School Leaders’ Resilience amidst Pandemic in the District of Victoria

Abstract

This study focused on resiliency of school leaders in Victoria District, Laguna, Philippines amidst pandemic. Seventeen elementary and secondary principals became part of the study by undergoing survey questions pertaining to the (1) promotion of community cohesiveness, (2) sustained communication, (3) attention to mental and psychosocial health and, (4) welcoming feedback. The author made use of qualitative and quantitative techniques in doing research as responses to survey questions were recorded, sorted, analyzed and, interpreted. It was found out that school heads of Victoria District have very high resiliency in terms of promotion of community cohesiveness, sustained communication, attention to mental and psychosocial health, and welcoming feedback. School heads promote community cohesion by engaging families and stakeholders in all the school programs and by using various formats during distance learning. Some schools provided unstructured opportunities for small-group connections. To sustain communication among the internal and external stakeholders of the school community, school head gave clear and direct communication using different platforms based on DepEd Orders and memorandums. To combat epidemic, school heads conducted orientations, meetings and webinars for the entire community through social media platforms about mental and psychosocial wellness because when schools clearly prioritized attention to mental health, it greatly enhanced feelings among students and adults that they were genuinely valued. Welcoming feedback was one of the top priorities of school heads to receive a clear response from the community, also both teachers and learners, as they share their feelings and receive specific feedback on what was going well at school and what might be improved. Recommendations to school heads were laid down to sustain their resiliency at all cost.