IJECE Published Articles

Abstract Resource-constrained public schools continue to face difficulties in sustaining instructional, organizational, technological, and community-based innovation despite increasing expectations for educational improvement. This study examined teachers’ perceptions of school heads’ support for school innovation, the perceived necessity of strengthening innovation support systems, and the relationship between these variables among public schools in the Division of Siargao. Guided by Diffusion of Innovations Theory and supported by Transformational Leadership Theory, Distributed Leadership Theory, and the Resource-Based View, the study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were gathered from 384 teacher-respondents using the researcher-developed and validated School Innovation Support Assessment Tool (SISAT), while qualitative data from school heads and open-ended responses were analyzed thematically. Results showed that teachers generally perceived school heads’ support for innovation as high across the five support dimensions, with collaboration and community partnerships obtaining the highest rating and resource mobilization and management obtaining the lowest. Teachers also expressed a very high perceived necessity for strengthening innovation support, particularly in external partnerships, policy guidance, recognition systems, teacher support, and leadership development. A weak but statistically significant positive relationship was found between school heads’ innovation support and teachers’ perceived necessity for strengthening innovation support (r = .20, p = .003). Qualitative findings showed that innovation is enabled by supportive leadership, teacher collaboration, creativity, and community engagement but constrained by resource scarcity, workload, limited training, geographic isolation, weak connectivity, and policy limitations. Based on the integrated findings, the study proposes a School Innovation Support Ecosystem Framework for school heads in resource-constrained contexts. Keywords: School Innovation, School Heads’ Support, Resource-Constrained Schools, Educational Leadership, Resource Mobilization, Community Partnerships, School Innovation Support Framework