Philippine E-Journals

Lived Experiences of Campus Directors as Managers in a Philippine State University

Cristina Marie M. Juanzo

 

Abstract:

The 21st century has introduced new challenges to the educational managers from the same sources of variables brought by the fast-changing world. It’s always a puzzle on how educational managers perform their tasks amidst these unwritten obligations. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the lived experiences of campus directors as managers in a Philippine state university. This study utilized the qualitative-descriptive research design using a one-on-one interview. The participants of the study comprised of seven campus directors from the different campuses in Romblon. Using qualitative content analysis, three themes emerged. The first theme was experience on becoming a campus. Most of the campus directors shared their experiences before assumption, their adjustment period, and learning the ropes of management. The second theme was “challenges in becoming a manager”. It showed that most of them dealt with their managerial roles, managing the employees, students, facilities and the stakeholders The third theme was “self-concept as a manager”. The essence of being a campus director disclosed that management/leadership can be developed and expanded over time. Managing an educational institution in today’s competitive world is a complex task. This is true whether it is in the basic education, tertiary or graduate studies. The 21st century had introduced various challenges in the lives of the educational managers. Multifaceted managerial roles and tasks, multigenerational workforce, millennial students, interculturalism, finances, some of which the educational managers had to face. Beyond these challenges, the educational manager had to establish a strong sense of self. This was considered to be one of the key into transforming an effective organization. This is one of the important aspect that the researcher opted to know in a Philippine State University specifically in Romblon. This study uncovered the lived experiences of campus directors as school managers in their respective campus.