TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF SCHOOL LEADERS AND KEY TEACHERS

The main objective of this sequential explanatory study was to investigate the principal’s level of implementation of distributed leadership (DL) including their best practices and strategies, and key teachers’ degree of empowerment and challenges and benefits faced in the practice of DL. A quantitative survey questionnaire was initially administered to the target respondents. The results describe the present status of the level of implementation, degree of empowerment, benefits and challenges, and best practice and strategies taken relevant to the conduct of DL. The qualitative phase followed to further explore the variables. Through interviews with selected key informants from the same group of respondents, informative insights were generated to support the quantitative data. The findings revealed that distributed leadership is highly implemented in the participating schools. Key teachers were found to be highly empowered in practicing leadership roles. This high empowerment of teachers in the principle of capacity can be linked to the level of distributed leadership implementation in terms of school culture, shared responsibility, and leadership practices. These affirmative results support the benefits DL can offer. However, there are still challenges, particularly the demanding nature of multiple responsibilities placed on key teachers. This challenge can be addressed by promoting a culture of mentorship on leadership roles through professional development programs. From these findings, key teachers are suggested to accept leadership roles, school principals are recommended to secure the benefits of distributed leadership implementation in school while addressing challenges in relation to its implementation to ensure its long-term effectiveness. Furthermore, the leadership framework designed can serve as a valuable reference for future studies on educational leadership styles and school improvement.