Instructional Leadership and Subjective Well-Being among Teachers in Public Elementary Schools of Mlang North District, Schools Division Office of Cotabato: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study

This study examined school heads’ instructional leadership practices and teachers’ subjective well-being in 11 public elementary schools in Mlang North District, Schools Division Office of Cotabato, and explored workplace conditions shaping teachers’ experiences. A quantitatively prioritized explanatory sequential mixed-methods design combined separate cross-sectional surveys of 152 teachers using the Instructional Leadership Practices Questionnaire and 150 teachers using the Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire with semi-structured interviews involving 18 teachers. Descriptive statistics, a paired-samples t test, and thematic analysis informed group-level integration. Instructional leadership was rated very high overall (M = 4.640), while subjective well-being was moderate (M = 2.969). Teaching efficacy (M = 3.107) significantly exceeded school connectedness (M = 2.832), t(149) = 5.130, p < .001. Interviews highlighted participatory direction, constructive supervision, equitable recognition, workload protection, and collegial relationships as important to teachers’ experiences; persistent documentation and competing responsibilities presented difficulties. The findings indicated that frequently reported leadership practices coexisted with less favorable experiences of belonging, underscoring the importance of how support is provided. School leaders should strengthen inclusive consultation, fair recognition, supportive feedback, and protection of instructional time. Self-reported, cross-sectional data from one district and unlinked survey responses limited generalizability and prevented testing individual-level leadership–well-being associations. The study offers context-specific priorities for improving teachers’ workplace support and informing school-level well-being initiatives.