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MODULE 6B

THE SCHOOL HEAD IN SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT (SBM)

Introduction

The Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7190) 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 learning material, you are expected to learn the rewards and challenges in
implementing SBM especially on the part of the school head. So, get your notebook again
and start scribbling important notes. Who knows, you will be the next school head who will
implement SBM!

Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should have:
1. discussed the meaning of School-Based Management (SBM); and
2. evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of School-Based Management (SBM)

Warm Up Activity
Everybody, probably, has his/her own symbol of leadership. I would like you to
draw/prepare a drawing of an object that symbolizes a leader. Describe your symbol and
explain why you choose that symbol. Be ready to share this in class.

ACTIVITY 1. CONTENT INPUTS

Read and take note of important concepts from this content inputs on SBM.

 SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT (SBM)

Educational systems are extremely demanding of the managerial, technical, and

financial capacity of governments, and, thus, as a service, education is too complex to be
efficiently produced and distributed in a centralized fashion. Thus, the government adopts
this innovation to decentralize the authority to the school level. Responsibility and decision-
making over school operations is transferred to principals, teachers, parents, sometimes
students, and other school community members. The school-level actors, however, have to
conform to, or operate, within a set of centrally determined policies.

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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The School-Based Management (SBM) is a DepEd thrust that decentralizes the

decision-making from the Central Office and field offices to individual schools to enable
them to better respond to their specific education needs. One way to empower the schools
is through the SBM grant.

School-based management (SBM) is a strategy to improve education by transferring

significant decision-making authority from state and district 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, 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.

In general, SBM programs transfer authority over one or more of the following
activities: budget allocation, hiring and firing of teachers and other school staff, curriculum
development, textbook and other educational material procurement, infrastructure
improvement, setting the school calendar to better meet the specific needs of the local
community, and monitoring and evaluation of teacher performance and student learning
outcomes. SBM also includes school-development plans, school grants, and sometimes
information dissemination of educational results (otherwise known as ‘report cards’).

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 large and more
complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In
other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be
done by that more decentralized entity. Those in the higher echelon are far more removed
from the scene and are therefore not as involved and as informed as those from below.

Advantages of School-Based Management (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.

Through SBM, decision making authority is devolved to school heads, teachers,

parents and students. This is school empowerment. It reduces bureaucratic controls on
schools and encourage school heads, teachers and parents to use greater initiative in

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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meeting the needs of students in the community. This results in a sense of community
school ownership which makes the school realize its vision and mission.

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 the schools and communities and successful school-community
programs we have discussed in Learning Material 3.

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 a 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 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 Plan (SIP). It is the school 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.

Disadvantage of SBM
 Participatory decision-making needs time and may slow down process

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, Section 3) whereby
local 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 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

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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1. Teachers, school heads must be given the opportunity to make choices. They must
actively participate in school improvement planning.
2. The involvement of parents and teachers must be strongly encouraged and highly
welcomed.
3. Stakeholders must participate in the development of a School Improvement Plan
(SIP). They must have a say on resource allocation to meet specific needs.
4. 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 academe and the larger
community.
5. Teachers must develop reflection and problem solving.

In addition, based on international experience, the following must be present for

SBM to succeed in schools:
a) Have basic resources;
b) Have developed an effective school support system;
c) Are provided with regular information on their performance;
d) Are given advice on how they may improve; and
e) Emphasize the motivational element in the management work of the principal.

The success of SBM very much depends on the school head. Presented in the table
below are his/her functions:

Table 1. Functions of a School Head

Roles Functions Knowledge/ Skills/ Attitudes

Visionary principal, Lead in setting the vision, mission
motivator, advocate and goals of the school
and planner
Builder of networks Organize/ Expand school,
and support systems community and local government
networks and groups that will
actively participate in school
improvement.
Lead in developing the SIP
(School Improvement Plan)*
with the participation of the staff
and the community
Lead in developing and
maintaining the School
Management Information System
Required
Change and future
orientation
Networking, organizing, social
mobilization, advocacy
Development of teamwork,
building consensus and skills
in negotiation and conflict
resolution.
Participatory planning and
administrative management
Generation and use of data
and information as basis for
planning and management.

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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Curriculum developer Create a physical and Development of collective

psychological climate conducive
to teaching and learning
Localize and implement school
curriculum
Encourage development and use
of innovative instructional
methods focused on improving
learning outcomes, increasing
access to basic education,
improving and holding power of
schools and addressing specific
problems.
Fiscal resource Administer and manage all
manager personnel, physical and fiscal
resources of the school
Encourage and accept donations,
gifts, bequests and grants for
educational purposes and report
all such donations to the
appropriate offices.
accountability for schools and
student performance
Designing of the curriculum to
address both national goals,
local needs and aspirations.
Creation of an open-learning
system based on several
resource materials rather
than on single textbooks.
Participatory and peer-based
instructional supervision.
Fund management
Serving as model for
transparency and
accountability especially in
financial management.

*The School Improvement Plan (SIP) is a roadmap that lays down specific interventions that
a school, with the help of the community and other stakeholders, will undertake
within a period of three consecutive school years. The implementation of
development activities integral to it are in the school such as projects under the
Continuous Improvement Program (CIP), the creation and mobilization of Learning
Action Cells (LACs), and the preparation of the School Report Card (SRC). SIP seeks to
provide those involved in school planning an evidence-based, systematic approach
with the point of view of the learner as the starting point. Ultimately, it is envisioned
to help schools reach the goal of providing access to quality education.

For more information about SIP, access the following:

DO 44, s. 2015 Guidelines on the Enhanced School Improvement Planning (SIP) Process &
the School Report Card (SRC) @ https://www.deped.gov.ph/2015/09/29/do-44-s-
2015-guidelines-on-the-enhanced-school-improvement-planning-sip-process-and-
the-school-report-card-src/

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AVP by Galga Lotte (2021)

@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWwVIQ3YG6E

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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 How Does School-Based Management (SBM) Affect The Roles Of The School Board And
The Superintendent And District Office?

The school board continues to establish a clear and unifying vision and to set broad
policies for the district and the schools. SBM does not change the legal governance system
of schools, and school boards do not give up authority by sharing authority. The board’s role
changes little in a conversion to SBM.

The superintendent and his or her district office staff facilitate the decisions made at
the school level and provide technical assistance when a school has difficulty translating the
district’s vision into high-quality programs. Developing student and staff performance
standards and evaluating the schools are also the responsibility of the district staff.

The district office will generally continue to recruit potential employees, screen job
applicants, and maintain information on qualified applicants from which the schools fill their
vacancies. The district office may also specify curricular goals, objectives, and expected
outcomes while leaving it up to the schools to determine the methods for producing the
desired results. Some districts leave the choice of instructional materials to the schools,
whereas others may require schools to use common texts.

How Are Budget Decisions Made?

In most SBM systems, each school is given a “lump sum” that the school can spend
as it sees fit. As outlined by JoAnn Spear (1983), the district office determines the total funds
needed by the whole district, determines the districtwide costs (such as the cost of central
administration and transportation), and allocates the remaining funds to the individual
schools. The allocation to each school is determined by a formula that takes into account
the number and type of students at that school.

Each school determines how to spend the lump sum allocated by the district in such
areas as personnel, equipment, supplies, and maintenance. In some districts, surplus funds
can be carried over to the next year or be shifted to a program that needs more funds; in
this way, long-range planning and efficiency are encouraged.

How Are Decisions Made At The School Level?

Most districts create school management councils at each school that include the
principal, representatives of parents and teachers, and, in some cases, other citizens,
support staff, and–at the secondary level–students. The council conducts a needs
assessment and develops a plan of action that includes statements of goals and measurable
objectives, consistent with school board policies.

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Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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In some districts, the management council makes most school-level decisions. In

other districts, the council advises the principal, who then makes the decisions. In both
cases, the principal has a large role in the decision-making process, either as part of a team
or as the final decision maker.

SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT (SBM) SUB-COMPONENTS:

Policy & Planning System

Under this sub-component, STRIVE aims to enhance/develop structures, processes
and tools associated with policy /planning systems at the school, division, and regional
levels

Participatory Mechanisms in Education Governance

This sub-component is dedicated to identifying existing participatory mechanisms in
education governance at the school, division and region

Human Resource Development of Education Management

This sub-component focuses on developing and piloting the appropriate regional
organizational structure to ensure that the divisions actually support the implementation of
school-based management as mandated by the Education Act of 2001. In order to help the
regions perform this function, the sub-component has developed the technical assistance
mechanism that will systematize the provision of professional help and guidance by the
region to the divisions, and by the divisions to the schools.

Quality Assurance & Accountability System

This sub-component offers a mechanism for insuring quality in the critical systems,
processes, outputs, and outcomes of DepED at various management levels to bring about
improved learning outcomes, continuous school improvement and better technical and
management services. It is supported by the interlocking processes of monitoring and
evaluation that systematically provide educators timely information useful for planning and
for making decisions and adjustments.

Programs to Improve Access

The focus of this sub-component is to establish the appropriate mechanisms that will
increase the number of effective initiatives undertaken by the region/division/schools to
improve access. The approach is to determine and pilot appropriate support options for
basic education. It specifically aims to:

 Pilot test numbers of effective initiatives directly undertaken by the Target Access
Schools and Community Learning Centers to improve access.
 Develop and pilot test support systems/mechanisms at the division level to render
direct technical assistance support to the Target Access Schools and Community
Learning Centers.

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Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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 Develop and pilot test support systems/mechanisms at the regions to facilitate policy
compliance, effective programs delivery and ensure quality assurance and
accountabilities.

Unified Information System

The Regional UIS is the ICT-enabled support to the process and information
requirements of SBM, T&D and LRMDS. It aims to strengthen information management at
the target regions and divisions to enable data-driven decision-making and provide a venue
for connecting people to people and people to knowledge they need to effectively respond
and create new and relevant information. Specifically, the system aims to (1) streamline and
efficiently render the collection and processing of education data from the schools and field
offices, (2) institutionalize Quality Assurance and M&E processes at every level of the
education management system, and (3) support information requirements of school-based
management, planning and policy formulation at all levels.

The UIS shall consist of integrated databases, automated processes and technologies
that are to be implemented on enhanced organizational structures and improved workflow
processes at the target divisions and regions.

Consistent with the overall strategy of building on existing DepED systems and
structures, the solution system aims to establish effective linkages with currently functional
systems

In summary:
 SBM must have the strong support of school staff.
 SBM is more successful if it is implemented gradually. It may take 5 years or more to
implement SBM.
 School and district staff must be given administrative training, but also must learn
how to adjust to new roles and channels of communication.
 Financial support must be provided to make training and time for regular staff
meetings available.
 Central office administrators must transfer authority to principals, and principals in
turn must share this authority with teachers and parents.

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

Research findings point out 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/students with high expectations, and a supportive
community.
2. Non-Human Factors, Processes
These refer to clear and shared vision (focus), high expectations/ ambitious
standards, emphasis on accountability, aligned curriculum, instruction and
assessment with state/ DepEd standards, efficiency or optimal utilization of

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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resources and facilities, collaboration and communication, focused professional

development, and global 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. SBM has an Assessment Tool that is used to assess school’s
effectiveness and its use for accreditation of schools is an assurance that effective practices
get institutionalized to build the school’s culture of excellence.

Congratulations for reaching this far! Now, let me see if you could perfect the
summary exercise below as a sign of your understanding the lecture notes given above.

ACTIVITY 2. Check for Understanding & Assessment

A. Direction: Write TRUE if the statement is correct otherwise write FALSE.

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 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 encourage empowerment.
14. In SBM, experimentation is welcome.
15. In SBM, schools just wait for approved budget that includes specific items to spend
on.
16. The SIP shall be evidence and results-based, and teacher-centered.
17. SIP is geared towards the improvement of the key areas of basic education, namely
access, quality and governance.
18. Every SIP that is made for the school covers a period of two years.

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Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)
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19. An Annual Improvement Plan is made for the year by year SIP.
20. The formulation and implementation of the SIP shall involve the active participation
of all education stakeholders in the school only.

B. Go out and Learn!

Reach out an interview a school head or a teacher in one of the Basic Education
schools (elementary or secondary) in your community who is knowledgeable about
School Based Management. Your goal is to seek answer to the following:
1) What is SBM in her/his own words.
2) What is/are his/her participation in the implementation of SBM in their school.
3) What are three (3) significant benefits of SBM that happened/achieved in their
school already. Explain why.
4) What s/he thinks is/are the disadvantage/s of SBM (if any).

(Note: Submit your output titled Module 6B Outputs on or before May 15, 2023, during
our class.

References:
Llego, M. A. (20 ). A Comprehensive Guide to School-Based Management (SBM).
https://www.teacherph.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-school-based-management-
sbm/

Prieto, N. G., Arcangel, C. N., and Corpuz, B. B. (2019). The Teacher and the Community,
School Culture and Organizational Leadership. LORIMAR Publishing, Inc. Cubao,
Quezon City.

The School-based Management (SBM) in Philippine Schools. Retrieved online from

https://ourhappyschool.com/education/school-based-management-sbm-philippine-
schools

Prepared by : Vida V. Antonio

Subject: EDUC 147 (TTCSCOL)