School Heads Strategic Management Practices and Its Influence on Teachers' Engagement and Teaching Performance

Abstract Strategic management in school leadership is a key concern in educational administration because it connects planning, implementation, evaluation, teacher engagement, and instructional performance. This study examined school heads strategic management practices and its influence on teachers' engagement and teaching performance in public schools in Plaridel District, Misamis Occidental, for School Year 2025-2026. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used with 150 teacher-respondents selected through purposive sampling from 13 schools. Data were gathered using adapted questionnaires measuring strategic management practices in terms of strategy design, strategy execution, and strategy evaluation; teacher engagement in terms of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement; and official IPCRF ratings for teaching performance. Mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, and Spearman’s rho were used for analysis. Results showed that school heads’ strategic management practices were very high overall (M = 3.26, SD = 0.553), teachers were highly engaged (M = 3.39, SD = 0.599), and the majority of teachers were rated outstanding in teaching performance (58.0%). However, strategic management practices were not significantly related to teachers’ engagement (rs = .060, p = .462) or teaching performance (rs = .012, p = .886). The findings suggest that while strategic management practices were strongly perceived, teacher engagement and performance may be shaped by additional instructional, motivational, contextual, and professional-development factors.