DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL HEADS

School heads are the key leaders in the educational system, and they are responsible of carrying out the school’s vision and mission and play integral roles in making schools function smoothly. They are involved in all aspects of the school’s operation. This study developed and validated a development program for secondary school heads based on the competencies outlined in the seven domains of the National Competency-Based Standards for School Heads (NCBSSH). The research aimed to determine the extent of implementation of these competencies, explore the significant differences in evaluations by school heads and their teachers regarding the implementation, and assess the seriousness of problems related to the seven domains of NCBSSH. The Research and Development (R&D) method was employed to design the development program, which served as the study's output. Survey results indicated that the competencies under the seven domains were "sometimes" implemented by secondary school heads. Moreover, t-test results revealed a very significant difference between the self-evaluations of school heads and the evaluations made by key teachers. The Development Program was found to be acceptable in terms of its objectives, activities/strategies, persons involved, time frame, budgetary requirements, and success indicators. The study proposes the utilization and implementation of the development program to enhance the competencies of school heads.