The Lived Experiences of Secondary School Teachers on School Heads’ Leadership Styles and Their Influence on Instructional Performance: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This descriptive phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of secondary school teachers regarding school heads’ leadership styles and instructional performance in the District of San Francisco, Schools Division of Quezon. The study was conducted during School Year 2025–2026, with research activities and data generation completed in 2026. Twelve secondary school teachers participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The study employed a descriptive phenomenological design grounded in a transcendental Husserlian orientation, and the interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Four major themes emerged: (1) leadership communication and decision-making in teachers’ professional experiences; (2) instructional support and feedback in teacher professional growth; (3) leadership practices in teacher motivation, confidence, and professional identity; and (4) collaborative school improvement as experienced in school leadership. The essence of the participants’ accounts indicated that school head leadership was experienced as a relational, instructional, and developmental process expressed through communication, support, empowerment, and collaboration. Based on the findings, the Responsive Instructional Leadership Development Program (RILDP) was proposed to address the leadership competencies identified in the participants’ experiences, particularly communication, instructional leadership, teacher empowerment, and collaborative school improvement.