FACTORS OF ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS AS PREDICTORS OF SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S PERFORMANCE

The Philippine basic education system continues to face significant challenges, including limited facilities, overcrowded classrooms, and resource constraints, highlighting the essential role of effective school leadership in creating supportive learning environments and achieving educational goals. While school principals are expected to deliver strong outcomes, prior research has often treated administration, leadership, and management as broad categories without distinguishing which specific skills most influence performance. This study addressed that gap by examining the factors of administrative, leadership, and management skills as predictors of public elementary school principals’ performance in the 3rd Congressional District of Bohol for the school year 2023–2024. Using a descriptive-quantitative design, validated Likert-scale surveys measured principals’ self-assessed skills, and official performance ratings were collected through the Office Performance Commitment Review Forms (OPCRF). Data from a randomly selected sample of 58 principals were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The findings revealed that principals generally demonstrated high levels of competence in administration, leadership, and management, especially in fostering collaborative, innovative, and well-managed school environments. While all skill domains were associated with strong overall performance ratings, the study emphasizes the value of balanced, strategic goal-setting and ongoing professional development to support principals in maintaining high standards of practice. These results highlight the importance of investing in leadership training, capacity-building, and collaborative learning to empower school leaders to drive sustainable improvements in basic education.