Servant Leadership of School Heads and the Social and Emotional Competencies of Elementary Teachers in Asuncion District,

Servant Leadership of School Heads and the Social and Emotional Competencies of Elementary Teachers in Asuncion District,

Marissa F. Alibangbang¹, Celso L. Tagadiad²
Department of Education¹, UM Panabo College²
Asuncion, Davao del Norte, Philippines

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.70778

Received: 24 June 2023; Revised: 04 July 2023; Accepted: 08 July 2023; Published: 08 August 2023

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to determine which domain in servant leadership best influences elementary teachers’ social and emotional competencies in Asuncion District, Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte, Philippines. The research employed the Quantitative Non-Experimental Design using Causal Effect to determine the domain that best influences elementary teachers’ social and social competencies. Additionally, Mean, Pearson-r, and Multiple Regression Analysis were the statistical tools used in this study. Moreover, servant leadership is high, meaning it is observed often. According to the findings of the study, there are no domains in servant leadership that influence the social and emotional competence of the teacher-respondents. This study provides educational leaders with the realization that the effectiveness of the school is highly dependent on the leadership of the school heads. The study recommended observing open-minded leadership for a better relationship with one’s substituent. Additionally, school heads can show how work is done rather than command how it can be done. In return, teachers would be competent enough to handle their emotions while doing their respective jobs for curricular and extra-curricular activities. Furthermore, Further investigation into additional areas that significantly impact teachers’ social and emotional competence may be done as part of the study.  Additionally, replication of this study is encouraged in order to confirm and test the findings in different settings.

Keywords:  servant leadership, social competence, emotional competence of teachers, school  effectiveness, Philippines

INTRODUCTION

In education, effective leadership is crucial for creating a nurturing and conducive learning environment. School leaders, particularly principals or school heads, play a pivotal role in shaping their school’s culture, climate, and overall success. Within this context, servant leadership has emerged as a compelling approach that emphasizes teachers’ well-being, growth, and development, ultimately benefiting the social and emotional competence of both educators and students.

Despite the advancement in technology and educational reforms, educational institutes face specific problems, challenges, and issues related to teachers’ social and emotional competence. Such issues make it difficult for teachers to cope with the parents’ and students’ academic and societal demands. Social pressure on teachers could result in emotional disturbance and challenges that could deteriorate their social and emotional competence.

This problem even gets worse with the emergence of poor academic performance, demands and expectations of parents, declining quality of education, the non-serious attitude of the students, the heavy workload on teachers, and most importantly, the social and emotional competence of teachers, especially with the ever and unexpected changing society which is teachers need to have the best well-being and be equipped (Dung, 2022).

In this regard, social and emotional competence is an essential tool that helps teachers adjust their emotions and meet the societal challenges that disturb the balance of their emotions. To be successful in the interpersonal and career domains, the ability to read and manage emotions in social contexts is vital. Social and emotional competence is an important psychological factor that profoundly affects employees’ abilities and performance. Previous social and emotional competence research has identified that emotional intelligence results in specific work-related outcomes (O’Connor, 2019).

Meanwhile, teachers need a leader who can inspire and motivate them to be more effective in teaching, while students will rely heavily on teachers to acquire knowledge and skills. Therefore, the effectiveness of the school is highly dependent on the principal’s leadership because their attitude is decisive in the effective implementation of the program. Principals are the leaders who play an essential role in the achievement of excellence or success of a school. Among these skills is the ability to control emotions and skills as an instructional leader, which allows the principals to influence teachers to carry out the teaching process effectively. In this regard, the ability of the principal to manage his/her servant leadership is essential in determining the success of the social and emotional competence among teachers (Rowena, 2019).

The discussion mentioned above regarding the relationship between servant leadership and teachers’ social and emotional competence presents that the interplay between the two has advantages. Therefore, leaders who better understand which leadership styles, characteristics, or traits provide the most significant opportunities for teacher improvement and student achievement (Gultekin & Kara, 2022). This will justify that servant leadership affects the follower’s emotional, physical, and psychological needs (Yang, 2021). Despite the numerous studies and research that have been done about the relationship between servant leadership and the social and emotional competence of teachers, there are still teachers who identify ineffective and non-supportive leadership as the reason for their departure.

Thus, this study expands the awareness of the impact of servant leadership of school heads on social and emotional competence among the respondents. It also concentrates on one issue that requires research, particularly in the existing public elementary schools. Therefore, this study is expected to contribute to the current literature, especially in the education industry context, where such research is desperately needed.

In addition, by investigating this relationship, the study seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge on leadership and teacher well-being while offering valuable insights for improving educational practices and enhancing student outcomes.

METHOD

          Presented in this chapter is the researcher’s methodology of the study. This includes the research design, research locale, population and sample, the research instruments- the construction, validation, and scaling, scoring procedure. It also presents the data collection procedure, statistical tools to be used in treating the data, and ethical considerations.

Research Design

This research work employed the Quantitative Non-Experimental Design using Causal Effect. First, the descriptive method entailed gathering data to test hypotheses or answer questions about the status of the subjects of a study under investigation (Kumatongo et al., 2021). Hence, this method was utilized in describing the level of servant leadership of school heads and the level of social and emotional competence of elementary teachers. Second, correlational research observes the values of two or more variables and determines what relationships exist between these variables. Thus, this method is appropriate since this study aims to determine if there is a significant relationship between the level of servant leadership of school heads and the level of social and emotional competence of elementary teachers, which are both quantifiable phenomena and can be correlated. Lastly, the regression analysis technique will be used to determine which indicator of the independent variable, the servant leadership of school heads, significantly predicts the dependent variable, which is the social and emotional competence of elementary teachers. The overall design is appropriate to use in determining the influence of servant leadership on the social and emotional competence of elementary teachers.

The process of gathering data was using questionnaires. The researcher selected and integrated questionnaires from different authors to be used as primary study tools. It was constructed based on the scope of servant leadership and then correlated to elementary teachers’ social and emotional competence. This research design helped determine the level of servant leadership and social and emotional competence among elementary teachers and the significant relationship between the two variables.

This study was conducted in the different public elementary schools within Asuncion District, Davao del Norte, Region XI. Presented in Figure 2 is the map of Mindanao highlighting Asuncion District, Davao del Norte, situated in Region XI. Asuncion, officially the Municipality of Asuncion, is a 1st class municipality in Davao del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 59,322 people. Asuncion was formerly known as Saug. It was renamed in 1957. Asuncion is politically subdivided into 20 barangays.

Research Locale

Figure 2. Map of Mindanao Highlighting Asuncion District, Davao del Norte

Population and Sample

Complete enumeration or total population sampling is used in this study. It is a purposive sampling technique where the researcher examines the entire population with particular characteristics. In the case of this study, the following are the inclusion criteria: (1) respondents should be teachers from the different public elementary schools in Asuncion District, Davao del Norte; (2) respondents should be between 25 and 45; and (3) these teachers should have the regular permanent status of teaching positions in Asuncion District, Division of Davao del Norte with positions between Teacher I and Teacher III. On the other hand, exclusion criteria, including those school heads, grade level heads, students, and parents, were not the concern of this study. If a participant in this study decides to withdraw, he or she can leave anytime without penalty since the participation is voluntary.

Research Instrument

Validated questionnaires were used in gathering the data. The independent variable of this study, which is servant leadership, was measured through an adopted questionnaire called the Servant Leadership Scale by Greenleaf (1970), organized under the five elements of servant leadership: interpersonal support, building community, altruism, egalitarianism, and moral integrity. Meanwhile, this study’s dependent variable, social and emotional competence, was measured through an adopted questionnaire called Reflection on Social and Emotional Competencies with five indicators: self-awareness, self-management/emotion regulation, social awareness, relationship/social skills, and responsible decision-making.

The research questionnaire underwent validation for content validity. It involved consultations with research specialists in this area of study. The two-part questionnaire was submitted for approval and validation by the panel of experts, and it obtained an overall rating of 3.86 which was described as an excellent validity index. The questionnaires underwent pilot testing among 40 teachers from a different group than the target respondents. The results of Cronbach Alpha for both independent and dependent variables were 0.800 and 0.806, respectively. The results revealed that the items of the said questionnaires were reliable.

The questionnaire was fully structured in such a way that the respondents were able to answer it quickly. Thus, the set of questionnaires was structured using the Likert format with a five-point response scale (Likert, 1967). This scale requires the subject to indicate his or her degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. The following were the scales: always, often, sometimes, seldom, and never. The following rating scales were used in the interpretation of the responses of the respondents on the school. climate.

On the other hand, the social and emotional competence parameters of limit is as follows:

Data Collection

In gathering the data for this study, the researcher employed the following procedures:

Seeking permission to conduct the study. The researcher asked permission to conduct the study. Primarily, the researcher will obtain an endorsement letter from the Dean of the Graduate Schools. Then, the researcher forwarded the letter of permission to conduct the study to the Division Superintendent of Davao del Norte. Upon approval, the researcher provided a copy to the school principals of the chosen public elementary schools.

General orientation and seeking consent from research respondents. First, the researcher secured permission and endorsements from the Dean of the Graduate School, authorization from the SDS, and school principals before the study’s conduct. Ethical considerations (respect for persons, beneficence, and justice), particularly on data privacy and its provisions, were adhered to in the study’s conduct. Informed Consent/Informed Assent was secured from the respondents before data gathering. All forms were signed (whether electronic, scanned, or by other alternative means) as proof of verification of voluntary participation. Then, data gathering for quantitative research was done online using Google Forms. The researcher personally did the correspondence and administration of the questionnaire.

All questionnaires were applied in a single 90-minute session employing the three research instruments. To protect the data, the respondents were required to answer the survey in a place where only they could see the online portal. Data or information they provided were treated with complete anonymity and confidentiality through discrete coding. No individual identities were used in the research study’s reports, presentations, or publications. All research data or information were kept in locked files (for material copies) or password-protected folders (for electronic copies). Only the principal investigator had access to the files. After the research study was completed, the data collected were retained for three (3) years and destroyed immediately after that in a secure manner that would prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure to any other party or the public or in a manner prescribed by law.

Administration and retrieval of the questionnaires. Before distributing the survey questionnaire, the researcher did orient the gatekeeper about ethical considerations, especially in obtaining the respondents’ data.

The researcher ensured as well that the gatekeeper signed a confidentiality agreement. The researcher conducted a virtual orientation about the study. The researcher informed them about the study through a phone call or video chat via Messenger for those who could not join the orientation.

The researcher found a replacement or another respondent from the study for the respondents who could not participate in the orientation. The data questionnaires were appropriately returned to the researcher.

The respondents were given 90 minutes to answer the questionnaires. Then, the questionnaires were retrieved after the allotted time given to the respondents.

Checking, collating, and processing of data. Finally, the researcher gathered, checked, and tabulated the raw scores in the Excel form the respondents and was subjected to data analysis by the graduate school statistician. After that, the researcher did interpret it for the results and discussion.

Statistical Tools

The answers gathered from the questionnaire were counted and tabularized in a master data sheet. The researcher sought assistance from the statistician to evaluate and read the results utilizing appropriate tools.

Mean. This is also known as the arithmetic mean, a value that helps to summarize an entire set of numbers. This statistical tool was used to determine the level of servant leadership and the level of instructional practices and was explicitly used in answering problems 1 and 2.

Pearson-r. The Pearson product-moment correlation, commonly called Pearson-r, is the most widely used correlation measure. This statistical tool was used to answer research question number 3, which has something to do with the significance of the relationship between the level of servant leadership and instructional practices.

Multiple Regression Analysis. This statistical tool was used to answer question number 4, which determined the indicator of servant leadership that significantly predicts instructional practices.

RESULTS

          Presented in this chapter are the results of the study. They were presented according to the problems raised in the previous chapter. The topics were presented in textual and tabular forms and discussed in sequence according to the problem statement.

Servant Leadership

Shown in Table 1 is the level of servant leadership in terms of interpersonal support, building community, altruism, egalitarianism, and moral integrity. It can be gleaned that the overall mean was 3.88 which meant high with an overall standard deviation of 0.83. The high level can be attributed to the high rating given by the respondents to all of the indicators the servant leadership. Moreover, altruism had the lowest mean score of 3.79 with a descriptive level of high while building community had the highest mean score of 4.01 with a descriptive level of high. This meant that the servant leadership indicator is oftentimes manifested.

As shown in the appended table, building community was the indicator with the highest mean, to which the two highest items are the school principal considers the effects of organizational decisions on the community and the school principal believes our organization has a duty to improve the community in which it operates with both means of 4.04. Moreover, moral integrity was the second highest indicator. The two highest items for moral integrity are school principal inspires employee trust with a mean of 4.05 and school principal values integrity more than profit or personal gain with a mean of 3.95. Moreover, the indicator with the third highest mean is interpersonal support witha mean of 3.86. The two highest items under this indicator are school principal treats all employees with dignity and respect with a mean of 4.13 and the school principal listens carefully to others with a mean of 4.02. Meanwhile, the indicator with the lowest mean is altruism at a score of 3.79 only. The two highest items under this indicator are school principal serves others willingly with no expectation of reward with a mean of 3.87 and school principal places the interests of others before self-interest with a mean of 3.80.

 Social and Emotional Competence    

Reflected in Table 2 is the teachers’ social and emotional competence in terms of self-awareness; self-management/emotion regulation; social awareness; relationship/social skills; and responsible decision-making. The overall mean was 4.07, with a high descriptive level and a standard deviation of 0.68. This mean score indicated that social and emotional competence is oftentimes manifested.

Data also revealed that relationship/social skills got the lowest mean score of 4.00, with a descriptive level of high. Meanwhile, the indicator with the highest mean score equivalent to 4.12 is self-awareness, with a descriptive level of high. Lastly, social awareness got the second-highest mean score of 4.10, with a descriptive level of high.

It is shown in the appended table that relationship/social skills had the lowest mean, with the two highest items communicating behavioral and skill-development expectations in a manner that addresses participants’ individual needs and strengths with a mean of 4.03 and using the social and program implementation practices to help cultivate participants’ skills. I am usually successful at building their skills with a mean of 4.00. On the other hand, the indicator with the highest mean score is self-awareness at 4.12. The two items with the highest mean scores are being aware of the practices I need to improve to grow professionally, with 4.26, and being aware of how my cultural beliefs and background affect my practices with participants, with 4.16.

Significance on the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Social and Emotional Competence

Presented in Table 3 is the correlation between servant leadership and teachers’ social and emotional competence. The table shows that the overall r-value was 0.780, with a p-value of <0.05. Therefore, the result is significant, and the null hypothesis is rejected.

Moreover, it was observed that interpersonal support, building community, altruism, egalitarianism, and moral integrity as indicators of servant leadership, when correlated with social and emotional competence in terms of self-awareness, obtained an overall r-value of 0.757 with a p-value of 0.000, which is lesser than 0.05 level of significance. Further, when the indicators of servant leadership were correlated with social and emotional competence in terms of self-management, the overall r-value was 0.712 with a p-value of 0.000 which is also lesser than the 0.05 significance level. Next, when the indicators of servant leadership were correlated with social and emotional competence in terms of social awareness, it had an overall r-value of 0.698 with a p-value of 0.000, which is less than a 0.05 significance level.

Moreover, when the indicators of servant leadership were correlated with social and emotional competence in terms of relationship/social skills, it had an overall r-value of 0.668 with a p-value of 0.000, which is less than a 0.05 significance level. Finally, when the indicators of servant leadership were correlated with social and emotional competence in responsible decision-making, it had an overall r-value of 0.674 with a p-value of 0.000, which is less than a 0.05 significance level. Thus, the results are significant in all indicators. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. The higher the level of servant leadership is, the higher the level of social and emotional

competence is among teachers.

These findings support the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between servant leadership and social and emotional competence among elementary teachers in Asuncion District, Davao del Norte. Further, servant leadership needs more domain that significantly improves social and emotional competence among public elementary teachers in Asuncion District, Davao del Norte.

Significance on the Influence of Servant Leadership on the Social and Emotional Competence

Table 3. Significance on the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior

Shown in Table 4 is the significance of the influence of servant leadership on social and emotional competence among teachers. It was revealed that the F value was 42.812 with a p-value of 0.000. Therefore, servant leadership significantly influenced social and emotional competence among teachers since the p-value of 0.000 was less than the 0.05 significance level. The result also showed that the r-value of 0.834 with an R2 value of 0.695 means that 69.5% of the variability of the dependent variable social and emotional competence, is influenced by the variability of the independent variable, servant leadership. The 30.5% was influenced by other attributes not part of the study.

Table 4.Significance on the Influence of Servant Leadership on the Social and Emotional Competence

DISCUSSION

          Presented in this chapter are the discussions on the data, conclusions, and recommendations on the variables of community school climate and innovative work behavior among public elementary school teachers.

Servant leadership

The high level of servant leadership means that the servant leadership, as perceived by the teachers’ social and emotional competence, is oftentimes manifested. This is because of the high ratings of all its indicators: interpersonal support, building community, altruism, egalitarianism, and moral integrity. The results prove that servant leadership behavior and attitudes about serving, rather than planned and targeted, should be seen as a heartfelt and enjoyable endeavor (Greenleaf, 1970).

Moreover, the results of this study also prove that within the organizational context, the portrait of the servant leader depicts an individual who is constantly seeking, listening, and looking for better ways to accomplish shared objectives, who consider creating value for others – employees, customers, and community – to be the primary goal of management, and who adopts a “holistic” approach to work that includes promoting a sense of community, and sharing in decision-making (Spears, 2014).

Aside from that, the findings of this study also strengthen the ideas of Patterson (2003) that servant leaders focus on their followers’ needs and interests; he describes servant leaders as having personality characteristics such as virtue, high moral merit, integrity, and goodwill.

Furthermore, this study also agrees with the theory of Covey (2002) that the servant leader has the characteristics of humility, reverence, open-mindedness, eagerness for learning, respectfulness, and determination, and someone also has an attitude and action based on these characteristics. The findings also prove when he describes the criteria of the level of servant leadership as based on internalized characteristics and turned into continual action.

Social and emotional competence 

Results showed a high level of social and emotional competence among the respondents. This is because of the high ratings given to all five indicators: self-awareness, self-management/emotion regulation, social awareness, relationship/social skills, and responsible decision-making. The results align with the theory of Jennings & Greenberg (2009) that social and emotional competence is a phenomenon that serves as a sound effect of servant leadership. They recognize their emotions, emotional patterns, and tendencies and know how to generate and use emotions such as joy and enthusiasm to motivate learning in themselves and others. They know how their emotional expressions affect their interactions with others. Also, they can build strong and supportive relationships through mutual understanding and cooperation and effectively negotiate solutions to conflict situations.

Significance of the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Social and emotional competence

           Results revealed a significant relationship between servant leadership and social and emotional competence, which led to the rejection of the study’s null hypothesis. Further, it implies that servant leadership relates to social and emotional competence. The results agree with a study conducted in Malaysia which found that this kind of leadership significantly positively impacted social and emotional competence. Therefore, the most influential leadership style in performing schools is servant leadership. It was sought to determine the appropriate leadership style that could make teachers effective in their job productivity. It was found that among the leadership style, the democratic style contributed more to teachers’ job productivity than the autocratic style, as can be seen in the rated items (Mukhtar et al., 2020).

Aside from that, the findings of this study also agree with Fatana (2021), who examined the relationship between servant leadership style and teachers’ social and emotional competence and commitment. Results confirmed the relationship between leadership style and teachers’ social and emotional competence and commitment and a statistically significant difference in the level of commitment reported by teachers at newer and older secondary schools. Results also indicated that biographical variables moderated the relationship between principal leadership style and teacher commitment.

Also, this study positively relates to the findings of Fatana (2021), who investigated the influence of leadership styles on teachers’ social and emotional competence in public secondary schools of GambellaRegion, Ethiopia. The study found a positive relationship between leadership styles and teachers’ performance and that the relationship was significant.

Meanwhile, the results of this study are supported by another research conducted by a study by Richards (2019), who investigated the relationship between servant leadership style as measured by the independent variables of planning, decision-making, communicating, organizing, coordinating, delegating, evaluating, and social and professional support, and the dependent variable of teacher’s social and emotional competence. The study found significant correlations between the dependent variable of teachers’ social and emotional competence and leadership style as measured by planning, decision-making, communicating, professional support, and evaluating. The study also found a significant difference in one sub-scale of principal leadership. In delegation, there was a significant difference in how male and female teachers perceived the principal leadership style.

Significance on the Influence of Servant Leadership on the Social and emotional competence

           The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the significance on the influence of servant leadership on social and emotional competence among teachers. It was revealed that among the indicators of servant leadership, only building community, altruism, and moral integrity were significant predictors of the social and emotional competence of the respondents.

The results do imply that building community involvement in school has additional benefits. Through service-learning, a method of learning that unites course content with community service or volunteerism, students attend to the community’s local, social, and economic needs. Research suggests that students who participate in service learning experience a heightened sense of civic awareness and duty. It has also been claimed that authentic hands-on learning is produced when community issues are directly incorporated into classroom themes. Research also highlights that school–community partnerships positively influence students’ overall health, attitude, and behavior (Edem et al., 2019 ).

Aside from that, the results prove that building community involvement reflected through school–business partnerships such as scholarships and work experiences are linked to increased career opportunities for high school students. Through service-learning, community-based education, and school–community work experiences, bridging and bonding social capital is formed between the students and community members. In turn, high levels of social capital are linked to employment opportunities and career options. In sum, as reflected within the literature, the student benefits of community involvement in school represent a mixture of academic, social, affective, and career rewards (Renzulli, 2021).

On the other hand, the findings of this study also prove that altruism can be achieved if a leader focuses on their followers’ needs and expectations rather than their own. It was pointed out that in leadership, one of the most important characteristics is to be internally conscious of serving others. In addition, it was stated that altruistic attitudes and behaviors would positively affect organizational processes, such as workers’ commitment, sense of belonging, and dedication. It was pointed out that there are two essential characteristics of Greenleaf’s servant leadership approach. First, without service aspects, leadership will be selfish, self-oriented, and ineffective rather than being empathetic, group-centered, and effective. Second, leadership demands instruction and counseling, but more importantly, it demands that the leader is a model for others in how to serve (Turner, 2022).

Also, this study strengthens the idea of altruism, which focuses on the follower’s needs and expectations and solving their problems rather than ambition and selfish behaviors and attitudes. For this reason, one of the essential pre-conditions based on service is that rather than focusing on himself, the leader must put the other’s needs and interests (Eva & Robin, 2019).

Meanwhile, the results also substantiate the idea of moral integrity, which refers to a condition based on trust and internal confidence about people a person interacts with and inconsistent words, attitudes, and behaviors. As a result, this situation brings trust in the leader and organization. It was believed that moral values are central to servant leadership. For this reason, one of the critical servant leadership dimensions is cultivating integrity to build honesty. There was research conducted in which it was discovered that a positive correlation existed when workers perceive that their leader is acting as a servant leader; they are more likely to trust their leader and organization (Lamprinou et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Servant leadership has a high level which means it is observed oftentimes. This relates to the concept of servant leadership introduced in 1970, which envisioned a model anchored in the fundamental human drive to bond with others and contribute to the betterment of society. It was proposed that servant leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first (Spears & Horsman, 2021). On the other hand, social and emotional competence is also high, which means it is often manifested. This idea agrees that social and emotional competence can lead to success at home, school, or the workplace. He stated that an individual’s success in life is dependent on only 20% of the intelligence quotient (IQ), and the remaining 80% is dependent on the emotional quotient (EQ) (Alsukayti& Singh, 2022).

Moreover, the study shows a significant relationship between servant leadership and teacher respondents’ social and emotional competence. The findings confirm this study’s theoretical foundation, which is the Servant Leadership Theory developed by Greenleaf (1970). Accordingly, in the servant leadership process, service is manifested as an internal situation and later is a conscious leader behavior. For this reason, unnatural service is not meaningful. Greenleaf articulated that servant leaders can gain leadership skills through serving their workers. Servant leadership behaviors and attitudes about serving, rather than planned and targeted, should be seen as heartfelt and enjoyable.

Furthermore, building community, altruism, and moral integrity significantly influence the teachers-respondents’ social and emotional competence. This proves the supporting theory of Patterson (2003), who cited that servant leaders are focused on their followers’ needs and interests; the work environment is organized like a living area. He describes servant leaders as having personality characteristics such as virtue, high moral merit, integrity, and goodwill. Also, the most critical source of servant leadership is personality.

Finally, the study agrees with Covey (2002), who also theorized that the servant leader as having the characteristics of humility, reverence, open-mindedness, eagerness for learning, respectfulness, helpfulness, determination, and someone who also has an attitude and action based on these characteristics. According to Covey, the criteria of the level of servant leadership is based on those characteristics that are internalized and turned into continual action.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are presented based on the findings and conclusions:

The high level of servant leadership and social and emotional competence means that plans must be made to further improve the competence of teachers in terms of social and emotional skills. School administration should allocate a budget to conduct more training, seminars, and workshops involving team-building activities, pep talks, motivational speakers, and leadership training. These would let teachers reflect on their personalities to be more sociable and emotionally stable. Also, school heads/principals, master teachers, or department heads should encourage their teachers never to be afraid of suggesting helpful things to improve their leadership in the school further. Teachers who are at the grass-root level are the ones who can give their leaders substantial ideas as to what shall be done so that they can deliver better management skills, techniques, and strategies that are all beneficial to the institution.

Also, the significant relationship between servant leadership and social and emotional competence recommends that school principals should lead their faculty members with the desire to serve them and not just enslave them with many additional works. They should never forget that they are not their bosses but rather their leaders. As school heads, they can show how work is done rather than command how it can be done. In return, teachers would be competent enough to handle their emotions while doing their jobs for curricular and extra-curricular activities. Thus, observing open-minded leadership for a better relationship with one’s substituents is highly recommended.

Moreover, building community, altruism, and moral integrity, which majorly influences the social and emotional competence of the teachers-respondents, entails that school heads/principals, together with the teachers, should work out their sense of collaboration with one another. There can be a community inside a school. Moreover, that community involves both parties together with the other personnel. Again, constant and regular team-building outings and activities can help them achieve this ideal community. On the other hand, school principals and teachers should also attend more seminars and motivational talks about altruism. This would help them realize the real essence of being selfless in the name of public service. It would further help them internalize how important it is to prioritize the general welfare of the school, especially those of the students, over their interests. Lastly, to further improve the moral integrity of both parties, they can either attend or initiate more of the School Project WATCH activities. By doing so, they can maintain and enrich their honesty, morality, and integrity in their personal and professional lives.

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