Strengthening School-Based Management through research towards quality education

November 3, 2018 Educator's Corner Opinion

Successful planning and implementation according to the guidelines on the enhanced school improvement planning process and the school report card are factors essential to effective governance. A school that is governed well results in the effective delivery of basic education services.
Essentially, an effective school contributes to the attainment of three key result areas. It helps ensure that 1) every Filipino has access to complete basic education (access); 2) every graduate is prepared for further education and the world of work (quality); and 3) there is effective, transparent, and collaborative governance of basic education (governance).
School-Based Management (SBM) as defined in the DepEd Order No. 55, s.2011, is the decentralization of decision-making authority from central, regional, and division levels to the individual schools, with the intent of bringing together school heads, teachers, students as well as parents, the local government units, and the community at large to improve learning outcomes through effective school.
Advocates of this strategy maintain that decentralizing decision making encourages demand and ensures that schools reflect local priorities and values. By giving a voice and decision-making power to local stakeholders who know more about the local education systems than the central policymakers, decentralization can improve educational outcomes and increase client satisfaction. SBM emphasizes the individual school (as represented by any combination of principals, teachers, parents, students and other members of the school community
DepEd recognizes the school as the heart of the delivery of quality education services so curriculum and instruction indicators are serious matters that should be given more support in terms of planning and implementation. Quality education is dependent to sound curriculum and instruction planning and implementation. The success of learners are determined by how the implemented curriculum teach learners to attain meaningful learning, holistic development through contextualized teaching, appropriate assessments and evaluations, learner and community-friendly teaching learning methods and the like.
For the past three years, low SBM assessments posed a great challenge to Camp 4 Elementary School which needs further study. The general descriptive level of practice as of the current school year is in the level of Maturing (1.5). Specifically the principle on Curriculum and Instruction indicators were rated as the least implemented.
It is a fact that no matter how good a government project is, it usually will not be successful if involved group cannot understand it. This is a reality in the SBM implementation since this involves collaborative efforts. It is in this status that the researchers wish to further gather the perceptions of the teachers, parents and stakeholders in their knowledge, role and how to further improve the planning and implementation of curriculum and instruction.
We as the researchers accept the challenge to further assess the perceptions of teachers, parents and stakeholders on their level of knowledge on the SBM’s rationale, the extent of effect of the benefits of SBM in attaining the DeEd vision-mission and objectives and finally the level of adherence of the respondents in the implementation of SBM.
The primary beneficiaries are the teachers, learners and stakeholders of Camp 4 Elementary School. DepEd as a learner-centered public institution can better serve the main costumers, the learners, by continuously improving itself. If the curriculum and instruction planning and implementation would be assessed, then these would serve as baseline data for plans of actions like action researches and related project plans. If further strengthened through campaigns, coaching, assessment and evaluation and monitoring, then the beneficiaries would receive not only an education for all but a quality education for all where learners become contributors to building the community. JOCELYN R. BUMANGHAT, Camp 4 Elementary School, Tuba, Benguet