Navigating the Unknown: A Qualitative Exploration of Teachers’ Experiences on Leadership Rotation in Public Schools
Melanie G. Borlaz | Zandro P. Ibañez
Discipline: Education
Abstract:
This study investigated the lived experiences and perceptions of elementary school teachers
regarding leadership rotation in public schools. This study explored teachers' perspectives on leadership
rotation in Digos City public schools, focusing on its effects on school stability, teacher morale, and
instructional continuity. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological research design, the study involved ten
elementary school teachers from Digos City. Data gathered through in-depth interviews revealed three
essential themes on teachers’ experiences with leadership rotation: instructional and policy changes,
professional and emotional responses, and job stability and growth. In terms of coping mechanisms to
ensure professional competencies under changing leadership, the identified themes included ensuring
teaching stability, adapting to leadership transitions, and building peer support systems. Furthermore,
teachers’ insights regarding the effects of leadership rotation on school management highlighted three key
themes: strengthening school culture through leadership stability, mitigating the adverse impacts of
leadership rotation, and adapting teaching practices to leadership changes. The findings emphasize the
complexities and adaptive strategies teachers employ in response to leadership transitions. It is
recommended that education stakeholders develop structured support programs to help teachers maintain
professional stability and instructional quality during periods of leadership rotation.
References:
- Ainin, J., Tampus, M. G., & Eliseo, J. M. (2025). Teacher leadership and collaboration in leading curriculum innovation: A case study on effective practices. International Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities, 6(1), 96–114. https://doi.org/10.47505/IJRSS.2025.1.7
- Bartanen, B., Husain, A. N., Liebowitz, D. D., & Rogers, L. K. (2024). The returns to experience for school principals. American Educational Research Journal, 61(5), 1030–1073. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312241266216
- Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2023). Teacher well-being and sense of relatedness with students: Examining associations over one school term. Teaching and Teacher Education, 132, 104233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104233
- Collie, R. J. (2021). COVID-19 and teachers’ somatic burden, stress, and emotional exhaustion: Examining the role of principal leadership and workplace buoyancy. AERA Open, 7, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420986187
- Creswell, J. (2013). Steps in conducting a scholarly mixed methods study [powerpoint slides]. Digital Commons @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dberspeakers/48
- Department of Education. (2017a). Philippine professional standards for teachers. https://tinyurl.com/39weyw7y
- Department of Education. (2017b). DO 16, s. 2017 – Research management guidelines. https://tinyurl.com/bdzbpzaz
- Fernández Velasco, P. (2022). Disorientation and self-consciousness: A phenomenological inquiry. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 21(1), 203–222. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-020-09659-1
- Friedrich-Nel, H., & Ramlaul, A. (2020). Ethical considerations. In medical imaging and radiotherapy research: Skills and strategies (pp. 81–97). Springer. https://tinyurl.com/36m2bwea
- Gurr, D., & Drysdale, L. (2012). Tensions and dilemmas in leading Australia’s schools. School Leadership & Management, 32(5), 403–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2012.723619
- Hennink, M. M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, Article 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523
- Hsieh, C. -C., Chen, Y. -R., & Li, H. -C. (2024). Impact of school leadership on teacher professional collaboration: Evidence from multilevel analysis of Taiwan TALIS 2018. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 9(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-01-2023-0002
- Kraft, M. A., & Gilmour, A. F. (2016). Can principals promote teacher development as evaluators? A case study of teacher evaluation in practice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(5), 711–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X16653445
- Lahtero, T. J., Lång, N., & Alava, J. (2017). Distributed leadership in practice in Finnish schools. School Leadership & Management, 37(3), 217-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2017.1293638
- Leithwood, K. (2019). Characteristics of effective leadership networks: A replication and extension. School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 175–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2018.1470503
- Lewis, S., & Creswell, J. W. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.) [book review]. Health Promotion Practice, 16(4), 473–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839915580941
- Lin, W., Yin, H., & Liu, Z. (2022). The roles of transformational leadership and growth mindset in teacher professional development: The mediation of teacher self-efficacy. Sustainability, 14(11), Article 6489. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116489
- Loyola, A. S. (2024). Predictive model on leadership skills of school heads towards school climate in cluster 3, Davao City division. Pedagogy, 2(1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.62718/vmca.pr-ijetas.2.1.SC-0524-007
- Lu, M. Y., Chen, B., Williamson, D. F., Chen, R. J., Liang, I., Ding, T., Jaume, G., Odintsov, I., Le, L. P., Gerber, G., Parwani, A. V., Zhang, A., & Mahmood, F. (2024). A visual-language foundation model for computational pathology. Nature Medicine, 30(3), 863–874. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02856-4
- Macasinag, M. T. B. (2024). How leadership transitions affect the education sector. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://tinyurl.com/2npfaekd
- McGregor, S. L. T. (2020). Understanding and evaluating research: A critical guide (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071802656
- Meyer, A., Hartung-Beck, V., Gronostaj, A., Krüger, S., & Richter, D. (2023). How can principal leadership practices promote teacher collaboration and organizational change: A longitudinal multiple case study of three school improvement initiatives. Journal of Educational Change, 24(4), 425–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-022-09451-9
- Miller, A. (2018). Principal turnover and student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 64, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.03.002
- Mullen, C. A., Shields, L. B., & Tienken, C. H. (2021). Developing teacher resilience and resilient school cultures. Journal of Scholarship & Practice, 18(1), 8-24. https://tinyurl.com/4932ctnj
- Nguyen, D., See, B. H., Brown, C., & Kokotsaki, D. (2023). Reviewing the evidence base on school leadership, culture, climate and structure for teacher retention. Education Endowment Foundation. https://tinyurl.com/yc4j3u2s
- Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2017). Still motivated to teach: A study of school context variables, stress, and job satisfaction among teachers in senior high school. Social Psychology of Education, 20(1), 15–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9363-9
- Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2022). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://tinyurl.com/cw265fhp
- Urick, A., & Bowers, A. J. (2019). Assessing international teacher and principal perceptions of instructional leadership: A multilevel factor analysis of TALIS 2008. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 18(3), 249–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2017.1499384
- Van Manen, M. (2023). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003228073Sala, S, A. (2024). Alternative learning system formal education in jail student learning experiences. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (IJISRT), 765–773. https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/IJISRT24JUN372
Full Text:
Note: Kindly Login or Register to gain access to this article.
ISSN 2984-8385 (Online)
ISSN 2984-8288 (Print)