School Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence, Teacher Work Engagement, and Challenges in Professional Growth
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined teachers’ perceptions of school leaders’ emotional intelligence, teacher work engagement, and challenges in achieving professional growth and maintaining well-being in selected public elementary and secondary schools in the Division of Maguindanao del Norte. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design involved 362 purposively selected respondents. A structured questionnaire assessed four emotional-intelligence domains, three work-engagement dimensions, and ten professional-growth and well-being challenges. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, independent-samples t tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlations were used. Respondents strongly agreed with indicators of leaders’ self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management and with indicators of their own vigor, dedication, and absorption. The overall challenge mean was 2.40 (SD = 0.73), interpreted as Disagree, although respondents endorsed needing more instructional feedback, limited professional-development time because of workload, and difficulties integrating technology. Selected gender, rank, and school-type comparisons differed significantly; age and teaching-experience comparisons did not. Overall perceived emotional intelligence was positively associated with overall work engagement (r = .551, p < .01). Relationships involving professional-growth challenges were nonsignificant. Findings informed the proposed THRIVE-BARMM Professional Development Program. The results support attention to emotionally responsive leadership and targeted professional support but do not establish causal effects or program effectiveness.
Author: Juvelyn Alpas
Institution: University of Perpetual Help System DALTA
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7225418350