Emotional leadership of school heads and teachers’ work engagement and performance

This study aimed to determine the emotional leadership of school heads as assessed by themselves and by teachers and its relationship to teachers' work engagement and performance in public secondary schools in Negros Occidental. The researcher used the mixed embedded method, consisting of 11 school heads and 1,168 teachers. The results were based on a standardized research questionnaire supplemented by interviews to gather pertinent data and information. Furthermore, the levels of emotional leadership were determined. Based on teachers' assessments, school heads demonstrate similar levels of emotional leadership regardless of differences in their demographic or professional profiles. Significant differences in teachers' perceptions of school heads' leadership across urban-rural settings and between schools suggest that the environment and size of a school can impact how leadership is exercised and perceived. The findings reveal a significant relationship between the emotional leadership of school heads as assessed by teachers and teachers' work engagement, which suggests that supportive leadership directly impacts how engaged teachers feel in their roles. The finding that school leaders' emotional leadership does not significantly affect teachers' performance indicates that, while it may boost morale, job satisfaction, and engagement, it does not directly lead to measurable improvements in job performance. The findings reveal no significant relationship between teachers' work engagement and performance. As a result, the researcher recommends crafting a professional development program in every division to strengthen school heads' emotional leadership skills and boost teachers' work engagement and performance. Keywords: emotional leadership, work engagement, performance of teachers