The School Head in School-Based Management

The Meaning of School-Based Management (SBM)

Ms. Ligaya, the school head, is smart. She knew she couldn’t solve the problems all alone so she
involves the teachers, the parents, the student leaders and leaders of the community. She knew that by
involving them these members of the school community will feel a sense of ownership. Because they
were the ones directly involve with the problems, they themselves are in the best position to solve the
problem. The action that Ms. Ligaya took are all in accordance with School-Based Management.

What is school-based management?

School-Based Management is a decentralized management initiative by developing power of authority

to 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, 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 environment for children.

SBM and the Principle of Subsidiarity

SBM is in keeping 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.”

Those in the higher echelon are far removed from the scene and are therefore no as involved and as
inform 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 accountability for decisions;
 Lead to greater creativity in the design of programs;
 Redirect resources to support the goals develop 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 develop to school heads, teachers, parents and students.
This is school empowerment. This reduces bureaucratic controls on schools and encourage school
heads, teachers and parents to use greater initiative in meeting the needs of student and community.
This results in a sense of community school ownership which makes the school realize its vision and
mission.

Involving stakeholder-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,
the number of classrooms built as a result of the strong partnership between schools and communities
and successful school community programs like those describe in the Chapter on the School and the
Community.

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 hierarchical organization, straight jacket rules,
procedures and allocations norms are given and apply to all. It takes time to solve problems if schools
have to wait for 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 Plans
(SIP). (The table you scrutinized in the phase of the lesson is a part of a School Improvement Plan). It is
the schools themselves, no DepEd higher offices that know best their problems and the solutions to
these problems. It is the school 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.

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, authority… The Local Government Code in 1991 is a fulfilment 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 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

  Teachers, 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 on resource allocation to meet specific needs.
 Higher authorities must exactly 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 larger community.
 Teachers must develop reflection, problem solving.
In addition, based on international experience, the following must be present for SBM
to succeed in Schools:
 Have basic resources;
 Have develop and 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. Functions of a School Head

Roles Functions Knowledge/ skills/attitudes required

Visionary principal, motivator, Lead in setting the vision, mission and Change and future orientation
advocate and planner goals of the school
Builder of networks and support Organized/ expand school, Networking, organizing, social
system community and local government mobilization advocacy
networks and groups that will actively
participate in school improvement
Lead in developing the School Development of teamwork, building
Improvement Plan with the consensus and skills in negotiation
participation of the staff and the and conflict resolution
community
Lead in developing and maintaining Participatory planning and
the School Management Information administrative management
System
Generation and use of data and
information as basis for planning and
management
Curriculum developer Create a physical and psychological Development of collective
climate conductive to teaching and accountability for school and student
learning performance
Localized and implement in school Designing of the curriculum to
curriculum address both national goal, local
needs and aspirations
 Encourage development and use of Creation of an open learning system
innovative instructional methods based on several resource materials
focused on improving learning rather than on single textbooks
outcomes; increasing access to basic
education, improving the holding
power of schools and addressing
specific local problems
Participatory and peer-based
instructional supervision
Fiscal Resources Manager Administer and managed all Fund management
personnel, physical and fiscal
resources of the school
Encourage and accept donation, gifts, Serving as model for transparency and
bequests and grants for educational accountability especially in financial
purposes and report all such management
donations to the appropriate officers.