Teachers' Perception of Department Heads' Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship to Teacher Efficacy At Aldersgate College High School: Towards A Development Program

This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study investigated teachers' perceptions of Department Heads' emotional intelligence (EI) and its relationship with teachers' self-efficacy at Aldersgate College High School, Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Guided by Goleman's five-component EI framework (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills) and Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory on teacher efficacy across three domains (instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement), the study involved 24 full-time high school teachers as quantitative respondents and 23 key informants for semi-structured interviews. The study used two validated instruments: the Department Heads Emotional Intelligence Scale (DHEIS) and the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Findings revealed that Department Heads were perceived as demonstrating a high level of overall emotional intelligence (M = 4.13, "Often"), with Motivation emerging as the highest-rated dimension (M = 4.27, "Always") and Self-Awareness as the lowest (M = 3.99). Teachers reported uniformly high self-efficacy (M = 8.24, "A Great Deal") across all three dimensions. While Pearson r correlation analyses found no statistically significant relationship between EI and teacher efficacy, likely due to near-ceiling TSES scores and a limited sample size, all 24 correlation pairs were positive. Qualitative themes strongly confirmed that empathetic leadership, emotional composure, and open communication were perceived as foundational drivers of professional confidence. No significant differences in efficacy or EI perception emerged across most demographic variables, except for a subscale-level difference in Social Skills perception by educational attainment. Based on these findings, the LEAD with Heart Training Intervention Program targeting Department Heads' EI competencies was proposed to sustain and strengthen teacher efficacy in private secondary school settings.