Cultural Competence and Conflict Management Skills of Elementary School Heads in the Southern District of Nueva Vizcaya as Perceived by their Teachers: Basis for Management Intervention

This study examined the cultural competence and conflict management skills of elementary school heads in the Southern District of Nueva Vizcaya as perceived by teachers, and proposed a management intervention program. It assessed cultural competence in terms of open attitude, self-awareness, awareness of others, cultural knowledge, and cultural studies, and conflict management skills in terms of communication, emotional intelligence, empathy, creative problem solving, and conflict resolution skills. It also determined the relationship between the two variables. A descriptive–correlational research design was employed. The respondents were 90 teachers from 13 public elementary schools, selected through total enumeration sampling. Data were collected using validated survey questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation. Results showed that the cultural competence of school heads was rated Very High in all dimensions, and their conflict management skills were likewise rated Very High. However, the correlation analysis revealed no significant relationship between cultural competence and conflict management skills. The study concludes that although school heads demonstrate high competence in both areas, these variables function independently. A management intervention program is recommended to strengthen leadership practices in culturally diverse schools further.