Principal Leadership on Special Education Implementation: Basis for a Development Program
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.09.09Keywords:
Principal Leadership, Special Education, Inclusive Education, Development ProgramAbstract
During S.Y. 2024–2025, this study looked at how school principals in the Division of Cavite, implemented special education (SPED) programs. A questionnaire created by the researcher was used to collect data from 120 school principals using a descriptive-quantitative design. The results showed that principals were very involved in advocacy (4.59), including students with disabilities in decision-making (4.78), and keeping an eye on inclusive practices (4.53). However, stakeholder engagement (2.85) and staff professional development (2.64) received lower ratings. Stakeholder engagement (2.46) and innovation (2.81) trailed behind integrity (4.88), motivation (4.82), and feedback (4.72), which were all highly correlated with leadership behaviors. Keeping up with technology (4.85), scarce resources (4.79), and resolving conflicts (4.76) were the main obstacles. Principals' engagement and leadership behaviors were found to be significantly positively correlated (r = 0.819, p <.001). In order to improve inclusive education outcomes, a development program that emphasizes leadership training, resource management, teamwork, staff professional development, and parent-community partnerships was suggested in light of these findings.
Downloads
References
Alig-Mielcarek, J., & Gambhir, M. (2017). The role of transformational leadership in promoting inclusivity: A narrative analy-sis. Educational Management Administra-tion & Leadership, 45(3), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143215617949
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and perfor-mance beyond expectations. Free Press.
Brock, C. H., & Curran, M. A. (2019). Social jus-tice leadership and equity: A narrative analysis of principal perspectives. Journal of Educational Administration, 57(6), 662–678. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-11-2018-0211
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by na-ture and design. Harvard University Press.
Cruz, J. L. (2016). Leadership practices of school heads in implementing inclusive education in Nueva Ecija (Unpublished master’s thesis). Central Luzon State Uni-versity.
Department of Education [DepEd]. (2018). Inclusive education policy framework for learners with disabilities. Department of Education, Philippines.
Department of Education [DepEd]. (2020). Manual of operations for special educa-tion (SPED) centers. Department of Edu-cation, Philippines.
Domingo, P. R. (2018). Challenges of principals in managing special education programs in Pangasinan (Unpublished doctoral dis-sertation). Pangasinan State University.
Donovan, S., & Cross, C. (2013). Addressing eq-uity in special education leadership: Prin-cipals as social justice leaders. Education-al Administration Quarterly, 55(4), 543–581. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X13505287
Garcia, A., & Rodriguez, E. (2018). Leadership strategies in special education: A Spanish perspective. Journal of Educational Lead-ership, Policy and Practice, 33(2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.18296/jelpp.0009
Johnson, R., & Smith, L. (2013). Principal lead-ership in special education implementa-tion: Basis for a development program. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(4), 532–551. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X03253411
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. Routledge.
Lee, H., & Kim, S. (2017). Principals' leadership practices and special education imple-mentation: A study in South Korea. Inter-national Journal of Inclusive Education, 21(5), 487–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2016.1181623
Lopez, N., English, M., & Nguyen, K. H. (2018). Culturally responsive leadership: A framework for equitable and inclusive schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 54(5), 711–744. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X18797658
Loreman, T. (2014). Inclusive education: Sup-porting diversity in the classroom. Routledge.
Morgan, P. L., & Lynn, C. D. (2015). Principals’ preparation and practice for including students with disabilities in general edu-cation: Results from a national survey. Remedial and Special Education, 37(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932515585009
Republic Act No. 10533. (2013). Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. Official Ga-zette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/05/15/republic-act-no-10533
Republic Act No. 7277. (1992). Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1992/03/24/republic-act-no-7277
Reyes, A. B., & Garcia, R. S. (2021). Principals' roles in inclusive education: Insights from Gerona, Tarlac. Journal of Philippine Edu-cational Research, 48(1), 78–93.
Rivera, K. D. (2017). Inclusive education prac-tices in Tarlac public schools: Basis for an intervention program (Unpublished mas-ter’s thesis). Tarlac State University
Santos, J. M., & Cruz, M. L. (2019). Leadership practices in special education: Perspec-tives from Gerona, Tarlac. Journal of Phil-ippine Educational Administration, 36(2), 45–60.
Sapon-Shevin, M. (2013). Widening the circle: The power of inclusive classrooms. Bea-con Press.
Tanaka, Y., & Saito, M. (2020). Promoting in-clusive education: The role of principals in Japan. Asian Journal of Education Stud-ies, 8(2), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajes.2020.02.004
Theoharis, G. (2019). The school leaders our children deserve: Seven keys to equity, social justice, and school reform. Teach-ers College Press.
UNESCO. (2019). Policy guidelines on inclu-sion in education. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2019). Policy guidelines on inclu-sion in education. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000189300
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ralph L. Casaul, Princess Jemma B. Tumolva, Angelica D. Payos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access).
