Leadership beyond access: adaptive management and peacebuilding in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines

This study examines how school heads in the southern Philippines enact adaptive leadership and peacebuilding in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs). In these contexts, which are marked by resource scarcity, cultural diversity, and geographic isolation, educational leadership extends beyond administrative management to encompass adaptability, collaboration, and ethically grounded decision making. Using a qualitative case study design, data were gathered from seven school heads through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and document review. Thematic analysis revealed two overarching dimensions: adaptive leadership and community peacebuilding. Within adaptive leadership, themes such as community engagement, resourcefulness, and moral stewardship in decision making emerged as vital leadership attributes. Leaders demonstrated flexibility in managing limited resources, fostering collective problem-solving, and sustaining school operations despite constraints. In the domain of peacebuilding, strong community partnerships, inclusive communication, and collaborative decision making surfaced as mechanisms for maintaining social harmony and ensuring educational continuity. Observation data further illustrated how leadership practices were embedded in material school conditions, including deteriorating infrastructure, long travel distances, and reliance on community labor. These findings highlight the fact that effective leadership in GIDAs depends on contextual adaptability, shared responsibility, and ethical commitment. Leadership beyond access, therefore, signifies not only coping with adversity, but also navigating tensions between sustainability, leader well-being, and chronic scarcity while positioning schools as spaces of peace and social cohesion.