PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITYTaft Avenue, Manila

“Status of School-Based Management Practices of School HeadsIn Secondary Schools in a Historical City”

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in theMaster of Education in Educational management

Prepared by:Jennylee A. Garcia

M.A. in Educational Management

Submitted to:Dr. Erlinda V. Navarro

ED503 – Research Method and Scientific Writing

A B S T R A C T

NAME: JENNYLEE A. GARCIA

TITLE: Status of School – Based Management Practices of School Heads in SecondarySchools in a Historical City.

Key Concept: School – Based ManagementEducationManagement PracticeEmpowermentDecentralization

OBJECTIVES:

This study aims to determine the status of school – based management practices of School Heads in Secondary Schools in a Historical City.

Specifically, this research will seek answers to the following questions:

1. What are the status of School – Based Management practice at Aguado National High School and TreceMartires City National High School?

2. What are the factors that influence the implementation of SBM and the factors the influence the achievement of school heads’ goal of efficient school – based management practices in their respective schools?

3. What are the appropriate courses of actions that can be derived from the study and be implemented to have better standard operation procedures in their respective schools?

CHAPTER I

The Problem and Its Background

INTRODUCTION

The achievement of organization’s goals and objectives are based upon different variables that a leader incorporates into his actions. These factors are classified as internal and external factors. Internal factors refer to those inherent traits that comprise his/her personality. On the other hand, external factors refer to those things which are widely observed and adopted from his environment. Such factors as communication skills, visualization skills, teaching skills/experiences and managerial expertise are considered as internal variables while such factors as influence form others, training experiences and peer pressure are considered as external factors.

In educational organizations, it is important to establish clear goals and realistic objectives. (Lolos – Depusig, 2003) stresses “Education is like an open field in which all the factors can show up; it could mold a nation; could make into habit values needed by citizenry; could move indifference among fellowmen; and could pull heartaches to happiness and camaraderie for a lasting friendship.” This comment suggests education can bring about good effects and influences and therefore should be paid with attention at all times.

The school – based management (SBM) thrusts are based on Republic Act. 7160 also known as An Act Providing for Local Government Code of 1991 and Republic Act. 9155 also known as “Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001” whose primary purpose is to implement the decentralization of decision – making process from the central or state to individual schools to promote effective schools through empowering the managerial expertise of school heads. “A key to a successful school or

educational institution is the presence of an official school head that can sharpen the school towards continuous improvement.” (DepEd, 2007)

Section 2 of R.A. 9155 states that it is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality basic education and to make such education accessible to all by providing all Filipino children a free and compulsory education in the elementary level and free education in the high school level. Such education shall also include alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners. It shall be the goal of basic education to provide them with the skills, knowledge and values they need to become caring, seIf-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.

The school shall be the heart of the formal education system. It is where children learn. Schools shall have a single aim of providing the best possible basic education for all learners. Governance of basic education shall begin at the national level it is at the regions, divisions, schools and learning centers herein referred to as the field offices - where the policy and principle for the governance of basic education shall be translated into programs, projects and services developed, adapted and offered to fit local needs.

The State shall encourage local initiatives for improving the quality of basic education. The State shall ensure that the values, needs and aspirations of a school community are reflected in the program of education for the children, out-of-school youth and adult learners. Schools and learning centers shall be empowered to make decisions on what is best for the learners they serve.

The policy highlights the role of the government in establishing educational organizations as training grounds of its citizens particularly

for out-of-school youth and adult learners. It also highlights the policy making bodies and hierarchy of authority of public schools form the national down to lower management and how they decentralized the management

As a school head who directs the planning, implementation and evaluation of various projects/activities, he/she is also privileged to manage its funds and other financial resources by means of establishing the Parent-Teachers and Community Association (PTCA), an organization specifically intended for the school’s over-all projects and other renovation projects. (Abrugar, 2001) noted that teachers and parents should cooperatively work together in developing pupil excellence. The community should provide an atmosphere that is conducive to learning – a community that is free from negative factors for learning like gambling, drinking and other vices. The teachers, parents and the barangay officials should actively participate in the development of pupil excellence for the improvement of its inhabitants or the community as a whole.

Also noted in SBM are the decentralization functions and responsibilities of school heads namely: the administrative management and the instructional leadership. The administrative management refers to setting up of school vision, mission and goals; developing and implementing school improvement, planning and mobilizing community participation for improvement of educational outcome. On the contrary, instructional leadership refers to creating school environment conducive to learning and being accountable for learning outcomes.

Hence, the aim of the present study is to determine the status of school-based management practices of school heads in Trece Martires City, Cavite.

Statement of the Problem The problem of the study deals with determining, evaluating and

interpreting the status of school – based management practices of school heads of secondary schools in a historical city.

Specifically, it will answer the following problems:1. What is the status of school-based management practices in public

schools at TrceMartires City, Cavite as perceived by pupils, teachers and parents as to1.1 Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives1.2 School Program Development and Improvement Plan1.3 Teaching and Non-Teaching staff Development1.4 Personnel, Physical and Fiscal Resources Management1.5 School-Community Networks Set-Up & Parents-Teachers , Non-

Academic Personnel Participation1.6 Donations, Gifts and other Grants1.7 School Environment1.8 School Curriculum: Implementation, Monitoring and

Assessment

Locale of the Study The study shall be conducted in selected public secondary schools

located in the City of TreceMartires, Cavite.

Conceptual Framework

Figure1. Research Paradigm

To achieve an efficient school – based management practice and to empower faculty members’ performance, the following insights are taken into considerations as influencing factors namely: vision, mission, goals and objectives, school program development and school improvement plan, personnel, physical, and fiscal management resources

management, teaching and non-teaching staff development, school-community network set-up and parents – teachers and non-academic personnel participation, donations, gifts and other grants, school environment and school curriculum: implementation, monitoring and assessment.

Thus, figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study. The influencing variables are composed of both administrative duties and instructional leadership roles. The researcher assumes that the respondents will give truthful and unbiased information to ensure research transparency.

Significance of the Study

The proposed study will bring forth benefits to different groups of people particularly to the following:

School Administrators/School Heads

Through the results of this study, the school administrators/heads will be given a better and more efficient secondary-school management strategy based on research-based information which can surely be applied to meet their goals in producing outstanding graduates.

Faculty Members

The faculty members will be provided with a more powerful teaching method which will surely be enhance their proficiency in handling class discussions.

Students

The students will serve as the main beneficiaries of this study as it will enhance their school administrators’/heads’ and teachers’ managerial and teaching potentials.

Future ResearchersThis study will bring forth benefits to future researchers as it will

serve as their secondary data for their studies relative to this research.

Scope and Limitations

The proposed study will focus on determining the status of school – based management practices in selected public schools and their courses of action on how to meet their desired goals and objectives. Likewise, the proponent intends to make an evaluation whether their goals are met or not. However, the study will not focus on other issues, macro-environment factors and other general topics which are not really related to this study.

Definition of TermsThe following terms are conceptually and functionally defined for

better understanding of the study.Accountability – refers to an obligation that a person or an organization holds.Decentralization – refers to the transfer of authority from a central board to other local heads of an organization.External Stakeholders – refer to community members, local government units and other non-government organizations.Goals – generally unspecified dream of a person or of an organization

Inherent Traits – characteristics which are natural and arose from one’s personality.Internal Stakeholders – refer to the school heads, faculty members, students’ parents, and their association working together for the improvement of school performance.Management Practice – method or technique found to be effective and practical means in achieving an objective while making the optimum use of firm’s resources.Objectives – refer sub-goals with measurable outcomes which are expected to get a person or an organization into their respective goals.Organization – a social unit of people working together to achieve common goals.PTCA – a school organization composed of parents, faculty members, and other community members and officials.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The scope of management derives a wide scope of related literature that is worth mentioning and worth reviewing. In this regard, this literature review concerning the management styles to in different secondary schools to figure out the factors that affect school-based management practice.

History and Application of Management

Management, as a practical, everyday activity, originated as far back as man in his hunter-gatherer phase, organizing effective ways of achieving collective goals in a highly co-ordinate manner. The linguistic origins of the word “management” lie in the Latin word for “hand”. In the sixteenth century, management had come to mean the act of controlling (“bringing to hand”) a horse or a wild animal. Ever since, the word has had strong connotations of control. Management, as a theoretical discipline, dates back only to the end of the nineteenth century, when the first large industrial companies were founded, and the pressing problems of coordinating and controlling large numbers of people in the pursuit of a common set of goals first became apparent.

At about the same time, the first business schools were established in the United States to develop a normative theory of organizational administration. A theory of management was felt to be necessary if the workplace were to be efficient and effective. Good theories, by linking causes to effects to yield a predictive model, can dramatically enhance the efficacy of practice. Management will be worthy of being called a profession only if it is based on a reliable and well-validated theory; and a field of study will be deemed theoretical only it yields law-like generalizations that relate particular forms of practice to calibrated levels of performance. The ideal model is either engineering or medicine. Management theorists have attempted to create a set of organizational principles that would stand to management practice much as physics relates to engineering or biology to medicine.

Over the last century or so, many theoretical approaches have been adopted to make sense of organizational behavior, particularly the manner in which they are effectively administered.http://www.lhstech.com/chair/ETPP/History%20of%20Management%20Theory.pdf

On School-Based ManagementAccording to Myres and Stonehill (2007) School – Based

Management is a strategy to improve education by transferring significant decision-making authority from state district offices to individual schools. SBM, provides principals, teachers, students and parents greater control over thy education process by giving them responsibility for decisions about budgets, personnel, and the curriculum. Through the involvement teachers, parents, and other community members in these key decisions, SBM can create more effective learning environments for children.

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), state that school-based management can: (a) allow competent individuals in the schools to make decisions that will improve learning; (b) give the entire school community a voice in key decisions; (c) focus accountability for decisions; (d) lead to greater creativity in the design of programs; (e) redirect resources to support the goals developed in school; (f) lead to realistic budgeting as parents and teachers become more aware of the schools’ financial status, spending limitations, and the cost of its programs; and (g) improve morale of teachers and nurture new leadership at all levels.

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.

Wohlstetter (2004) stressed that the school-based management has been viewed largely as a political reform that transfer power (authority) over budget, personnel and curriculum to individual schools. Little attention has been given to empowering schools sites with control over information, professional, development (knowledge) or compensation system (rewards). Furthermore, when SBM programs are analyzed, the general conclusion is that the extent of decision-making responsibility transferred to site teachers and administrators are limited.

Accordig to Coomb (2004), one important task of SBM is planning. He elucidates that educational planning deals with the future, drawing enlightment form the past. It is the springboard for future decisions and

actions, but is more than a blueprint. Planning is a continuous process, concerned not only with where to go but with how to get there and by what best route. Its work does not cease when a plan gets on paper and has won approval. Planning, to be effective must be concerned with the imp[lamentation, with progress made or not made, with unforeseen obstacles that arise and with how to overcome them. Plans are not made to be carved in stone but to be changed and adapted as the occasion warrants. As plans for one period move into action, planning for the next must be under way, nourished by feedback from the first. For planning per se is not the maker of policies and decisions, it is but the handmaiden to those who carry such responsibility, at high and low levels alike. Planning is, or should be, an integral part of the whole process of educational management defined in the broadest sense. It can help the decision-makers at all levels from classroom teachers to national ministers and parliaments-to make better-informed decisions. It can do this by helping them see more clearly the specific objectives in question, the various options that are available for pursuing these objectives, and the likely implications of each. Planning can help to attain larger and better aggregate results within the limits of available resources.

Hughes, Duskby and Staniszewski (2008) believe that educational planning is vital if organizational excellence is to achieve in schools. It focuses the attention of the administration, board of education, teachers, students and community members, and helps determine where the school should be going and how to get there. It helps identify are over the short-term. Without planning, the operational and functional performance of the school district or division will be less than optimal and the objectives and goals of the district will be difficult, at best to achieve. Educational planning is an organized thought process participated in by administration, board of education, teachers, students and community members. The ultimate result is the determination of long-term goals and

objectives, and the short-term implementation of specific goals using focused techniques, tactics and strategies which will permit the school district to meet long-term goals and objectives.

The operation manual on school-based management (2006) avers that school-based management (SBM) is understood as the decentralization of decision-making authority from central, regional and division levels down to individual schools sites, with the intent of uniting school heads, teachers, students, as well as the parents, the local government units (LGUs) and the community at large in promoting effective schools. In other words, decentralization gives school heads and other movers of the school decision-making power, where previously, such power rested only on central, regional, and division level officials. SBM is carried out under the principles of subsidiary and collegiality. The former espouses the idea that problems must be solved and decisions made at the lowest organization level. Since the school head, teachers, students, parents, local government units and community members are the ones most familiar with the life, activities and problem of their school, they are in the best position to solve their own problems. The latter, on the other hand, demands that stakeholders work as a team, in the improvement of school. The school head exercises collegiality at his/her school by encouraging the participation of teachers, parents, local leaders and students in making decisions about what is best for the school, in which all of them have a common stake.

Lapus and Suan (2008) explained the five critical thrusts of Basic Education Sector Reform Agendas (BESRA): (a) school-based management which concept includes drawing in community participation to ensure relevance and sustainability of innovations that will be implemented in the schools also known as the strengthened school-based management which refers to the reform principle that the best

people to improve the quality of schools are the people most directly affected by the school’s operations – namely the school heads, the teachers, the students, parents and others in the community. This activity might basically include implementation of school’s annual improvement plan, maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), (b) competency-based teacher standards which cover ways and means by which teachers can enhance their contributions to improve learning outcomes. This includes the whole range of teacher preparation from licensure through retirement including salaries and benefits also known as improved teaching effectiveness and teachers’ development which refers to the important roles of the teachers as the driving force in improving student learning and educational quality at the school level. This might refer to those teachers who are either in service, on training, or those who undergo seminars and other forms of workshops. Also noted as a driving factor in teachers’ effectiveness in the National Competency Based Teachers Standards or NCBTS application and implementation, (c) quality assurance and accountability framework involving the need for national learning strategies and systems and procedures that assure conformity to standards by all stakeholders of basic education also known as enhanced quality assurance through standards and assessment which focuses on ensuring wide social support for learning in schools. This might include private sectors, government officials and non-government organizations, (d) early childhood education, alternative learning, and private education whose policies the DepEd has revisited to maximize their contributions to improvements in learning outcomes also known as improved access and learning outcomes through alternative learning. This might include full implementation of RBEC instruction, learning resources curricular and extra-curricular activities and (e) the BESRA concept and principles that argues that for policy changes to be sustained and deepened, the entire DepEd organization, its culture, ways and

procedures along financial, material, technological and human aspects also known as institutionalized culture change in DepEd which focuses on institutional culture to have a change from prescribing actions through orders and memos to facilitating school initiatives and assuring quality.

Lontayo (2007) emphasized that the success of SBM depends on allocated funds. The public education system needs all the resources to address prevailing gaps in education-related resources such as quality books, fully equipped classrooms and competent teachers. Private schools on the other hand, provide these needs according to the budget allocation and financial capacity of every school.

Fiscal autonomy over school funds dictates that along with the authority to make decisions over financial resources is the responsibility and accountability for the legal and optimal utilization of such funds to achieve planned outputs and outcomes. It is therefore very important to equip the school head with at least the minimum knowledge about the concepts, methods nad procedures of a simplified management system.

On Decentralization

Decentralized education according to Litvack (2007), provision promises to be more efficient better reflect local priorities, encourage participation, and eventually, improve coverage and quality. In particular, governments with severe fiscal constraints are enticed by the potential of decentralization to increase efficiency. Beneficiary cost recovery schemes such as community financing have emerged as means of central governments to off-load to some of the fiscal burden of education service position.

Mizrachi (2005) emphasizes that the implementation of decentralization policies poses must numerous challenges. First, the design of decentralization as specified in legislation and decrease may

create uncertainty as to which level of government or which decision-maker is responsible for what. It’s not unusual for education ministries to continue to tightly regulate the curriculum and determine teacher employment and pay, leaving little room for local control. Second, the capacities of school boards to govern schools or school directors to manage schools, or teachers and others to work collectively to reform the school are often weak and need development. Third, system to the newly decentralized authorities may not exist. Sub-national governments, school boards, and parents may have very little information about their schools’ academic and fiscal performance relative to other jurisdictions or schools. School inspectors or local offices of the education ministry sometimes lack the culture and capacity to provide guidance and assistance as opposed to enforcing rules.

Other Studies and Literatures

A. Annex 2: Mexico’s School-based Management Program - AGES

In Mexico, a rural School-Based Management (SBM) program has achieved intermediate quality education goals for disadvantaged students in Mexico. While people living in rural areas still face a lack of public services, poor infrastructure, and low levels of education, the National Council for Educational Development (CONAFE), an autonomous institution at the federal level, has made significant progress in reaching this disadvantaged population in the midst of sweeping changes, uncertainties, and limitations related to the process of decentralizing the Mexican education system. In particular, CONAFE’s compensatory programs – under a multidimensional strategy to improve education outcomes – target schools in disadvantaged and isolated rural communities. There are several compensatory programs and demand-

side scholarships available in Mexico to assist disadvantaged students. Since 1997, Progresa-Oportunidades, Mexico’s conditional cash transfer program, has offered demand-side scholarships to children from poor families in highly disadvantaged communities. In 1993, the Ministry of Education established CONAFE to administer compensatory programs designed to reduce the disadvantages of poor and isolated students in collaboration with the state, teachers, and communities. Within this program, the Support to School Management (AGES) is a specific school-based management initiative that emphasizes the importance of giving parents the opportunity to participate in the school system. Though this is one of the smallest components of CONAFE, it is one of the most effective. AGES has reduced grade repetition and school dropout rates for disadvantaged students in highly marginalized rural communities (Gertler et al, 2006).

Compensatory programs, and specifically the AGES, are a relatively recent development in Mexico’s education system, which used to be highly centralized. In the early part of the 20th century, the federal government took control of the education system, and a national agency of education was created in order to establish a federal institution with power over states legislatures and their education systems. In the early 1940s, the post-revolutionary government institutionalized accords with workers, peasants, and civil servants such as unions, boards and confederations. Within this political structure, these groups became a part of the official party. In this corporative system, the teachers’ union emerged as a new actor in the education system. Since then, the interaction between the teachers’ union and the authorities at the Ministry of Education has resulted in uncertainties, limitations, and significant challenges. On the one hand, the education system has continuously adjusted to changes in the education authorities every six years following the presidential elections. On the other hand, the

teachers’ union has maintained its strong position despite the changes in education authorities and political structures. The National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), the largest union in Latin America with 1.4 million members, was affiliated with the long-time incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and for a long time played a role in politics, especially during elections. In this regard, some argue that the teacher unions have been a barrier to reform and to improving Mexico’s education system (Ornelas, 2004). In 1993, following a three-year process, the federal government concluded the National Agreement for the Modernization of Basic Education, which involved intensive negotiations with the teachers’ union (SNTE) and state governors.

The three major aspects of the reform included: (1) administrative decentralization; (2) changes in the curriculum and pedagogical material; and (3) improved conditions for teachers and a re-evaluation of their role. The reform went further than just decentralization, which implied additional problems for the states, which centered on agreements with the teachers’ union, in particular those related to salaries and compensation. The decentralization mainly involved transferring responsibility for 14 million students, 513,000 teachers, 115,000 administrative employees, and 100,000 schools from the federal government to the state governments. However, while the federal government gave the states full autonomy over resources, it did not give them authority over the basic education curriculum. Throughout the decentralization process, the federal and state governments have taken steps to increase efficiency and equality and improve the quality of the system. Following decentralization, the education system in Mexico underwent profound changes, and during this process, state governments, school authorities, and parents became empowered to participate and change their children’s education. The decentralized school management became more responsive to stakeholders. Also,

there had been a growing demand over the years on the part of parents, civil society, the private sector, the media, and researchers for students’ academic progress to be periodically assessed. Starting in 1998, the Ministry of Education began implementing standardized tests on a sample basis, and in 2006, the ministry introduced a universal assessment that made it possible to compare student scores among schools. Moreover since 2000, Mexico has participated in international student assessments (PISA), in which student scores can be compared across countries. In 1995, Mexico had participated in the TIMSS, but the results have never been published.

The education law in Mexico establishes a mechanism to allow parents to participate in the management of schools. Parents’ associations were established by law at the school level together with local, regional and national parents’ associations. Partly because of tradition, however, this has not increased the extent to which parents interact with teachers, school authorities, and other important actors in the education system. However, one compensatory program in particular, the Program to Abate Educational Lag (PAREIB), has been effective in encouraging parental and community participation. PAREIB provides incentives to parents to participate in their children’s schools with the aim of establishing: (i) the value of children’s education to the community; (ii) the responsibility of parents and members of the community to perform actions that benefit children; and (iii) the importance of childhood development. CONAFE created this concept of education to empower all school actors, including principals, teachers, communities, and parents. As a component of PAREIB, the AGES, created in 1996 is aimed at leveling the playing field for disadvantaged students by encouraging parental participation and school-parent cooperation.

The AGES supports and finances parents’ associations (APFs or APECs) and trains them in the management of school funds and

encourages them to participate in their children’s education, sharing responsibility with teachers, building their own social capital, assuming responsibility for their children’s academic performance, and monitoring and becoming involved in their children’s activities. This financial support consists of annual grants transferred quarterly to the parent associations’ bank accounts. The Communitarian Association of the Education Promotion (AsociacionPromotora de EducaciónComunitaria or APEC) is a key element of this model in rural and disadvantaged communities. These grants can be invested in infrastructure that parents deem important for the school. The activities are planned by parents, school principals, and teachers. The AGES offers a low-cost way to encourage parental participation as well as cost-efficient interventions to improve learning outcomes. Gertler et al (2006) found that the AGES has been effective in improving intermediate school quality indicators, having reduced grade repetition and school dropout rates by 6 to 8 percent in only three years. These effects are separate from the effects of any other interventions. Recently, other initiatives have used the School-based Management model to improve conditions for disadvantaged students. After the AGES, the quality schools program (ProgramaEscuelas de Calidad or PEC) is the most important. Beginning in 2000, the program has been implemented in poor urban areas and is designed to improve school environments (physical and teaching) and increase the participation of school community members in the management of the school. PEC provides grants for implementing school plans that have been designed by the staff and parents together. Beneficiaries must meet certain requirements, but the participation of schools in the program is completely voluntary. The PEC empowers school communities, including principals, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders. PEC has been shown to be effective, after only three years of implementation (Skoufias and Shapiro, 2006). Since 1993, Mexico has made significant progress in decentralizing its

education system. Mexico has promoted transparency, accountability, and democracy. Prior to that time, the education system was highly centralized, and the country was governed by a single political party. In addition, most government agencies were non-transparent and unaccountable. However, beginning in 1993 and continuing until the democratic elections of 2000, Mexico embarked upon its decentralization process. In 1998, the first step toward transparency was taken when the Minister of Education under the old political system implemented the first national educational assessment. The process was reinforced in 2000 when a democratic government was elected in Mexico. While some states took measures to improve the quality of education, the federal ministry of education developed programs that promoted parental participation in school management. In 2000, Mexico joined the OECD in an international assessment of student achievement. In this context, the AGES can be considered to be a weak form of SBM in a complex political and centralized education system. Despite its limited monetary resources, it has had a positive impact on educational outcomes. This limited version of SBM may be appropriate in such a case where there is no little history of accountability and participation and where the country is just starting to reform its centralized and authoritarian political system. Thus, other formerly centralized and undemocratic countries that have gone through the transition to becoming open and democratic societies may be able to learn lessons from the Mexican experience about what may be the appropriate form of SBM for their circumstances.

Egwunyenga (2005) suggested that not all information can be considered as records until they satisfy such characteristics, genuinety and authenticity that is the information that records give must be true, correct and original, records must be comprehensive, available,

accessibly and secured. School records are grouped into statutory and non statutory. Statutory records include admission/withdrawal register, attendance register, scheme of work, time-table, logbook, visitors book, time/movement books, school diary, lesson plan/note for teachers, examination record book, etc. Non-statutory records are cash book, stock book, punishment book, school calendar, inventory book, staff minutes book, school magazine, inspection/supervision report file, confidential report forms and requisition book. Record management is the application of systematic and scientific control of recorded information that is required for the operation of the school. Such control is exercised over the distribution, utilization, retention, storage, retrieval, protection, preservation and final disposition of all types of records within the school. The aim of record management is to achieve the best retrieval and exploitation of school records in the school system and also to improve the efficiency of record making and keeping processes. Record management helps to control the quality and quantity of information that is created in a manner that effectively serves the need of the school.

School record management according to Fasasi (2004) is meant to enhance the performance of secondary school administrators. Adequate records management progamme co-ordinates and protects an institutions records, sharpens the effectiveness of records as a management memory which controls the times, equipment and space allocated to records and helps to simplify intra-organizational and communication problems. The management of records in the secondary schools like in any other organization is a cyclic process involving the principals, teachers, students, messengers and cleaners. The bulk of records are handled by principals who are kept manually thus the processing, retrieval and utilization of records are not easy.

Iwhiwhu (2005) stresses the insufficient quality and quantity of manpower in records management in the school system. He emphasized that manpower is employed without prejudice to qualitative records management. Though this business of record keeping and effective management in the secondary school system has not attained good success due to insufficient provision of facilities, fund and management components. However, adequate security, storage facilities and funds are generally recommended for good record keeping and management (Tower Software, 2004).

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

The researcher will use the descriptive method to gather information about the presently existing conditions of school-based management of the selected public secondary schools in Trece Martires City, Cavite together with sets of questionnaire and observation as data gathering instruments. Informal interviews will also be conducted with some of the respondents to gather additional information.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study will use descriptive method to obtain relevant information regarding the status of school-based management practices of the chosen secondary schools as it was perceived as the most appropriate means on how to gather relevant information. Through using questionnaire with likert scale, the researcher will determine the degree of acceptance or rejection of the respondents toward different variables. Both qualitative and quantitative will be utilized in this study. Quantitative data will be derived from the results of the survey while qualitative data will be derived from the actual observation and informal interviews with the respondents of the study.

PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDYThe participants of the study will be the selected students and

selected faculty members of the respective schools.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE USEDThe researcher will use the non-probability sampling via

convenience sampling in selecting faculty members and students who will answer the set of questionnaire. The sample size shall be derived from the total population of respective schools.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT

The research instrument is in the form of questionnaire which includes likert

scale to determine the levels of acceptances, rejections and other significant insights by

the respondents toward the research subject.

VALIDATION

The validation of the research instrument shall be done by the approval of the

research professor. The questionnaire will be answered by means of figuring out the

levels of acceptance or rejections namely; (5) Strongly Desirable, (4) Desirable, (3)

neither Desirable nor Undesirable, (2) Undesirable and (1) Strongly Undesirable.

RESEARCH PROCEDURES

1. Getting permissions or consent from the proper authority.

2. Drafting and finalizing the questionnaire.

3. Administering the questionnaire.

4. Data analysis and interpretation.

5. Writing appropriate conclusions and recommendations.

6. Presenting the Research Study.

STATISTICAL TREATMENT USED

The researcher will use the weighted mean to determine the insights of the

respondents including the levels of acceptance and levels of rejections toward specific

criteria or specific variables.