LOOKING INTO THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP OF MASTER TEACHERS DURING THE IN-PERSON CLASSES: A PHENOMENOLOGY

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore and understand the views and perceptions of Master Teachers as educational leaders during in-person classes in the elementary and secondary schools of the Division of Davao de Oro. The study was gleaned from the Contingency Theory and Path-Goal Theory. The research design employed in this study is a qualitative phenomenological design. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the participants, who are Master teachers in the elementary and secondary schools of Davao De Oro. There were fourteen (14) Master teachers, seven (7) for in-depth interview and seven (7) for focus group discussion. Results of the participants’ experiences mainly include managing curriculum implementation, facilitating pedagogical development, encountering difficulties as master teacher, and engaging support for professional growth. Participants also shared that they handled the situation by carrying out effective instructional leadership, being provided with support, and implementing strategies in new setup. Apart from other findings, possessing skills as instructional leader is one of the solutions to continue one’s educational leader role during in-person classes. It is also recommended to research further about the experiences of teachers as school-in-charge as another angle to be seen along with how they coped with the struggles in handling both instruction and administration tasks during in-person classes. KEYWORDS: In-person classes, educational leader, Master teachers, qualitative phenomenological inquiry