A Qualitative Inquiry On The Initiatives Of School Leaders In Addressing Bullying

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore and understand the initiatives of public junior high school leaders in addressing bullying in their schools. The study was seen through the lens of Contingency Theory of Leadership of Fiedler which states that the importance of school leaders being adaptable in their leadership style when dealing with challenges in addressing the problem of bullying. This also supported by the Ecological Systems Theory of Bronfenbrenner which posits that individuals are shaped by various interconnected systems, encompassing individual characteristics to larger societal elements. This study was conducted at Division of Tagum City involving 10 public junior high school leaders who were selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Results show that with regards to the initiatives of school leaders in addressing bullying, these major themes emerged: utilizing school welfare, raising awareness through information dissemination and gaining assistance from stakeholders. To support such initiatives, the participants coped through the following themes: promoting healthy relationship and environment, fostering accountability and utilization of classroom strategies and implementing leadership involvements. Furthermore, the insights of the participants were summarized into the following themes: posses good leadership attributes, seek for continuous learning and instill values, uphold inclusivity and equality. Result of this study can help to all public junior high school leaders to provide a wide range of approaches, interventions and practical strategies that can address bullying within school, can create a safer and more inclusive school environment for all students by fostering a culture of empathy and respect and implementing a clear policies with consistent enforcement.