School Based Management (SBM)

• School Based Management (SBM) involves the school head in its implementation.
• Reporters involved include Geneve Manuevo, Princess Joy Maala, Mechaila Medallon, and Jan Roland Marciano.
• After completing the material, students will be able to explain the meaning, advantages, disadvantages, and demands of SBM, state practices aligned to SBM, and explain the roles, functions, and competencies of school heads in SBM.

Activity - Mabuhay Elementary School

• Mabuhay Elementary School has a very low Mean Percentage Score (MPS) in the Grade 6 exit examination.
• Pupil tardiness and absences are rampant, and truancy is also a problem.
• Some pupils cut classes to play video games in nearby computer shops.
• Absences are rampant and children claim they are being told to stay home by their parents to help with rice planting and harvesting.
• Ms. Ligaya, the school head, held a meeting with teachers, parents, and community leaders to address the problems and improve school performance.
• Suggestions were made and written down in a simple matrix outlining problems, causes, activities, persons involved, resources needed, timeframe, and expected outcomes.

Analysis of the Activity

• Consider the problems Mabuhay Elementary School faces.
• Consider how Ms. Ligaya addressed the problems.
• Evaluate whether Ms. Ligaya addressing the problem alone would have been better and what might have happened if she had.
• Consider the advantages of Ms. Ligaya involving others in addressing the problem.
• Evaluate whether a directive from the Office of the Superintendent of Regional Director would have been the fastest solution to the problem.

Introduction to SBM

• The local Governance Code of 1991 (RA 7160) provided for a decentralized local government structure. -The intent was to give local governments more power, authority, responsibilities, and resources.
• SBM has given schools more power to direct their affairs with the learning and development of learners as the ultimate goal.

What is SBM?

• School Based-Management involves developing power or authority to the School Head, Teacher, Parents, and Students.
• SBM is a decentralized management initiative.
• It is a strategy to improve education by transferring significant decision-making authority from the DepEd Central Office, regional offices, and division offices to individual schools.
• It provides principals, teachers, students and parents greater control over the education process.
• It also gives them responsibility for decisions about the budget, personnel, and the curriculum.
• Involving teachers, parents, and other community members leads to creating more effective learning environments for children.

Advantages of SBM

• Allows competent individuals in the school to make decisions that improve learning.
• Gives the entire school community a voice in key decisions.
• Focuses accountability for decision-making.
• Leads to greater creativity in the design of programs.
• Redirects resources to support goal development in each school.
• Leads to realistic budgeting as parents and teachers become more aware of the school's financial status, spending limitations, and program costs.
• Improves morale of teachers and nurtures new leadership at all levels.
• Decision-making authority is devolved to school heads, teachers, parents, and students as a result of SBM, which represents school empowerment.
• Involvement of stakeholders is helpful in mobilizing local resources.
• SBM helps the system identify problems and needs at the school level faster than before.
• Specific personalities and cultures are taken into consideration in SBM implementation.
• With SBM, schools take the responsibility to plan and implement their School Improvement Plan (SIP).
• The specific school determines the number and kind of teachers needed, learning materials, and what resources are needed.

Legal Basis of SBM

• The Philippine Constitution provides that Congress shall enact a local government code to institutionalize a system of decentralization (Article 10, Sec. 3).
• Local government units will be extended more power and authority.
• R.A. 7160 is also known as the Local Government Code.
• SBM was introduced through R.A. 9155 on the Basic Governance Act.

Conditions for SBM Success

• Teachers and school heads must be given the opportunity to make choices and actively participate in school improvement planning.
• Involvement of parents and teachers must be strongly encouraged and highly welcomed.
• Stakeholders must participate in the development of a School Improvement Plan and have a say on resource allocation to meet specific needs.
• Higher authorities must encourage thoughtful experimentation and innovation where mistakes are viewed as learning experiences.
• They must be willing to share their authority with the academic and the larger community.
• Teachers must develop reflection and problem-solving skills.
• Basic resources must be present.
• An effective school support system must be developed.
• Regular information on performance must be provided.
• People must be given advice on how they may improve, and the motivational element in the management work of the principal must be emphasized.

Functions of a School Head

• A visionary principal should lead in setting the vision, mission, and goals of the school and be a motivator, advocate, and planner.
• Requires change and future orientation.
• A builder of networks and support systems organizes/expands school, community, and local government networks and groups.
• These networks and groups should actively participate in school improvement and require networking, organizing, social mobilization, and advocacy.
• A school head will need to lead in developing a School Improvement Plan with the participation of staff and the community which requires development of teamwork, building consensus, and skills in negotiation and conflict resolution
• A school head leads in developing and maintaining the School Management Information System.
• This requires participatory planning and administrative management and generation and use of data and information for planning and management.
• A school head should create a physical and psychological climate conducive to teaching and learning.
• This requires collective accountability for school and student performance.
• A school head develops the curriculum and implements school curriculum.
• A school head is to design the curriculum to address national goals, local needs and aspirations
• A school head will encourage development and use of innovative instructional methods focused on improving learning outcomes.
• Outcomes include increasing access to basic education and improving the holding power of schools.
• This requires the creation of an open learning system from several resource materials rather than a single textbook.
• Being encouraging and innovative requires participatory and peer-based instructional supervision.
• A school head will administer and manage all personnel, physical and fiscal school resources using fund management to do so.
• A school head will encourage and accept donations, gifts, bequests and grants for educational purposes.
• The head must report all such donations to the appropriate offices.
• Serves as a role model for transparency and accountability, especially in financial management.

Factors of School Effectiveness Based on Research

• Effective practices must be institutionalized into the school culture.
• SBM is the mechanism introduced in the Philippines to continuously work toward effective schools.
• OECD research confirms that school autonomy has a positive relationship with student performance when accountability measures are in place, or when principals and teachers collaborate in school management (OECD. 2012).
• China and Singapore have been "developing more responsibility to the school level" (Stewart. 2008).
• In Finland, accountability rests on the trust placed by families and government in the professional competence of teachers (Stewart, 2008).
• In the Philippines, devolving more responsibility to the school was done through SBM.
• SBM was introduced during the implementation of the Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP), 1999-2005.
• The TEEP study determined the effect of SBM on student performance in public schools across districts over a three-year period from 2003-2005.
• Significant decision-making authority was transferred from state and district offices to the individual school with SBM.
• Principals, teachers, students, and parents were given greater control over education.
• Decision making authority includes the budget, personnel, and the curriculum.
• More effective learning environments for children can be generated through teachers, parents, and other community numbers being involved in key decisions.
• Strengthening school-based management practice requires reemphasizing learner centrality.
• Another factor includes the involvement of relevant community in basic education service delivery.
• The Department of Education (DepEd) revisited the SBM framework and embarked on an assessment process and tools to improve successful SBM practices across the region (DO 83, s 2012).
• Decentralization efforts were institutionalized at the school level.
• Republic Act (RA) No. 9155 is the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001.
• DepEd provided School-Based Management Grants as extra funds to schools to augment the school fund on maintenance and other operating expenses (DO 45, s 2015).
• The institutionalization of SBM was strengthened with the introduction of the Philippine Accreditation System for Basic Education (PASBE).
• PASBE was launched through DepEd Order No. 64. s 2012.
• Accreditation is a process of self-evaluating and peer-review to ensure quality standards are understood, implemented, and maintained.
• Enhancement for continuous improvement of learner outcomes is also included (DepEd DO 20, s. 2013).
• The Philippine Accreditation System for Basic Education (PASBE) has Supplemental Guidelines to DepEd (Order No. 83, s, 2012).
• Agreed upon standards of quality or effective schools are grounded on the principles of ACCESS, which includes:
  • Collective Leadership
  • Community-based learning
  • Accountability for performance and results
  • Convergence to harness resources for education.
• SBM-PASBE Operational Framework has levels, which include:
  • Level 1) Developing
  • Level 2) Maturing
  • Level 3) Advance
• Factors that contribute to school effectiveness include human and non-human factors.
• Human factors includes a dynamic school head, highly selected teachers, motivated pupils with high expectations, and a supportive community.
• Non-Human factors refer to clear and shared vision and mission.
• Included are high Expectations/ambitious Standards, emphasis on accountability, aligned curriculum, instruction and assessment with state/DepEd standards, efficient and optimal utilization off resources and facilities, collaboration and communication, focus, professional development, and global and future orientation.

Takeaways

• SBM is school-based management which empowers schools to direct their own affairs for high performance.
• It involves the school head who leads teachers, students, parents, and community members to address problems and concerns.
• The ultimate goal is improving school performance.
• It is based on the principle of subsidiarity.
• SBM empowers those at the lowest level of the organization for maximum effect.

Advantages of SBM from Takeaways

• Allows competent individuals in schools to make decisions for learning improvements.
• Gives the entire school community a voice in key decisions.
• Practices focusing accountability for decisions.
• Demands creativity in program design and the redirection of resources to support goals.
• realistic budgeting as parents and teachers.
• Improves morale of teachers and nurtures new leadership at all levels.

Disadvantages of SBM

• Participatory decision-making needs time and may slow down the process

Demands of SBM

• SBM requires active and intelligent participation of stakeholders.
• It requires democratic and transformative leadership of the school head.
• Support and openness of higher authorities to schools is also required.

Role of School Head

• The School head needs to be a visionary leader, planner, implementer, and evaluator.
• The School head needs to be a fiscal resource manager.
• The School head needs to be a curriculum developer.