Towards an Evolving Change Management Theory for School-Based Management

This study attempted to construct a theory to describe and explain the change management in the implementation of the old and revised SBM grounded on the practices of the selected basic education principals. The study used Qualitative Design specifically employing Grounded Theory. Participants were purposely selected. A qualitative interviewing was utilized as the data collection approach using a semi-structured interview guide with open-format questions which has been passed through an expert validation. Data were subsequently analyzed and coded in the three sectional rounds which include open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. A total of 18 themes emerged from the data that constituted the change management theory for School-Based Management. In the old SBM, majority of the principals initiated the following change: learning resource persons, teaching concerns, stakeholders' participation in school projects, creating monitoring and evaluation tools. On the other hand, optimum stakeholders' participation, process of implementation, teaching-learning strategies, learners' needs and use of reliable sources are the change initiatives of the principals in the revised SBM. Most of these are anchored on the memorandized or ordered policies of DepEd. Principals should be encouraged to make some restructuring that will fit their school’s immediate needs. Principals manage their change initiative in the old and revised SBM through the following process preparation, initiation, adaptation, administration, consultation, focusing, appreciation, evaluation, and institutionalization. From the theory established, the researcher described and explained the change management process of principals' change initiatives in the old and revised SBM. Both change initiatives of the principals in the old and revised SBM share the same stages of change management