Leadership Practices and Public Relations Skills as Correlates of School Engagement in the Department of Education Partnerships Database System (DPDS) in Region XII

Abstract. School partnerships enhance public education through trust, collaboration, and active engagement, all of which are influenced by principals’ leadership practices and public relations skills. This study examined the relationship between Principals’ leadership practices, public relations skills, and school engagement through the Department of Education Partnership Database System (DPDS) in public secondary schools in Region XII. Using a descriptive-correlational design, data were collected from 36 principals and 296 teachers via validated surveys and DPDS records and analyzed using means, standard deviations, Spearman’s rho, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Findings revealed that both principals and teachers rated the extent of leadership practices and public relations skills as very high, with school engagement through DPDS also very high. Leadership practice dimensions were strongly interrelated but showed only a weak relationship with DPDS engagement, while public relations skills exhibited strong internal coherence with similarly weak links to engagement. Comparative analysis indicated no significant differences between principals' and teachers’ perceptions of leadership practices and public relations skills. The study highlights the need to strengthen instructional leadership, expand communication and stakeholder outreach, and actively engage partners to enhance institutional effectiveness, partnership quality, and collaborative school environments in Region XII. Keywords: Department of Education Partnership Database System (DPDS); leadership practices; public relations skills; school engagement; school partnerships.