Distributed Leadership Practices and Teacher Innovation Engagement in Public Elementary Schools

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between distributed leadership practices and teacher innovation engagement in public elementary schools in Cauayan City, Isabela. Grounded in the view that shared leadership can create conditions that encourage teacher initiative and instructional improvement, the study described the level of distributed leadership practices and teacher innovation engagement and determined whether leadership practices significantly influenced teachers’ innovation engagement. A quantitative cross sectional predictive correlational design was employed. Data were gathered through a validated survey questionnaire administered to public elementary school teachers selected through stratified random sampling. The instrument demonstrated strong reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.93 for distributed leadership practices and 0.91 for teacher innovation engagement. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation, and simple linear regression were used in analyzing the data. Findings revealed that distributed leadership practices and teacher innovation engagement were both at very high levels, with overall means of 4.30 and 4.27, respectively. A strong positive relationship was found between the two variables (r = 0.718, p = 0.001). Regression analysis further showed that distributed leadership practices significantly predicted teacher innovation engagement and explained 51.6% of its variance (R² = 0.516, p = 0.001). The study concluded that participatory and empowering leadership environments play an important role in strengthening teachers’ engagement in innovative professional and instructional practices. It is recommended that school leaders further institutionalize shared leadership structures to sustain teacher innovation and school improvement.