QUANTUM LEADERSHIP, ETHICAL CLIMATE AND COMMITMENT OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS: A CONVERGENT DESIGN

Abstract

Background. Evidently, findings of previous studies conducted were either qualitative or quantitative in nature. There were only few literature relating to the association of the three variables namely; quantum leadership, ethical climate and commitment of school administrators in the local Philippine context.

Objectives. This study determined the influence of quantum leadership and ethical climate on the commitment of school administrators of private HEIs in Region XI, as conceptualized through the pragmatic philosophical worldview.

Methods. Mixed methods research approach specifically the convergent design was employed. There were 300 school administrators who served as respondents, purposively chosen for the quantitative phase and 17 as participants for the focus group discussion and in-depth interview for the qualitative phase.  An adopted questionnaires and validated interview guide were utilized as basis for the data gathered. Statistical tools like mean, standard deviation, Pearson-r and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the quantitative data while thematic analysis was applied in the qualitative phase.

Results. Findings revealed that the status of quantum leadership was always evident while ethical climate was oftentimes manifested. Moreover, commitment was always observed among the school administrators. Major themes emerged from the thematic analysis on the participants’ lived experiences such as possessing a decisive frame of mind, displaying notable leadership practices, experiencing administrative failures and having personal battles on the views and challenges or struggles of school administrators. Further, four themes emerged on the role of experiences in shaping up the attitude and commitment namely; being optimistic and empowered, being relational and reflective,  practicing faithfulness on moral principles and doing high quality work.  Interestingly, mixing the salient quantitative and qualitative findings revealed the merging-converging nature and function of data integration

Conclusion/Recommendation. The status of quantum leadership, ethical climate and commitment of school administrators in the private HEIs in Region XI was rated very high. This means that quantum leadership is always evident, the ethical climate is always manifested and commitment is always observed among the school administrators in Region XI; both quantum leadership and ethical climate significantly influenced the commitment of school administrators in the private HEIs in Region XI. Finally, this study was relevant in the sense that it generated significant information useful in school policies, and identifies areas for evaluation on the effect of quantum leadership and ethical climate to the commitment of school leaders, coupled with the decrease of commitment among schools administrators. Hence, the private HEIs may apply the principles of quantum leadership skills and continue the ethical practices that contributed to the attainment of the school goals and objectives.