action research sample

1. DOCUMENT ANALYSIS OF
MAINTENANCE AND OTHER
OPERATING EXPENSES (MOOE) OF
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN THE
CITY DIVISION OF KORONADAL: A
QUALITATIVE ACTION RESEARCH
By
RICHARD P. MORAL, JR.
DANILO C. ABANIL
JOHN GREGORY D. JABIDO

2. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Education Order no. 13
series of 2016 stipulated the value of school
budget, which says “the school budget is one of
the most powerful tools to promote and
strengthen school based management and
accountability.” The idea is to put premium in the
financial aspect of school management and to
create school that is fully aware of the financial
responsibility.

3. The order also emphasized that the
Department of Education continues to make
resources available to schools to support them in
enabling students to perform better.
Thus, to interpret the said statement, the
main goal of giving school funds is to uplift
students’ performance and to aid students’ need
in their academic endeavor.

4. This study will try to analyze and situate the
MOOE of every elementary schools in the City
Division of Koronadal, in terms of their
expenditures and allocations.
It will technically cluster the themes or
emerging thoughts of MOOE allocation and to
make proper recommendation on how to properly
utilize the budget and to anchor the finances in
the vision-mission statement of the department.

5. Furthermore, it will try to seek thematic
meaning of the MOOE allocation in to what aspect
of school development the budget was allocated.
The big question is: does the MOOE uplifts
student’s welfare?

6. REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
School-Based Financial Management for Quality
Education
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single school in
possession of its own financial decision-making must provide better
quality. This statement is reflected in its endorsement by many
government and other agencies, including the Organization for
Economic and Cultural Development, the Australian Karmel Report,
the New Zealand Picot Report, the English 1988 Education Reform
Act and its supporting circulars. The prevailing thrust of reform is
towards financial school-based management (a term used to describe
a decentralized school management system).(Levacic 1995:5).

7. The Government Funds as means of School Quality &
Efficiency
There is a huge lack of information on state and local
expenditures for education, which makes accurate estimates of total
spending difficult. Federal Contribution Education Spending The federal
government (FG) makes nationwide policies and runs secondary (both
junior and senior) and post-secondary institutions, including universities,
polytechnics, and colleges. (Loft, 2012)

8. The Need to Analyze the MOOE Allocations and
Expenditures
The government is aiming for a transparent schools that will
see-through various financial activities of the school, this is true when
President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the executive order containing the
Freedom of Information (FOI).
This study will not only be limited in the concept of transparency
but it will dig more into the concept of quality. In terms of quality: are
there any evidences that the School Improvement Plan (SIP) is the
basis of the principal in designing or allocating the budget? What are
some aspects of allocation did they emphasize? Are there more in
student learning? Are they promoting student’s progress? What themes
are usually repeated in the budgetary allocations of the MOOE?

9. In the City of Koronadal, how far did our schools
conceptualize the said guidelines? It will become a bases of a more
relevant schools that cater the needs of the students. By doing this, a
more visionary schools in the City of Koronadal upholding the vision of
the department and fulfilling the mission in the world of education.

10. STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM/ RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
This research will technically answer the following
questions:
1. What are the areas being allocated in the
expenditures of the MOOE of the
elementary schools in the City of
Koronadal?
2. What are the emergent reasons of the
elementary principals in the City of
Koronadal about their MOOE allocation
using Focus Group Discussion (FGD)?

11. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
The study evolve in the submitted liquidated
MOOE documents of the school principals in the
Division Office (DO) for the past 5 months. The
division office through the School Governance and
Operations Division (SGOD) collated the
documents. The 44 elementary schools in the
division was considered through their liquidated
MOOE. The analysis starts after the SGOD
compiled the said document. Out of 44 school
heads, the 10 school heads/ principals was called
for the triangulation and Focus Group Discussion
(FGD) the researchers set criteria in selecting the
10 principals. The participants was called on the

12. A school visitation was organized to validate
the allocated budget and to strengthen the result of
FGD. This is because the major output of the
research is to produce a qualitative and narrative
budget allocation for the MOOE.
A major circumstances was considered such
as: some schools were not yet done liquidating for
the past 5 months and the availability of the school
principal during the Focus Group Discussion (FGD).

13. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
This study seeks better understanding in
MOOE allocation and expenditures in the
elementary schools in the City of Koronadal, thus,
the Division Office (D.O) through the SGOD was
the one who took initiatives in gathering the
documents: such as the liquidated MOOE for the
past 5 months.

14. After gathering the said document the
researchers analyzed the paper based on the
method presented in the qualitative research
called interpretative phenomenology specifically it
will use document analysis method in dealing with
the paper. In this method the researchers used
the thematic analysis of the paper based on the
emergent theme. In analyzing the paper, Collaizi’s
method in interpreting the data was used.

15. After the analysis, the researchers
conducted the FGD to some of the principals. The
participants was selected through the given
criteria. The SGOD was the one who scheduled
the date of the FGD. Using the triangulation
technique the researchers will be crafting a
thematic/narrative discussion on the MOOE
budget allocation.

16. A. SAMPLING METHOD
The sampling method employed was purposive
sampling. This was done during the second part of the
research, the study utilized FGD. The researchers sets
criteria in selecting the participants. The participants are
the 10 elementary principals in the City of Koronadal.
These criteria are the following: (1) 10 years of being
school head/ principal (2) at least, handled different school
three times (3) presently 2 years in the current school
he/she handling.

17. B. DATA COLLECTION
In the first part of the research the team applied
document analysis. The MOOE of all elementary schools
for the past five months prior to the approval of this
research was analyzed.
The researchers extracted the common themes of
the budget allocations and expenditures and analyzed the
said themes. In the second part, the researchers used the
FGD among the selected participants. Guide questions
was evaluated and prepared for the convenience of the
researchers and participants. The answers of the principal
was analyzed through the emergent theme. It was
triangulated based on the document analysis.

18. C. ETHICAL ISSUES
The research is mainly on the budget allocation of
the MOOE, proper authorities was considered and the
decision of the participants was accepted. The
researchers prepared the consent form for the principals.
The decision was not mandatory, it was the free will of the
participants. They was informed ahead of time that there
will be FGD.
The researchers asked their permission through a
consent letter stating that their MOOE liquidation will be
used, even if they are bounded by the law, the researchers
in view of ethical considerations will be doing information
dissemination to the participants without naming the
school.

19. D. PLAN FOR DATA ANALYSIS
The research method employed in this particular
study is qualitative, hence, researchers used cluster
themes and emergent themes in analyzing the documents
specifically, the Collaizi’s method in analyzing the data.
There are themes that was indicated both in the document
analysis and during the FGD.
A triangulation was made after the document
analysis and FGD. School visitation was employed for the
verification and assessing the truthfulness of the
document analysis.

20. PLANS FOR
DISSEMINATION/
ADVOCACY
The result of this research will be disseminated in
the Management Committee of the division. Furthermore,
it will be reiterated during the principal’s enhancement
program of the division.
In a technical manner, it will become a bases for the
division in supervising and monitoring MOOE in
elementary level, it will also be cascaded in the secondary
level. This research will be viewed as a model in budget
allocation and expenditures, thus, during the future
capacity building of the school heads this will become a
major part in the program, for the principal to become fully
aware about their allocation and expenditures and to be
more sensitive in the curricular and quality offering of the
schools in the division.

21. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS
AND INTERPRETATION OF
DATA
After the conduct of the study, records of MOOE
expenditures of Koronadal City Division from 2015 until
2017 along with the Focus Group Discussion of the school
heads, were obtained showing the results.
Koronadal City Division has 44 elementary schools.
These elementary schools were randomly selected
through their MOOE liquidation report by the use of
convenience sampling method. The 10 elementary
schools liquidation report had been gathered and
evaluated through the process of document analysis.

22. TABLE 1. BREAKDOWN OF MOOE
ALLOCATION
STUDENTS ACTIVITIES
0%
UTILITIES, BILLS
38%
SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR
TEACHERS
1%
OFFICE SUPPLIES
14%
TRAININGS
9%
REPAIRS
38%
TRAVEL
0%
MOOE ALLOCATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN KORONADAL
CITY
STUDENTS ACTIVITIES UTILITIES, BILLS
SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR TEACHERS OFFICE SUPPLIES
TRAININGS REPAIRS
TRAVEL
Table 1 below shows document analysis of MOOE report for the month
of December 2016-March 2017.

23. Table 1, indicates the allocation of MOOE among
the 10 schools in Koronadal City Division. This is based on
the document provided by the Accounting’s Office from
December 2016 down to March 2017. In a random
manner, the researchers selected liquidation reports
through convenience sampling.
It can be noted then, that expenses which include
utilities, security, water bills, telephone, internet and
electricity are among the highest allocated budget in the
MOOE with 38% allocation, while repairs and
maintenance garnered 38% also in the whole budget
allocation.
Insignificant amount were allocated to Students’
Activities based on the SIP (School Improvement Plan),
School supplies for teachers, and travel expenses.

24. These categories were drawn based on the existing
policy of MOOE allocation Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) and DepEd Joint Circular No. 2004-1
dated January 01, 2004 entitled Guidelines on the Direct
Release of Funds to DepED-Regional Offices and
Implementing Units; Section 10, Republic Act No. 9155
(Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001) which
provides that the appropriations intended for the regional
and field offices (elementary/secondary schools and
schools division offices) are to be allocated directly and
released immediately by the DBM to the said offices; and
Section 10 of the DepEd Special Provisions, Republic Act
No. 10147, the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of Fiscal
Year 2011.

25. TRIANGULATION METHOD
BASED ON THE FOCUS GROUP
DISCUSSION
To deepen the numbers in the MOOE allocation, Focus Group
Discussion (FGD) were formally done to triangulate the existing data
on the document analysis. Inclusion criteria were set by the
researchers to avoid inconsistencies of data, the following are the
inclusion criteria: 5 years as school head, 2 years in the assigned
school. There were only five school heads qualified as the
participants, so as to set the standard in the FGD a purposive
sampling method were employed to get to more participants.
The participants were informed a week before the conduct of
FGD, this is part of the ethical standards in research, they were given
consent form to decide whether they will participate or not.
After the FGD a qualitative discourse analysis were used to
extract the themes and meanings of their answers.

26. QUESTION 1: AS A SCHOOL HEAD,
HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR
MOOE?
Text Formulated
Meanings
Cluster themes
Participant 1: I see to it
that the disbursement of the
MOOE funds are based on SIP,
but there are instances that
there are priorities concern in
the school to be funded first and
so I made adjustment for the
budget on hand and finish first
what is needed. Immediate
concern like fixing of water
facilities, electrical repairs, labor
fees for repairs and school
supplies. Ara sa SIP pero indi
siya na allocate for the specific
month. Fortunately, gina-
approve man nila.
Based on the SIP but
depending on the
needs.
SIP-based

27. School heads are religiously following the
School Based Improvement Plan in managing
their MOOE. Listed on their prioritization area in
the Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) school heads
see to it that they still follows the SIP, this is true in
the document they presented in their liquidation
were most of their finances and budget allocation
came from the Annual Improvement Plan that
were crafted based on the SIP.

28. QUESTION 2: TO WHAT EXTENT
DID YOU GIVE PRIORITY TO YOUR
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ NEEDS?
Text Formulated
Meanings
Cluster themes
Participant 1: 80% is
provided to learner
environment. Kay
useless man gihapon
ang instructional
materials kung guba
ang room.
Learning environment
can affect the quality
teaching thus
providing the need of
the learning
environment is highly
prioritized.
Indirect prioritization

29. An indirect prioritization on Teachers and
students needs were visible based on the FGD.
School heads are not really prioritizing trainings
and seminars of the teachers because the large
chunk of their MOOE were allocated in the
mandatory bills and expenses and school learning
environment. It was true in the document that they
are giving much and higher allocation in their
MOOE were 38% goes to the mandatory expenses.

30. This is inconsistent of the mandate that MOOE should be
more visible on teachers’ and learners’ growth and
achievement, but school heads reiterated that investing on
the learning environment has indirect and future impact in
their achievement.

31. QUESTION 3: WHAT ARE YOUR
PROBLEMS IN MOOE? WHAT
CHANGES DO YOU WANT TO
HAPPEN?
STUDENTS’ NEEDS?
Text Formulated
Meanings
Cluster themes
Participant 1: I have
a problem on 2306
and 2307 required for
BIR. There are times
that we cannot
accomplish these
papers. So BIR forms
should be totally
eliminated.
Learning environment
can affect the quality
teaching thus
providing the need of
the learning
environment is highly
prioritized.
Indirect prioritization

32. Eliminate the papers that are unnecessary in
liquidation and of purchasing should be given attention.
This is because it can affect the liquidation report of the
school heads.
Some of the paper requirements also are
redundant, accomplishing the same paper with the same
concept, thus to really have a good compliance in
liquidation report too much red tape or paper obligation
can be eliminated or reduced.

33. FROM THE DATA GATHERED, THE
FOLLOWING FINDINGS WERE
ACHIEVED:
The areas of expense of MOOE fund in the Elementary schools in
Koronadal City Division and their corresponding average percentage
allocation from December 2016 to March 2017 are summarized and
arranged from highest to lowest as follow:
 REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE, 38.22%;
 UTILITIES AND MANDATORY EXPENSES, 37.86%;
 OFFICE SUPPLIES EXPENSES, 13.70%,
 TRAININGS, 8.73%,
 SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR TEACHERS, 0.62%,
 TRAVEL, 0.52% AND;
 STUDENTS ACTIVITIES, 0.35%.
It was found out that the highest allocation of Elementary Schools in
Koronadal City Division budget is given to repair and maintenance and
Mandatory expenses. The least amount allotted, on the other hand, is the
students’ activities.

34. In the FGD, it was found out that the school head
really follows the School Improvement Plan consistently. It
was also emphasized that students and teachers
development were not really emphasized in allocating
budget in the MOOE because for them investing in the
learning environment will have greater impact in the future.

35. INSIGHTS
Based on the findings discussed, the
following reflections are presented:
The areas of expenses of Koronadal Elementary
Schools MOOE fund are office supplies, repair and
maintenance, utility expenses, travel, students activities,
and trainings from November 2016 to March 2017.
The largest percentage allocation of Koronadal City
Division Elementary Schools MOOE fund for November
2016 to March 2017 belongs to repair and maintenance
and mandatory expenses while the least amount is
allocated to students activities.

36. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the conclusions drawn, the
following recommendations are hereby
offered:
1. Elementary Schools in Koronadal City Division
should maintain the current percentage share of
MOOE fund for each school aspect. The schools must
exert further maintenance efforts and improvements
in teachers training, student’s activities fund and
teachers learning materials.

37. 2. The national, regional, and division office should
review the processing of papers in the liquidation
report and MOOE budget aligning. A consultation
dialogue should be done to properly eliminate
unnecessary paper reports and document
submission.
3. A comprehensive Model Budget Allocation
Framework should be crafted considering the context
(MOOE budget) of every school in the division.

38. STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

40. REFERENCES
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Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. An Imperiled Generation:
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Dep Ed order number 13, series 2016
Dimmock, L. 1993. Finances and Money: The Apple Printing Press. Honolulu,
Hawaii.
Levacic, K., 1995. The Financial Management Matters: New York Publishing House.
NY, USA.
Loft, G., 2012. School Based Management: Nigeria Publishing House. Nigeria.
Paisey, Leenard. 1992. The School Financial Status: Washington Publishing House,
Washington, DC, USA.
Rolle, R.A. (2008). The Social Justice Implications of Contemporary School Finance
Theory andPolicy. New York, NY: Routledge.
Seeley, I.H., 1987, Building Maintenance, Second Edition, MacMillan Educational,
London.