Perspectives About Appointment Practices and School Leadership Roles: Basis for Succession Planning and Development

The world is in the midst of a COVID-19 education crisis, and schools need to urgently overcome this and emerge stronger. It is in times of crisis that good leaders emerge. As such, De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ) is in the process of revisiting its leadership practices regarding the selection of administrators. The major purpose of this study was to gather the perspectives of the employees about leadership appointments, taking on administration roles, and succession planning and development. This collaborative action research employed a descriptive mixed method approach. Employees (N=174) from different departments and offices were the research participants. Quantitative data were extracted from the online survey questionnaire. The qualitative data, subjected to thematic analysis, were gathered from document review, open-ended questions from the survey, and future creating workshops. The guidelines, criteria for selection and screening process are described in its Administrators Manual. While findings revealed that the majority of the respondents are knowledgeable about and in favor of the DLSZ's appointment practices, less than half of them expressed willingness to be administrators. Those who favorably considered assuming school leadership roles had similar opinions about acquiring graduate degrees and corresponding certifications. Results showed that almost all of the employees regarded that succession planning initiatives can bring forth a positive impact in honing future leaders. Based on this study, DLSZ may prioritize implementing a succession planning and development program which will facilitate the effective identification, selection, and development of its leaders.