsidiarity which states that it is those who are most involved at the lowest level of the
organization who can best solve their problems.
 The advantages of SBM include:
 Allows competent individuals in the schools to make decisions that will improve learning;
 Gives the entire school community a voice in key decisions;
 Practices focuses accountability for decisions;
 Demands greater creativity in the design of programs;
 Redirects resources to support the goals developed in each school;
 Leads to realistic budgeting as parents and teachers become more aware of the school’s financial
status, spending limitations, and the cost of its programs;
 Improves morale of teachers and nurtures new leadership at all levels.
 Disadvantage of SBM:
 Participatory decision-making needs time and may slow down process.
 Demands of SBM:
 Active and intelligent participation of stakeholders.
 Democratic and transformative leadership of school head
 Support and openness of higher authorities to schools
 Roles of School Head;
 Visionary leader, planner, implementer, evaluator
 Fiscal resource manager
 Curriculum developer
 REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC
School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

Learning Assessment

Let us Check for Understanding!

Direction: Put a check (/) mark before the statement/s that apply/ies to SBM and a cross (x) mark before those
that do not.

____ 1. In SBM, only the school head matters.

____ 2. In SBM, the Schools Division Superintendent is the leader.

____ 3. Parents who have no children in the school cannot be consulted in SBM.

____ 4. School empowerment is the essence of SBM.

____ 5. Students cannot be consulted by the school head because they are not yet adults.

____ 6. One advantage of SBM is the development of a sense of school ownership among members of the
academic and larger community.

____ 7. SBM is aligned to the principle of subsidiarity.

____ 8. SBM succeeds even if school head is closed to ideas and suggestions. Anyway, he/she is the head on
whom the solution of the problem depends.

____ 9. One weakness of SBM is delayed action because there must be consultation of stakeholders.

____ 10. SBM has no weakness, only strengths.

____ 11. SBM is in keeping with the decentralization move as encouraged by the Philippine Constitution.

____ 12. SBM is school empowerment.

____ 13. An authoritarian atmosphere encourages empowerment.

____ 14. In SBM, experimentation is welcome.

REPUBLIC COLLEGES OF GUINOBATAN, INC

 School of Gradute Studies and Research
G. Alban Street, Guinobatan , Albay

____ 15. In SBM, schools just wait for approved budget that includes specific items to spend on.

Let us Reflect!
Do I welcome SBM or do I see it as an additional work?

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Reference:

Nelia G. Prieto, LPY, PhD, et al (2019) The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational
Leadership