Transformational Leadership of School Heads and Teachers in Parental Engagement Practices

Abstract

This study examined the transformational leadership practices of school heads and teachers and their relationship to the implementation of parental engagement practices in selected secondary schools in the Basud District, Camarines Norte. It specifically assessed the level of transformational leadership in terms of building trust, acting with integrity, encouraging others, innovative thinking, and coaching, the level of implementation of parental engagement practices along volunteering, empowering parents, communication, attendance at parent organization meetings, and parental support, the significant relationship between transformational leadership and parental engagement, the challenges encountered in implementing parental engagement practices, and the intervention that may be proposed to enhance parental engagement. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was employed involving 189 teachers composed of Teacher I–III, Master Teachers, and Head Teachers. Data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed through weighted mean and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. Results revealed that the transformational leadership of school heads and teachers was very much practiced across all dimensions, with building trust obtaining the highest mean, while innovative thinking and coaching, though lowest, remained highly practiced. Parental engagement practices were assessed as always implemented, with communication as the most implemented and parental support as the least. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and parental engagement (r = .202–.594, p < .01), indicating that stronger leadership practices are associated with higher levels of parental engagement. Respondents encountered moderately to very challenging difficulties, particularly financial constraints, parents’ competing commitments, and low participation. Based on the findings, an intervention plan was developed to address identified challenges and further strengthen and sustain parental engagement practices in the secondary schools in Basud District.