Creative Leadership and Ethical Behavior of School Heads in Relation to Public Confidence

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of creative leadership and ethical behavior of school heads on public confidence in Tugbok District, Davao City using a non-experimental quantitative design with descriptive-correlational technique. A total of 248 elementary school teachers were selected through a purposive sampling with specific inclusion criteria. Adapted and enhanced survey questionnaires were pilot tested to ensure reliability and internal consistency. Findings revealed that school heads demonstrated an extensive level of creative leadership, particularly in collaborative decision-making and interdisciplinary learning, though support for professional development was only moderately extensive. Ethical behavior was also rated as extensive, with accountability for actions and transparency for in communication being most evident, while respect for diverse perspectives was least observed. Public confidence was extensively manifested, especially in community engagement and responsiveness to local needs, though communication practices were slightly less consistent. A significant relationship was found between creative leadership and public confidence, with interdisciplinary learning showing the strongest correlation. Similarly, ethical behavior had a significant effect on public confidence, particularly through fairness and accountability. Regression analysis showed that both creative leadership and ethical behavior significantly influenced public confidence, explaining 62.4% of its variance. These results supported the Transformational Leadership Theory by Burns (1978) and the Ethical Leadership Theory by Brown et al. (2005).