Human Capital Management and Administrative Leadership Practices Among Rural Secondary School Heads in Region XII

Educational leadership in rural secondary schools remains a significant concern in public-sector governance, particularly in geographically isolated communities where school heads face challenges related to limited resources, teacher shortages, learner absenteeism, and stakeholder engagement. Despite the growing emphasis on human capital management in educational leadership, limited studies have examined how talent management, character formation, and financial management collectively influence administrative leadership in rural Philippine school settings. (Added research gap as suggested by the reviewer.) The study was anchored on Human Capital Theory and educational leadership principles, which emphasize the role of organizational competencies and resource management in leadership effectiveness. (Added theoretical/conceptual grounding.) This study examined the relationship between human capital management and the administrative leadership practices of rural secondary school heads in Region XII. The study employed a descriptive–correlational research design involving 347 teacher-respondents from rural secondary schools in Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. Participants were selected through total enumeration and were limited to teachers with at least ten years of professional experience. Data were collected using validated structured evaluation scales and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that rural secondary school heads were perceived to demonstrate high levels of effectiveness in both human capital management and administrative leadership practices. (Revised wording for methodological caution.) Talent management, character formation, and financial management were all rated highly by the respondents. Correlation analysis indicated a strong positive relationship between human capital management and administrative leadership practices. Regression analysis further suggested that the identified human capital variables significantly contributed to variations in leadership effectiveness; however, the findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the exceptionally high coefficient values observed.