Leadership and management practices in promoting transparency and accountability in public secondary schools: Basis for an enhanced school governance model

Abstract

This study examined leadership and management practices that promote transparency and accountability in secondary schools in the San Francisco I and Prosperidad districts of Agusan del Sur. Anchored in Transformational Leadership Theory, Stewardship Theory, and participatory governance, it treated leadership as ethical and participatory behavior, management as administrative processes, and transparency and accountability as governance outcomes. A quantitatively driven embedded mixed-methods design was used. Data were collected once from 135 teachers through a researcher-developed questionnaire that underwent expert validation, pilot testing, and reliability analysis using Cronbach’s alpha. Descriptive statistics were employed, while interview data were analyzed thematically to explain the findings. Conflict handling, personnel concerns, and decision-making were practiced to a high degree (M = 3.4511, SD = 0.6902), followed by property management (M = 3.2857, SD = 0.7667). Financial management and reporting received the lowest rating and were practiced (M = 3.1955, SD = 0.8253). Strategies for conflict handling and decision-making (M = 3.3133, SD = 0.7640) and property management and documentation (M = 3.2695, SD = 0.7767) were widely employed. In contrast, liquidation reporting and audit-compliance strategies were employed to a lesser extent (M = 3.1549, SD = 0.8531). Interviews showed that ethical leadership, shared responsibility, documentation, communication, and stakeholder participation supported accountable governance. However, resource constraints, delayed reporting, unclear roles, heavy workloads, communication gaps, inadequate monitoring, and inconsistent implementation limited sustainability. The Enhanced School Governance Model was developed around Resource Stewardship, Financial Accountability, Evidence-Based Decision-Making, Leadership Capacity Building, and Stakeholder Engagement. Expert validation, pilot implementation, and further evaluation were recommended before adoption.