Understanding School Leadership in Elementary Schools Using Ordinal Correlation and K-Medians Clustering

School leadership plays a critical role in shaping instructional quality and institutional performance in elementary education. This study aims to examine school leaders’ competencies in leading, managing, and developing teachers in Hindang District, Leyte, Philippines, and to analyze the relationships among these competencies. A descriptive–correlational design was employed using complete enumeration of 121 elementary school teachers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and K-medians clustering. The findings indicate that school leaders are generally perceived as “very satisfactory” in leading (Median=4), managing (Median=4), and developing teachers (Median=4). Correlation analysis reveals significant positive relationships among the three competencies, indicating that effective leadership operates as an integrated system. Cluster analysis identifies distinct groups of teachers who perceive leadership competencies as either “outstanding” or “very satisfactory,” reflecting variations in perceived effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening leadership competencies through continuous professional development and management training to enhance school performance.