Leadership practices and resilience as performance predictors of school managers in the VUCA world

In today's rapidly changing environment, educational institutions operate within a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) landscape. In such a setting, school managers' leadership practices and resilience are crucial for institutional success. This study aimed to explore how school managers in the Fourth Congressional District of Negros Occidental demonstrate their leadership practices and resilience in the face of VUCA challenges, with teachers' evaluations incorporated to provide comparative insights. A descriptive correlational approach utilizing regression analysis was conducted, selecting 139 school managers and 139 teachers to ensure a balanced dataset. This specific sample size was chosen to enhance the reliability and predictive accuracy of the regression analysis. Additionally, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted, embedding qualitative data to support quantitative findings. The results showed that school managers rated their leadership practices higher than teachers, indicating a difference in perception between the two groups. Similarly, school managers rated their resilience higher than teachers, though both groups agreed that spiritual-focused resilience was consistently demonstrated. Moreover, the school managers' performance was determined to be outstanding. The study also found that emotion-focused resilience has a weak yet significant relationship with leading strategically, managing school resources, and focusing on teaching and learning. Regression analysis identified leadership practices and school size, especially medium-sized schools, as predictors of school managers' performance. It is recommended that schools forge partnerships and collaborations with the community to improve school processes and deliver quality education in the VUCA world. Additionally, effective communication within schools is essential to ensure cohesive efforts and shared goals among staff and stakeholders. Keywords: OPCRF, leadership practices, resilience, regression analysis, VUCA world