A PHILIPPINE RURAL SCHOOL’S ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE, TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE, AND MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES

This 2016 cross-sectional inquiry used quantitative and thematic content analysis to determine the organizational climate (OC) with empirical and theoretical relation to the teachers’ performance (TP) and management competencies (MC) of a rural, K-12, private school in the Philippines. Analyses from a focus group discussion (FGD) was done using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and a balanced score card. The study revealed that the Philippine rural school’s level of OC, TP, and their subdomains were high, but MC yielded basic proficiency. Under OC, it was found out that the higher the designated position the greater is the sense of teamwork. High-positioned females that have attained tenure were also found to be more committed. In terms of TP, this study also established between the ability of younger teachers with experience to better handle diverse students, master their pedagogy, do better in planning, assessing, and reporting the learners’ outcomes, create better learning environments, and has social regard for learning. Male teachers tend to acknowledge better the management competence in terms of personal integrity and interpersonal effectiveness. The findings of this study are intended to supplement to the dearth of researches in the database of rural education in the Philippines.


Introduction
The 1987 Philippine Constitution promotes quality, complete, and adequate education. Unfortunately, economic upheaval, rigid qualifications, and teacher-retention challenges have become a staple in school administration.
Organizational climate plays a very significant part in defining academic accomplishment of the learners. Out of organizational research and studies in school effectiveness, stemmed the formal study of organizational climate. Schools are societal foundations involving diverse workers like educators and managers with apparent ranks and required functions. Divergent from each other are the responsibilities, functions, and standards which are assigned to them. Educational institutions are ranked organizations, in this pecking order at the top locus there is a school manager or director, headmaster or principal, and then the common teachers are at the lowermost strata of the hierarchy.
In tracing the accountability graph, the liability first befalls on the students to their teachers, teachers are liable to principals and principals are liable to the director or manager of the school, and so on. For an efficient advancement of work, a structure of give-and-take interaction through which the learning model ensues and workers attain school goals and the process takes place in a humanistic rapport and collaboration exists. A study by Kundu (2007) conveyed that the climate of an organization comprising a multifaceted mixture of interactions, standards and morals persuade performances communally or even independently. The findings expounded more that functioning of clusters and people is contingent on workplace climate. Therefore, when workplace climate is enhanced, it will also absolutely influence the functioning of workers and in effect improve the learning experience of the students.
Relative to the concept of organizational climate, it is significant to recognize strategic management. A strategically managed employee in an organization does seem to make a distinction in how well the group functions. Knowing the reason for success or failure of firms and their varying levels of performance is an essential stratagem.
Findings of a study conducted among faculty members of a rural, tertiary school in Cebu, Philippines implied that managers should recognize and comprehend the wants and pursuits of his workers. To satiate foremost their wants and interests is to inspire them to grasp ultimate functioning. The encouraging element is not only an elevated wage. Acknowledgement, belongingness, and integrity are other factors which people want to satiate. Staffs and personnel who are content or fulfilled are blissful, which renders them productive. And the job of the manager is to lead them to greater efficiency (Magdadaro, 2009).
Parents' discontent, students' below average performance, and teachers' lack of initiative are evident in the research locale. Furthermore, apparent are the traditional rural and cultural practices that affect the school operations. The purpose of this paper is to unfold organizational behaviors and organizational trend analysis in a rural, K-12, private school in the Philippines. This exploratory inquiry addressed the following questions: 1) What is the status of the school's organizational climate in terms of environment, teamwork, management effectiveness, manpower development, commitment, compensation and incentives, appraisal system, and involvement? 2) How are the teachers performing in terms of instructional competence; school, home, and community linkages; personal, social growth, and professional characteristics; and plus factor? 3) How is the school administration doing in terms of achieving various management competencies?

Participants
Utilizing the convenience sampling procedure, 2 (9.09%) school principals and 20 (90.91%) teachers were the respondents of this study. According to age, the respondents were composed of three (13.64%) respondents who were 20 years old, six (27.27%) respondents who were 21 years old, six (27.27%) respondents who were 22 years old, three (13.64%) respondents who were, 23 years old, one (4.55%) respondent who was 24 years old, one (4.55%) respondent who was 25 years old, one (4.55%) respondent who was 39 years old, and one (4.55%) respondent who was 61 years old. In terms of gender, two (9.09%) respondents were males and twenty (90.91%) respondents were females. Whereas by highest educational attainment, everyone (100%) were bachelor's degree holders only. By designation there were twenty (90.91%) teachers and two (9.09%) school principals. All of the respondents were full-time, tenured employees of the school. With regards to experience, thirteen (59.09%) of the respondents had at least a year of experience, seven (31.82%) respondent who had at least 2 years of experience, one (4.55%) with at least 5 years of experience, and only one (4.55%) with at least 40 years of experience. Upon interview, it was found out that most of the teachers are fresh graduates that aim to teach in the private sector for a year or two before their eventual application into the public sector.
During the interview with the school principals, it was clarified that the school does not have any preference over female applicants. The teachers were hired based on their capabilities and availability during the hiring season. The principals stressed that they do not have the luxury of choosing from a deep pool of applicants, since majority of the applicants would rather work in the public schools. The data gathered pertaining to this category as presented, shows that all of the teachers and principals (100%) earned the minimum educational qualification of a bachelor's degree in teaching. However, no teacher or principal has earned a post graduate degree in a relevant program.
As elaborated in one of the questionnaires, the teachers do not have the desire to pursue a post graduate degree as of the moment. Their concentration at the moment is earning a living to support their families. In the foreseeable future, most of them intend to earn a post graduate degree for professional development. The school administration's organizational structure is simple. It relies heavily on the principal as the main decision maker in the day-to-day processes of the school. All of the respondents (100%) are working full time in the research locale. Upon further inquiry on the topic, the principals admitted that they prefer to hire full time personnel to avoid chaos during the middle of the school year. The number clearly showed that based on the data taken from the survey, it showed that most of the respondents (59.09%) have been teaching for less than 2 years. Most of them are fresh graduates and novices whose sole aim is to earn an experience in teaching. The findings were strongly supported by the organizational climate theory, which states that teachers have a fundamental and active role in the educational system. The teachers are the main component of the organizational climate theory. As professionals, teachers need to be suitable examples and exhibit to their students an advocacy to scholarly values and to unceasing education (Selamat, N. et al, 2013) The research environment is a rural, K-12, private school in the municipality of Sogod, Cebu. With 18 barangays and a population of 35,108, this municipality is a 4th municipal income class municipality in the 5th district of the province of Cebu, in the region of Central Visayas in the Philippines. It is a government-recognized school with 175 students and 20 full time faculty members. It offers classes in pre-elementary, elementary, and junior high school using the K-12 curriculum of the Department of Education.

Survey Instruments
In seeking to assess condition and status of the school based on the organizational climate, a standardized tool developed by the Institute of School Management led by Professor Anita Gupta (2008) was used.
Another standardized instrument, the Competency-Based Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (CB-PAST), evaluated the teachers' competency or performance. The purpose was to make it possible for the respondents to describe accurately the competency being observed. This was utilized by the teachers as self-appraisal and principal for cross-evaluation.
The third research tool used was the Management Competence Tool for Middle Level Executives which was accomplished by teachers. The indicators/domains were taken from the 7 indicators of Training and Development Needs Assessment for School Heads (TDNASH) by the Department of Education as established in Southeast Asian Conference Summit (2010). This constitutes the 30% of the triangulated ratings of the executives.

Data Analysis
The data gathered were submitted to simple percentage to determine the frequency of the responses on profile of the school personnel, weighted mean to determine the entire response distribution of the respondents on OC and TP, Pearson R to determine the relationships between the independent variables and dependent variables. Content analysis was derived from the SWOT and balance score card results through the FGD.  The respondents' resolutions resulted in a satisfactory consensus. The level of organizational climate of the rural school is high. The environment that they have been working on is at par with those of other schools and similar to those surrounding schools. Teamwork as well is present and overwhelming despite the group being made up by novice teachers. Management effectiveness is rated high and has fittingly suffice the needs of the constituents. In due time, the need for additional funding and the alignment of development programs to the teachers' needs are inevitable. As previously noted, the commitment and optimism of the young breed of faculty members are unquestionable. The pay scale and incentives have been configured to be impartial. Lastly, involvement and appraisal has been intertwined and valued in the school organization.

Organizational Climate of the School
The results of this section of the study posts the same cognizance as those shown by Ali & Hale (2009) and Mine (2009). Their cumulative findings reveal that a positive organizational school climate will prevail if principals show concern for their faculty and staff and are able to maintain the open climate. Environment, teamwork, management effectiveness, manpower, development, commitment, compensation and incentives, appraisal system, and involvement are all important factors in attaining a high level of organizational climate. The employees are given ample space to work. Although there is still a lot of room for improvements. There is a designated faculty room for the teachers. Teachers also exult on the appropriation of other school supplies other than the chalk they are provided with. The security measures that have been established in this organization is limited to the provision of a security guard and procedures pertaining to an earthquake drill. Other than that, the school may need to create a separate drill for calamities such as floods or typhoons. Still the results speak for a staggering appreciation for the environment they are working in. Even though majority of the teachers are newbies or novices, there has been a rise in the answers relating to teamwork and common understanding of the task and vision. Principals have been tagged as facilitators in the lack of effective management solution leading to teamwork.

Environment, Teamwork, Management Effectiveness, and Manpower Development
The findings show that the respondents' satisfaction of the management effectiveness is high. The results are similar to the study of Selamat, N. et al (2013) when they found out that the respondents' high satisfaction of the management effectiveness equates to the increase in the level of organizational climate. In unison the respondents have conveyed through the results, that their commitment to work is irrevocable and unfaltering. They may have been employees for a year or two, but their perception is towards the notion that they are part of the organization. Moreover, they expressed their support through overtime work and through supporting all of the school's thrust without question. They have high regard for the vision, values, and thrusts of the school organization in general. There was an orientation for teachers this year and it showed in the results. The popular opinion of the respondents was that they were informed regarding their compensation or benefits. In addition, even returning teachers were satisfied of the changes in the pay scale. Most of them perceive that the salary they are receiving is way better than those received by teachers of other schools. There is an endowment of performance bonus given to deserving employees. This year saw the change in leadership and administration, as such, there were performance evaluations done. In addition, regular checking of the lesson plan is done and the occasional principal ocular inspection to classrooms. The general consensus of the group pertains to the high information and value system in the involvement of employees' opinion. This approximates the findings of Ali & Hale (2009), which states that, when the school organization offers support to all the members of the staff in the endeavor to maintain the set standard, the organizational climate is elevated.  The grand mean shows 3.19 which represent a high level of performance of the teachers. They exhibited a high perception in their ability to deal with a diverse group of learners, teaching their content, planning, assessing, reporting learners' outcomes, perception of the learning community, linkages, and personal, social growth and professional development. The social regard for learning of the teachers is very high, which suggests that strict adherence to school policies and the way they present themselves to the students, co-teachers, parents, and the community is of prime importance. The overall results suggest that the respondents are working at a high level. The mainstream perception of the respondents shows that they can handle a diverse bunch of learners. With the weighted mean at 3.24 and interpreted as high, there is no doubt that the teachers perceive that they can teach a diverse group of learners. In addition, they perceive that they are equipped with the right tools in attending to different kinds of learners with varied needs. Since most of the teachers are fresh graduates, the tendency is to be highly technical and apply strategies and techniques strictly from training. This becomes an advantage.

Diversity of Learners and Content & Pedagogy
According to Gareau, S., et al in a study in 2009, organizational climate is regarded as the continuing features that define the psychological make-up of a specific school, differentiates it from other schools, and inspires the performance of teachers and students, as well as the impression that the teachers and students have for that school. Similar perception was yielded in this study, as teachers were challenged to rise up to the challenge. To augment this result, they also attributed the high outcome to the participation and independence from the learners. To supplement the capability of the teachers, the learning behavior of the students are high as well (Sub-Mean 3.13). They answer in their own words and participate actively on their own. The teachers' perception of the students' demonstration of learning achievement is very high. The results show a high product in the planning, assessing, and reporting of learners' outcomes. Furthermore, it also shows that they use test congruent to the lesson, keeps accurate records, and gives assignment as reinforcement at a very high level. Meanwhile, there are points to improve on when it comes to provision of timely and appropriate feedback, the use of non-traditional authentic assessment techniques, and giving learners more opportunities for learning. The respondents have made more than adequate moves for the maintenance of a safe and orderly classroom, engagement of learners in differentiated activities, expedited resolution of behavior problems, and gender sensitive opportunities for learning. Additionally, they can improve on situation conception that develops positive attitude among learners.

Planning, Assessing, Reporting Learners' Outcomes; Learning Environment; School, Home & Community Linkages
Similar to the findings of Gareau, S., et al (2009), this study also shows evidence that the teachers maintenance of a safe and orderly learning environment yields a high level of teacher performance. Due to the heterogeneity of the student population, the teachers have developed differentiated activities and accommodation techniques for behavior problems. The results show that the respondents maintain personal, social growth and professional development through exhibiting enthusiasm, flexibility, and a caring attitude towards others. Maintaining enthusiasm, updating oneself with education developments, improvement of teaching performance based on feedback, and the use of a self-assessment tool are one of the thrusts of the school and the teachers. But more valued and exhibited very highly are maintenance of the dignity in teaching, personal philosophy in teaching, accountability of learning outcomes, and the adherence to the code of ethics of teachers.   The school administrators were successful in effectively communicating and explaining the vision to the teachers at a basic level as expressed by the findings. According to the data given, the school administrators did not stop at making the vision and have regarded the consistent implementation of rules to uphold it. Furthermore, the teachers have voiced out that the vision shouldn't be advocated by one person only. It should be embodied by the whole organization. The absence of research and development was not a concern. Problem solving was not monopolized by the administration and with consent from the teachers. Despite these minute negativities, the administration has been keen on the judicious use of resources and the coordination of work with the group. Augmented by the presence of a student handbook and an employee handbook, the administration has successfully promulgated its provisions. The new teachers' orientation which had been a staple in the standard operating procedures of the school organization, was especially existent this year. The program planning phase is also included in this program as well. Ocular inspections and observation of classes are done scarcely, although there are no records or standardized tool used for evaluation. Also deficient this year is the collaboration with other schools and non-government organizations that could fortify and augment the learning experiences of the teachers and students.

Level of School Management Competencies of the School Administrators
To sum it all up, professional development and manpower management was basic. Based on the study of Robinson (2010), when administrators have created and nurtured an atmosphere of professionalism and respect, appropriate and timely means of communication are both in the form of writing and speaking, verbal communications are then translated and made formal through written circulars or announcements, then the administrators demonstrate and understand the relationship between acting with integrity and fairness as a school leader. In essence, the findings of this study generated the same results to cover the same resolution.  Designation, and 0.2264 computed r value of Experience; there is insufficient significance to draw a correlation between profile and OC. Relating to table 6, there is a moderate negative correlation between age and the level of performance of the research respondents. This was correlated using a critical r value of 0.352 and a computed r value of -0.415. Sex, designation, and experience were found to be not related to the level of performance of the research respondents.

Organizational Analyses
The school's strengths rely on quality English and science education, additional elective subjects, marketable location, computerization of services, and infusion of extracurricular activities. In lieu of the school's capabilities, there are weaknesses that they need to address. According to the results of the focused group discussion, there is a lack of marketing expertise, the problem of population density, decline in students' performance, damaged reputation, and the regress of the number of enrollees. While there are obvious advantages and disadvantages, there are opportunities that the school can take heed as well. Some of which are joint ventures with other schools, joint programs with NGOs, online education through a website or online social networks, creation of a playgroup level, and creation of a tutorial service. If not addressed instantaneously, problems due to some threats may cause considerable and irreparable damage to the school organization. These threats include local competitions, decline in enrolment, location advantage of competitors, and lower tuition rate of competitors.

Evaluation of Strategic Management
To effectively manage weaknesses, threats, and other deficiencies of the school in terms of customer satisfaction, clear cut objectives should be established. The improvement of parents' satisfaction, students' performance, students' satisfaction, students' opportunities, and curriculum is key to solving customer dissatisfaction. Maximization of returns, profitable growth, leverage of asset base, management of operating costs, and seeking additional funding may ease up financial snags. The school should consider aiming for a sensible balance of assets and liabilities, persuasion of more enrollees, judicious use of resources, balance of operating expenses, and taking into consideration foreign investors. A delay or habitual postponement of internal processes may result to discontent and disappointment of patrons. The school organization needs to develop innovative services through computerization of processes, use all alliances and joint ventures through extending letters of intent, develop parent cooperation through parent education, continued cost management through creation of an account record, and improvement of human resource management through team building exercises.
The main beneficiary that receives the most substantial advantage of this study is the students, yet the teachers should be indirectly attached to this growth. The objectives in learning and growth are directed towards improvement of national test results, major exams results, skills application, lesson comprehension more than memorization, and instilling and developing a better motivation for student learning.

Conclusions and Recommendations
Based on the analyses of data contained in this study, the study establishes that most of the teachers were young, novice, female teachers. This trend seems to be evident based on the results. The level of organizational climate of the school as perceived by the respondents was high. The level of school performance of the teachers as perceived by the respondents was high to very high. The level of perceived school management competencies of the respondents is basic. The correlation between respondents' profile and OC conveyed that, the greater the age, the greater the organizational climate of the school organization, female respondents' contributed to a greater organizational climate, the higher the designation, the greater the bearing in the organizational climate, and the higher the number of years the respondents work, the better the organizational climate becomes.
The correlation between respondents' profile and MC expressed that the greater the age, the lesser the management competency is achieved, females attribute to a better management competency, the greater the designation, the lesser the management competency, and the greater the experience, the lesser the management competency.
The factors that influence the organizational climate are previous attrition rate of teachers, organizational structure and management, lack of employee information, lack of professional development training, and the presence of a day-to-day management initiative. For teachers' performance, the handling of diverse set of learners is still an issue. Despite this, the novice bunches of teachers have done their best to cope up. As for management competence, reformatting of the management strategy, more decentralization in problem solving, and methodical supervision were thematic.