Leadership, Core Behavioral Skills, and Administration in Public Secondary Schools

Effective school leadership is vital to school management, teacher performance, and quality education. This study examined the leadership skills, core behavioral skills, and administrative practices of public secondary school heads in the Schools Division of Cagayan de Oro City during the school year 2025–2026. It assessed key leadership and behavioral competencies and determined their relationships with administrative practices. A descriptive-correlational design was used, with universal sampling of 105 school heads. Data were gathered through a standardized questionnaire anchored on the Results-Based Performance Management System and the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads. Frequency, percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation were used. Findings showed high levels of leadership skills, core behavioral skills, and administrative practices. People development was the strongest leadership dimension, while teamwork and innovation were the most evident core behavioral competencies. Managing school operations and resources, and focusing on teaching and learning, were among the strongest administrative practices. The study found significant positive relationships between leadership skills and administrative practices, and between core behavioral skills and administrative practices. The study concludes that effective school leadership requires a combination of people leadership, professional behavior, instructional leadership, strategic management, and administrative competence. It recommends needs-based leadership development, mentoring and coaching, stronger results-focused practices, ongoing instructional leadership training, stakeholder engagement, reflective practice, and individualized professional development plans to support the continued growth of school heads.