Managerial Competencies of Middle Managers in Teacher Education Institutions

The study assessed the managerial competencies of the middle managers in teacher education institutions with the end view of proposing a middle management development program providing them with opportunities and prepares them for higher-level roles. It also determined the extent of manifestation of the 21st century competencies of middle managers in Teacher Education institutions relative to planning and organizing, building and managing relationships, communication and strategic thinking, managing and developing performance and resilience. Further, the study also identified the challenges met by the middle managers in the teaching education institutions in achieving the managerial competencies, which also helped in the preparation of the development program for the middle managers. The study used the descriptive-quantitative design with the research questionnaire as the chief tool to gather data from the middle managers assigned in the college of teacher education from the different campuses in Batangas State University-TNEU. This was complemented with a focus group discussion to enrich the findings of the study. The respondents were 40 middle managers, broken down as department chairperson, program chairperson and coordinators from the teacher education institutions in the different campuses of Batangas State University- TNEU. Middle managers have commendable personal and professional attributes in relation to the fulfillment of their task and function in the teacher education institution in the university. The 21st century competencies were highly manifested on building and managing relationships, communication and strategic thinking. However, moderately manifested was mostly the assessment of the respondents on planning and organizing, managing and developing performance and resilience. Balancing administrative responsibilities instructional tasks, diverse interactions with the subordinates, sole responsibility for meeting targets, lack of comprehensive management training, juggling multiple roles and maintaining employee’s morale were some of the challenges met by the middle managers in achieving the 21st century competencies.