Spiritual leadership of school heads and organizational commitment of teachers: Inputs for capability-building program

This study examined the correlation between the school heads’ spiritual leadership and teachers’ organizational commitment in public elementary schools under the 2nd Congressional District of Negros Occidental. Data were gathered from 326 teachers and 121 school heads using a survey adapted from Allen and Meyer's (1990) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and Fry's (2003) Spiritual Leadership framework in a quantitative design. Results indicated a notable positive relationship involving spiritual leadership regarding the commitment of the teachers, highlighting the importance of emotional and moral dimensions over continuance commitment, driven by practical factors. Moreover, the data indicates that considering both age and sex, younger females have higher levels in these dimensions. The findings suggested that improving spiritual leadership qualities in school heads can create a supportive, value-driven educational environment, enhancing job satisfaction and reducing teacher turnover. Recommendations included implementing targeted training programs on values-based leadership, ethical decision-making, and community building. Emphasizing diversity and inclusion, intrinsic motivation, and professional community building are essential strategies. The study concluded that spiritual leadership significantly influences teachers' organizational commitment, positively impacting educational outcomes. By adopting comprehensive capability-building programs tailored to diverse needs and regularly evaluating their effectiveness, schools can boost leadership and teacher commitment, thereby improving educational quality. This research adds localized insights and practical recommendations to the literature on enhancing school leadership and organizational commitment in public education. Keywords: spiritual leadership, organizational commitment, capability-building program