Distributed Leadership Practices and their Relationship to Teachers’ Professional Collaboration in Selected Senior High Schools in Zamboanga City

Abstract

Distributed leadership and teachers’ professional collaboration are widely recognized as important aspects of school improvement and professional learning. However, context-specific evidence concerning the relationship between these variables among public senior high school teachers in Zamboanga City remains limited. This study aimed to determine the level of distributed leadership practices as perceived by teachers and examine the relationship between distributed leadership practices and teachers’ professional collaboration in selected public senior high schools. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed, involving 200 teachers from Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial Stand Alone Senior High School, Baliwasan Stand Alone Senior High School, and Sinunuc National High School in Zamboanga City. Data were gathered using a validated researcher-made questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. Distributed leadership practices were assessed in terms of shared decision-making, teacher involvement in leadership roles, leadership support, and collaborative school culture. Teachers’ professional collaboration was examined through sharing of teaching strategies, peer mentoring, joint lesson planning, and professional discussions. Mean scores were used to describe the levels of the study variables, while Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was used to examine their relationship. The findings revealed that distributed leadership practices received a very high overall mean of 4.27, while teachers’ professional collaboration obtained a very high overall mean of 4.24. A strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship was found between distributed leadership practices and teachers’ professional collaboration (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). These results indicate that higher perceived levels of distributed leadership were associated with higher levels of professional collaboration among the participating teachers. The study provides context-specific evidence for understanding the relationship between leadership practices and teacher collaboration in public senior high schools. It highlights the relevance of shared decision-making, teacher participation, leadership support, and collaborative school culture in informing school leadership practices and future research on professional collaboration.equitable access to digital tools. It recommends the integration of continuous training for both teachers and students to bridge digital gaps and strengthen technology-based learning strategies. Future studies should explore longitudinal impacts of technological skills on academic performance across varied educational levels.