Abstract
Decision-making is a significant and subjective management process that reflects how a school head defines and perceives a problem and chooses an alternative solution to address it in managing school operations. The key purpose of this study is to determine the level of school heads’ decision-making practices in a district of a large-sized school division in the Negros Island Region for the school year 2025–2026, as a basis for a sustainability plan. A descriptive research design was employed, and a 32-item researcher-made survey questionnaire was used to gather data from 148 teachers. The results revealed that most of the subject respondents were older, with longer service years and higher educational backgrounds. Overall, the level of school heads’ decision-making practices in terms of instructional leadership, student academic discipline and welfare, resource management, and school-community partnership was very high. When grouped according to age, length of experience, and highest educational attainment, the level of school heads’ decision-making practices across areas was also very high. Further, no significant difference was found in the level of school heads’ decision-making practices in instructional leadership across age groups. These results indicate that school heads’ decision-making practices play a vital role in enhancing organizational effectiveness in schools. This call for DepEd officials may prioritize professional development programs aligned with PPSSH domains through NEAP initiatives to bridge perception gaps among school heads. A sustainability plan was developed and proposed based on the study’s findings.
Keywords: Decision-making, instructional leadership, student academic discipline welfare, resource management