Abstract
Inclusive education relies on collaborative leadership and the collective capacity of educational stakeholders to sustain meaningful learning opportunities for learners with disabilities. Despite the growing implementation of inclusive education in the Philippines under Republic Act No. 11650, limited research has examined how leadership, grit, and resilience are experienced and enacted within collaborative special education settings. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of collaborative leadership, grit, and resilience among special education stakeholders in Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines. Guided by an integrated phenomenological approach drawing from van Manen's interpretive phenomenology and Moustakas' transcendental phenomenology, the study involved sixteen purposively selected participants comprising ten special education teachers, three school administrators, and three parents. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews conducted in English, Filipino, and Cebuano and analyzed using phenomenological reduction, horizontalization, thematic clustering, and composite essence synthesis.
The analysis yielded seven interrelated themes: (1) collaborative and inclusive practices; (2) grit, perseverance, and sustained effort; (3) adaptive and reflective leadership; (4) emotional awareness and well-being; (5) purpose-driven and values-based leadership; (6) community and family engagement; and (7) strategic implementation and problem-solving. The findings revealed that leadership, grit, and resilience functioned as mutually reinforcing and relational processes rather than independent constructs. Participants described inclusive education as a shared moral responsibility sustained through collaboration, reflective practice, cultural values, and collective commitment despite persistent institutional and resource-related challenges. The study extends theories of distributed leadership, grit, and ecological resilience by demonstrating their integration within the Filipino values of bayanihan and kapwa. The findings provide evidence to inform professional development, collaborative school leadership, inclusive education policy, and the strengthening of sustainable special education practices in comparable educational contexts.
