Ethical Leadership Practices of School Heads and their Relationship and Influence on Teachers Moral, Productivity and Job Commitment.

This study investigated the level of ethical leadership practices among school heads and their influence on teachers’ morale, productivity, and job commitment within public elementary and secondary schools under the Schools Division of Iriga City. Adopting a descriptive-correlational research design, data were collected from two participant groups: school heads and teachers. The findings revealed that school heads demonstrate a very high level of ethical leadership practices across all evaluated categories, with Role Modeling and Ethical Behavior ranking the highest. Similarly, teachers exhibited a very high level of morale, productivity, and job commitment. Inferential analysis confirmed a significant positive relationship between the ethical leadership practices of school heads and key teacher performance outcomes. Based on these outcomes, an Ethical Leadership Enhancement Toolkit was proposed to sustain organizational trust, optimize performance, and foster inclusive school environments.

Ethical leadership practices, school heads, teachers’ morale, teachers’ productivity, job commitment, educational leadership, school management.

1. Abdullah, Z., Alias, B. S., & Hamid, A. H. A. (2024). Ethical leadership and teacher work culture: A review of education trends. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(4), 10021–10035. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i4.6173 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ancho, I. B., & Villadiego, S. M. (2022). Ethical leadership practices of award winning Philippine school heads: A phenomenological study. Journal of Philippine Educational Leadership, 6(1), 30–48. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Barth, R. S. (2025). Ethical leadership and school culture: Building trust and teacher morale. Harvard Education Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. Wiley. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2023). Social learning and ethical leadership in education: A multi-level framework. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(2), 211–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432221120476 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Cerit, Y. (2022). The influence of ethical leadership on teacher satisfaction: A Turkish perspective. Educational Studies, 48(3), 345–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2021.1883580 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Chen, Z., Zheng, X., & Jiang, H. (2022). Moral leadership and psychological safety among teachers. Journal of Educational Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Demirtas, Z. (2021). Ethical leadership and teacher morale: The mediating role of psychological climate. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 24(1), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2019.1689911 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Department of Education. (2017). DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2017: Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Department of Education. (2020). DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020: Guidelines for school leaders’ response to crisis situations. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Dedering, K., & Pietsch, M. (2023). Collective teacher innovativeness and leadership trust. Educational Research Review. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Eyal, O., & Roth, G. (2023). Ethical leadership and teachers’ motivation: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Educational Administration, 61(1), 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-08-2021-0180 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Flores, R. P., & Zacarias, J. T. (2024). Ethical leadership and teacher self-efficacy in Leyte. Philippine Journal of Education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2019). How to design and evaluate research in education (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Frick, W. C., & Gutierrez, K. J. (2024). Character-based ethical leadership and school climate. Journal of School Leadership. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Garcia, C. R., & Ching, R. T. (2024). Ethical leadership, transparency, and trust in governance. Journal of Local Education Management. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2011). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (10th ed.). Pearson. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Greenfield, W. D. (2025). Ethical leadership and teacher outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Hoy, W. K., & Tarter, C. J. (2011). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D. N., & De Hoogh, A. H. B. (2011). Ethical leadership and work engagement. Journal of Business Ethics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Kalshoven, K., & Boon, C. (2023). Ethical leadership and employee productivity. Journal of Business Ethics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Klassen, R. M., & Chiu, M. M. (2010). Teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 741–756. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Langlois, L., & Lapointe, C. (2022). Leadership ethics and teacher trust. Leadership and Policy in Schools. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Leithwood, K., & Jantzi, D. (2008). Linking leadership to student learning. Educational Administration Quarterly. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Logroño, E. P., & Tagadiad, J. T. (2023). Instructional leadership and school connectedness. Southern Philippine Journal of Education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Magboo, R. P., Ladia, M. T., & Santos, J. F. (2023). Instructional leadership and teacher engagement. Luzon Educators Journal. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Mayer, D. M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R. L., & Kuenzi, M. (2012). Ethical leadership and organizational climate. Academy of Management Journal. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). Organizational commitment theory. Human Resource Management Review. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2024). Ethical leadership in multicultural schools. International Journal of Educational Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Northouse, P. G. (2024). Leadership: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Sage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Obiekwe, K. K., Joseph, A., & Madudili, D. (2024). Ethical leadership and teacher commitment. Educational Management Journal. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Palmer, B. R., & Stough, C. (2023). Emotional intelligence and ethical leadership. Educational Leadership Quarterly. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Ramirez, P. A., & Capili, M. F. (2024). Leadership styles and teacher retention. Cagayan Valley Journal of Education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Republic Act No. 6713. (1989). Code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Republic Act No. 9155. (2001). Governance of basic education act. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Resick, C. J., Hanges, P. J., Dickson, M. W., & Mitchelson, J. K. (2021). Ethical leadership across cultures. Journal of Business Ethics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Shapira-Lishchinsky, O. (2024). Ethical dilemmas in school leadership. Journal of Educational Administration. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Yukl, G., & Mahsud, R. (2023). Ethical leadership and organizational learning. Academy of Management Perspectives. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study