Heart-Centered Management Training Program for Public Secondary School Principals in the Island of Panay, Philippines

This study investigated the relationship among the levels of emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, and transformational leadership skills of 201 public secondary school principals in the Island of Panay. The primary purpose of the study was to develop a "Heart-Centered Management Training Program" to improve the performance of school principals through enhanced use of emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, and transformational leadership skills. It determined the significant differences and relationship among these variables when the respondents were classified regarding their educational attainment, geographical location, Result – Based Performance Management System (RPMS) rating, professionalism, religion, and sexual orientation. Significant differences were observed in their level of emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, and transformational leadership skills when they were grouped according to RPMS rating, professionalism, religion, and sexual orientation, respectively. There were significant relationships between emotional intelligence and conflict management style; emotional intelligence and transformational leadership skills; and conflict management styles and transformational leadership skills. These findings were the bases of the "Heart-Centered Management Training Program."


Introduction
A principal who knows how to listen knows when to act, and knows when to withdraw is useful in dealing with anyone and does not violate anybody's sensibilities [1][2][3]. However, such desirable qualities may not have been generally observed among the school principals nowadays [4][5].
Emphasis on the quality of public school administration in the Island of Panay has been the central focus of attention during the Regional School Heads Development Program.  December 3-22, 2015. Issues about the school principals' self-mastery were the subject of discussion and had created controversy among the regional participants [6]. The areas of concern were emotional intelligence, conflict management, and transformational leadership [7]. Based on the scenario mentioned above in school administration, the present researcher has embarked on the development of a "Heart-Centered Management Training Program." The author views heart-centered management as an important and integral approach to educational management in which the leader strives to encourage a sense of significance and interconnectedness among employees. The leader understands the importance of employees finding meaning in their work, and demonstrates a genuine concern for the "whole" person, not just the employee. It implies that the focus will be less on formal position power and more on people; less on conformity and more on transformation and diversity; and less on controlling and more on partnership, collaboration, and inspiration. It is in this regard that the development of a heart-centered management training program is necessary to bridge any organizational gap and increase the level of emotional intelligence of the school heads, improve their understanding of conflict management styles, and enhance transformational leadership skills for "lifelong learning and service for the common good." Hence this study was conducted.
The conceptual framework of this study is shown in the paradigm ( Figure 1): Frame 1 illustrates the respondents' socio-demographic profile indicated by educational attainment, geographical location, Result -Based Performance Management System (RPMS) rating, professionalism, religion, and sexual orientation;  2 shows the respondents' level of emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy and motivation; their conflict management style in terms of competing, accommodating, avoiding, compromising and collaborating, and their transformational leadership skills indicated by intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence when taken as a whole and when grouped according to educational attainment, geographical location, Result -Based Performance Management System (RPMS) rating, professionalism, religion, and sexual orientation;

Literature Review
The concepts and literature reviewed in this manuscript provided informative insights about emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, transformational leadership, and heart-centered leadership. The review provided the researcher enough information to enable him to conceptualize the different portions of his research based on authoritative sources.
Leadership influences organizations; primary leadership influences schools. As mentioned in the literature, emotional intelligence plays an essential role in leadership effectiveness. The ability of the leader to understand and manage his moods and emotions as well as that of his followers theoretically contributes to the efficiency of the leader. Emotional intelligence enhances leaders' ability to solve problems and to address issues and opportunities facing them and their organization. Leaders who have high emotional intelligence are believed to be to use positive emotions to envision major improvements to the functioning of an organization. In particular, a leader high in emotional intelligence can accurately appraise how their followers feel and use this information to influence their subordinates' emotions so that they are receptive and supportive of the goals and objectives of the organization.
All the literature and related studies presented in this portion were essential contributors to the study. The concepts presented in briefly in an organized manner facilitated the researcher in developing a clear understanding on emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, transformational leadership skills, and heart-centered management among the selected public secondary school principals in the Island of Panay.

Results and Discussion
The results revealed ( Table 1) that there was a significant relationship between the emotional intelligence and conflict management style of the respondents (r =0.509, p= 0.001, p<0.05), Moreover, an r =0.729, p= of 0.001, p<0.05 leads to the rejection of the null hypothesis, between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership skills (r=0.729, p = 0.001) of respondents, and between the conflict management style and transformational leadership skills (r= 0.577, p= 0.001) of public school secondary principal. Correlation r: 0.00-0.19 "very weak" 0.20-0.39 "weak" 0.40-0.59 "moderate" 0.60-0.79 "strong" 0.80-1.0 "very strong"

Program Description
A Heart-Centered Management Training Program is developed for Public Secondary School Principals in Panay Island and aims to provide and equip the principals with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, resolve conflicts nonviolently, think creatively, and overcome obstacles to succeed in school administration and in life. The researcher based on the result designed the Heart-Centered Management Training Program his study entitled: A Heart-Centered Management Training Program for Public Secondary School Principals in the Island of Panay, Philippines. It was noted that the selected public secondary school principals had a high level of emotional intelligence, a high level of conflict management styles, and high level of transformational leadership skills. The program includes well-researched exercises in self-development that serve to expand leadership skills, accelerate personal growth, and professional development. It employs a holistic approach to management.

Rationale
The focus of the heart-centered management program is on social, emotional leadership with emphasis on the development of principals' compassion, courage, confidence, consciousness (awareness) and community. The goal is to equip the principals with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, resolve conflicts nonviolently, think creatively, and overcome obstacles to succeed in the school administration and life. The Heart-Centered Management Training Program is rooted in the principle of heart-centered leadership. Heart-Centered management envisions that as the consciousness of an individual expands, compassion will become greater. To fuel action, compassion must be supported by increased confidence and courage. This all happens within the context of community. So as the school community becomes more conscious and exhibits more compassion, it becomes more effective in influencing the world beyond its borders. Individual students, meanwhile, become more confident and better equipped to manage their emotions, communicate, think creatively, resolve conflicts nonviolently, and overcome obstacles to succeed in the classroom and life. As schools and individuals become more compassionate and practice good actions, their consciousness also continues to expand, and school communities become better able to support the needs of students and prepare students to become mindful and caring adults. Thus a cycle of consciousness and compassion continues to evolve.

Objectives
The goal is to design a program that will equip the principals with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, resolve conflicts nonviolently, think creatively, and overcome obstacles to succeed in the school and life. Specifically, the program aims to: 1. Develop emotionally engaged, tuned in principals who are highly motivated to want to do their very best work for the school. 2. Create a workplace that attracts and keeps the best and the brightest human resource/employees; and 3. Keep students and teachers satisfied and consistently maintains collaboration with the school.

Methods of Implementation
The implementation of the heart-centered management training program will follow three phases: Pre-Implementation: The results of the study will be given to the Department of Education, Regional Office VI. A. Planning: The proponent will send a letter to the Schools Division Superintendent requesting permission to conduct a re-evaluation on the level of emotional intelligence, conflict management style, and transformational leadership skill among the public secondary school principals and to discuss the implementation of the Heart-Centered Management Training Program. Application of Phase A. Organizing: The program shall be organized by the Human Resource Development Office of DepEd Aklan. The Human Resource Officer shall facilitate the realization of the program by motivating the teachers to participate in the heart-centered management training program activities. Directing: The conduct of the program will be regularly monitored and evaluated by the Human Resource Development Office. Post-Implementation the monitoring.

Program Evaluation
Evaluation begins by looking at the pre-intervention data on the level of emotional intelligence, conflict management style and transformational leadership skills of the school principals.1. Conduct a re-evaluation on the level of psychological knowledge, conflict management style and transformational leadership skills of the school principals. 2. Identify strengths and weaknesses.3. Develop an action plan that is appropriate, reasonable and practical. 4. Discuss how this plan might be implemented and made to work. Inform persons' involved of the method and how it will be applied. 5. Implement the heart-centered management training program. Track and monitor participation. 6. Conduct post-evaluation on the level of emotional intelligence, conflict management style and transformational leadership skills of the school principals. 7. Discuss the results of the evaluation. Give ample time for participants to express their thoughts. 8. Learn and make a further action based on the results of the assessment.

Conclusions
The public secondary school principals have a high level of emotional intelligence and therefore are qualified them to manage their schools more humanely. The school principals have higher the educational attainment which implies that the higher the level of emotional intelligence regarding selfawareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation and social skills. The principals' geographical location (either city or province) does not affect their level of emotional intelligence regarding self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation and social skills. The higher the Result-Based Performance Management System (RPMS) rating of the school principals, the higher is their level of emotional intelligence regarding self-regulation, empathy, motivation and social skills. The higher the level of professionalism of the school principals, the higher is their level of emotional intelligence as indicated by self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and social skills. The principal who has a chosen religion (either Catholic or non-Catholic) have a high level of emotional intelligence regarding self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation and social skills. Sexual orientation affects the level of emotional intelligence. Extremely high and high level of emotional intelligence can be manifested by all kinds of sexual orientation except females. School principals have high conflict management style regarding competing for style, collaborating style, compromising style and accommodating style can be high but low avoiding conflict management style. The school principal's educational attainment does affect his/her quality of his conflict management style. The principal's Result-Based Performance Management System (RPMS) can also determine his/her quality of conflict management style. The principal's quality of professionalism affects his/her quality of conflict management style. The higher the quality of professionalism, the better is his/her quality of conflict management styles. Religion and sexual orientation also affect the quality of conflict management styles adopted by the school principals. The RPMS rating, religion, and professionalism can positively affect the principal's conflict management style. Geographical location can affect the level of transformational leadership skills of school principals regarding individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation. Those who dwell in the city have a high level of level of transformational leadership skills of school principals regarding individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation. Those who dwell in the province have a high level of leadership skills regarding idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation. Educational attainment also influences the level of transformational leadership skills. The higher is the level of educational attainment, and the higher is the level of transformational leadership skills regarding intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence. The school principal's emotional intelligence influences conflict management style, emotional intelligence influences Transformational leadership skills, and conflict management style and transformational leadership skills. With this in mind, hence, the public secondary school principals in the island of Panay can manage their work well and gain not just improvement in their work but also on their personal lives.