Week 11- The School Head in School Based Management (SBM)

Introduction
The Local Government 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
resource, 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 the ultimate goal. In this Chapter, you
are expected to learn the rewards and challenges of implementing SBM,
especially on the part of the school head.

The Meaning of School-Based Management (SBM)

What is school-based management? School based-management is a
decentralized management initiative by developing power or authority over
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, and 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,
personnel, and 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 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.”
http://action.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume -6-number-4/principle-subsidiarity)
is 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 the 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 on 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.

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 government units shall be extended more power and
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 of the school level. School
empowerment is based on the assumption that the school heads including
teachers, key leaders in the community, and parents know best the root and
solution to the problem.
Conditions for the Success of SBM
 Teachers and 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 in 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, and 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

The success of SBM very much depends on the school head, Below are
his/her functions:
 Table 1. Functions of a School Head
Roles Functions Knowledge/Skills/Attitudes
Required
Visionary, Lead in setting the Change and Future
Principal, vision, mission, and Orientation
motivator, goals of the school
Advocate, and
planner
Lead in developing the Development of teamwork
school improvement ,building consensus and
Plan with the skills in negotiation and
participation of the conflict resolution
staff and the
community
Lead in developing and Participatory planning and
maintaining the School Administrative
Management management
information System
Generation and use of
data and information as
basis for planning and
management
Curriculum Create a physical and Development of collective
developer psychological climate accountability for school
conducive to teaching and student performance
and learning
Localize and Designing of the
implement school curriculum to address both
curriculum national goals, local needs
and aspirations
Encourage Creation of an open
development and use learning system based on
 of innovative several resource materials
instructional methods rather than on single
focused on improving textbooks.
learning outcomes,
increasing access to Participatory and peer-
basic education, based instructional
improving the holding supervision
power of schools, and
addressing specific
local problems
Fiscal Resource Administer and Fund management
Manager manage all personnel,
physical and fiscal
resources of the
school
Encourage and accept Serving as a model for
donations, gifts, transparency and
bequests, and grants accountability, especially
for educational in financial management.
purposes and report
all such donations to
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. Building professional capacity and
establishing a mechanism that supports the continuing quality
improvement of schools 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 the education of children.
This research finding of the OECD confirms “that school autonomy
has a positive relationship with student performance when accountable
measures are in place and/or when school principals and teachers
collaborate in school management” (OECD, 2012). China and Singapore
have been “Developing more responsibility at the school level”
( Stewart, 2008). In Finland, accountability rests on the trust placed by
families and the government in the professional competence of
teachers (Stewart, 2008).
In the Philippines, the devolving of more responsibility to the
schools was done through 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 Philippines using the administrative dataset of all
public schools in 23 school districts over a 3-year period, 2003-2005.
The results showed that the introduction of SBM had a statistically
significant, although the small, overall positive effect on average
school-level test scores in 23 school districts in the Philippines. (source:
http://elibrary.wordbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-
5248).Accessed 9-1-16)

Philippine Accreditation System for Basic Education (PASBE)

The institutionalization of SBM was strengthened with the
introduction of the Philippine Accreditation System for Basic Education
(PASBE) which was launched through DepED order No. 64, s.2012.
Accreditation is a process of self-evaluation and peer review to ensure
that quality standards agreed upon by stakeholders are understood,
implemented, maintained, and enhanced for continuous improvement
of learner outcomes (DepED DO 20. S. 2013- The Philippine
Accreditation System for Basic Education (PASBE) supplemental
Guidelines to DepED Order No.83, s. 2012) source
http://www.teacherph.com/a-comprehensive .guide-to-school-based-
management-sbm/Accessed 9-2-2016.
The agreed-upon standards of quality or effective schools are
grounded on the four principles of A Child-and-Community-Centered
Education Systems (ACCESs), namely: (1) the principle of collective
leadership (2) the principle of community-based learning (3) the
principle of convergence to harness resources for education. All of
these four principles also apply to SBM.

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.
 Pre-Competency Checklist
1. Explain the meaning, advantages, disadvantages and demands
of SBM.
2. State practices aligned to SBM; and
3. Explain the roles, functions, and competencies of school heads
in SBM.

Learning Resources
Lecture discussions through online forums on the following topics.
1. Could it have been better if she addressed the problems by
herself? What could have possibly happened if she did it alone?
2. What was the advantage of involving others in addressing the
problems?
3. Wasn’t a directive from the office of the Superintendent or
Regional Director the fastest solution to the problems? Why or
Why not?
Explore
Recitation through online discussion explores the following.
 SBM and the Principle of Subsidiarity (
https://action.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume-6-number-
4/principle-subsidiarity)
  Factors of School Effectiveness Based on Research
(http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-
5248).Accessed 9-1-16)

Discussion Board
As a future teacher what did you find most meaningful in this
lesson and why?
Post-Competency Checklist
 Do I welcome SBM or do I see it as additional work?
 Which countries apply SBM? Did SBM implementation help
improve their schools? Share your findings.