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INSTRUCTIONAL COMPETENCIES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

TEACHERS IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL IN PASAY CITY:
THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO STUDENTS’
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

A Research Paper Presented

to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of

National Teacher’s College

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

in Special Topics in Philippine Studies

by

FRANCIS N. FRIA

MaEd Social Science

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Chapter 1

Introduction

One of the goals of today’s pre-service and in-service training of teachers is to

promote teacher’s competencies. According to the Department of Education, it is a big

factor in the academic achievement of the students. Included under teacher competencies

are teaching effectiveness, professional recognition and awards, membership and

participation in professional organizations, scholarly abilities and creative productiveness,

and university and community service (Manual of Regulation for Private Schools, 2010).

In the daily life of students, they encounter different kinds of teachers. It is a fact that the

various teaching competency levels of their teachers bear different effects upon the

students’ learning. Because of this, teachers must be aware of their own level of

competency so as to be extra conscious of how their teaching affects the learning of the

students.

According to Onike (2007), a teacher occupies an important position and is a key

element in the operations of the school system. Teacher’s competence, knowledge, interest,

devotion, commitment, dedication, professional training, attitude and personality make up

matters and largely determine the quality of services provided by the teacher.

Muijs and Reynolds (2005) claims that how a teacher teaches becomes a vital key

in promoting effective teaching and learning to the students. The researchers took interest

in the study of how the teachers’ competencies affect the learning of the students whom

they are teaching. Therefore, the teachers themselves are given the obligation to mold

students into learned, competent, responsible and moral citizens of the country which is
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aligned with the aim of every educational institution, that is to produce competent and

excellent graduates.

Given the current demands of various schools with regard to the teacher’s

competency, the researchers chose to look into this topic so as to expand their knowledge

on the situations and the possible remedies to some existing problems.

Upon noticing the impact of the quality of education to the future of the students,

the researchers came up with a common view that the present condition of the teachers’

competencies could still be raised higher.

The primary focus in this study is the teachers, mainly because they are in charge

of the facilitation of their students’ learning experiences. The effectiveness of theirteaching

is one of the factors that determine how well the students would do in their journey towards

knowledge acquisition. Basically, the teachers play a vital role in the daily lives of their

students. Thus, the advocacy to promote academic excellence and quality education in STI

College Pasay-EDSA Senior High School Department in view of making this institution a

center of academic excellence made the researchers decide to conduct the study that will

determine the effects of teaching competencies of the Social Science teachers in STI

College Pasay-EDSA Senior High School Department to the students’ academic

performance.
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Statement of the Problem

This study endeavors to determine the high school students’ perception as regards

the instructional competencies of the Teaching Force and their relationship to students’

academic performance.

Specifically, it aims to answer the following sub-problems:

1. What are the students’ perceptions on the instructional competencies of the Senior

High School Social Science teachers in terms of the following?

1.1 General Knowledge/Mastery of the Subject Field

1.2 Teaching Skills

1.3 Classroom Management

1.4 Evaluation Skills;

2. What is the level of academic performance of the respondents in the following

subjects?

2.1 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

2.2 Personal Development

3. Is there a significant relationship between the teachers’ instructional competencies

and the students’ academic performance in the following subjects?

3.1 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

3.2 Personal Development

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Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between the teachers’ instructional

competencies and the students’ academic performances in Introduction to the Philosophy

of the Human Person and Personal Development.

Theoretical Framework

Vygotsky highlights that interaction plays a role in the cognitive development of a

learner (Dahms et al., 2007). In the light of the theory discussed, More Knowledgeable

Others (MKO) refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability than

the learner with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. In this study, this MKO

refers to the teachers. Another aspect of the theory is the Zone of Proximal Development

(ZPD). The ZPD is the distance between a student’s ability to perform a task under adult

guidance and/or with peer collaboration and the student’s ability to solve the problem

independently. According to Vygotsky, learning occurs in this zone (Daniels, 2005). This

theory is related to the instructional competencies of the teaching force and how the

interaction between the teacher and students brings about the latter’s learning.

Another theory that will be presented is the constructivist theory by Jerome

Seymour Bruner. Constructivism sees learning as a dynamic process in which learners

construct new ideas or concepts in their current/past knowledge and in response to the

instructional situation. Constructivism implies the notion that learners do not passively

absorb information but construct it themselves (Bruner’s Constructivist Theory, 2006). The

teacher resources used should be focused in encouraging, aiding and allowing the
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students to uncover the main principles on their own. Communication between thelearner

and teacher is the key concept.

Teachers need to master two types of knowledge: content, also known as deep

knowledge of the subject itself, and knowledge of the curricular development. Content

knowledge encompasses what Bruner, as cited in Shulman (1992), calls the structure of

knowledge – the theories, principles, and concepts of a particular discipline (Ornstein,

2000).

The last theory on which this study is founded is the Bronfenbrenner’s model of the

ecology of human development. Paquette and Ryans (2001) explain the Bronfenbrenner’s

model of the ecology of human development which stipulates that the child does not

develop in seclusion but in relation to his or her environment. Interactions with these

environments as well as the environments themselves such as the family and school are

keys to development. The family and school are considered as the most proximate

environmental system and Bronfenbrenner called it the Microsystem, the most influential

environment to the developing child. According to Cobb (2001), the microsystems of

Bronfenbrenner’s model of ecology are the various settings in which the person, in this

case, an adolescent student, moves throughout the day; at home, at school, at work and

with friends which is innermost and immediate in environmental influence. A

characteristic of the microsystem is that the activities, interpersonal relations, and roles

involve the adolescent in face-to-face interactions with others. To be specific, the school

environment will be used to relate the teachers themselves in the learning of the students.
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Conceptual Framework

The main factor affecting the students’ academic performance is their teacher. To

be more specific, this study seeks to look more into the instructional competencies that a

teacher should be possessing. First on the list is the Mastery of the subject field. Teachers

must be adept on the subject field that they intend to teach. They must be aware that every

bit of information that they hand down to the students are accurate and precise. The set of

teaching skills that they have could greatly affect the way they present lessons to their class.

The classroom management of the teachers is also of immense significance, for the

researchers believe that a great teacher also instills values and self-discipline to their

students. A teacher must always strive to be in absolute control of the classroom situations

or happenings. Last on the list is the evaluation skill, which the researchers see as

something essential for a teacher. Evaluation skills give the teacher a capability to judge

the student’s performance and progress, which most likely give them a hint on some

necessary adjustments or notices to give. All of these are connected to the academic

performance, specifically in Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person, and

Personal Development

(Figure1)

Teachers’ Instructional Students’ Academic

Competencies Performances in:

• Mastery of the Subject

• Introduction to the
Field
Philosophy of Human
• Teaching Skills Person
• Classroom Management • Personal Development
• Evaluation Skills
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Figure 1. The Relationship of the Teacher’s Instructional Competencies to the Students’ Academic
Performance

Significance of the Study

The researchers believe that this study will mainly contribute to the following:

To the Administrators. The result of this research will contribute to the

improvement of the Senior High School department of STI College Pasay-EDSA

particularly on the academic field. This will be useful in identifying the appropriate

qualifications and the competency of the Senior High School Social Science teachers. The

levelof adequacy of faculty members on the various knowledge concepts and skills needed

in teaching the said subjects will provide data to administrators and teacher training

institutions to guide them in planning courses and in-service training programs. Priorities

are directed towards the current needs of teachers.

Curriculum Developers. Curriculum developers could also make use of these data

as bases for the development of the Senior High School Social Science teachers’ resource

materials especially with regard to the topics they find very difficult to teach.
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Faculty Members. The result of this study will also reveal certain competencies of the Social

Science teachers as perceived by the Senior High School students of STI College Pasay-

EDSA. By knowing the competencies of the teachers in teaching, effective teaching-

learning situation would be facilitated and by evaluating oneself, teaching would become

a more rewarding experience. A proposed development program can be recommended to

improve teachers’ competency and promote adequacy of knowledge.

To the Students. The teachers of the students will be more aware of their teaching

competencies. Thus, students will have more confidence towards their teachers, yielding

more learning experiences that are directed towards excellence in academic performance.

To Future Researchers. The future researchers may be able to use this study as a

guide if ever they will pursue or consider the same area of interest.

Scope and Limitation

The study was confined to the teachers’ instructional competencies of the Social

Science teachers of STI College Pasay-EDSA Senior High School Department as perceived

by the Grade 11 and Grade 12 high school students of academic year 2022-2023. The

number of respondents was determined through the use of the formula to get the sample

(See Appendix C). In order to meet the approximate number of samples,the researchers

randomly selected respondents from two sections and eliminated the entries to get the exact

required number of samples computed. This study was not able to follow strictly the

random sampling since the sample was not distributed to all thegroups. Consequently, the

remaining section/s of each year level, were not represented in the study. Academic

achievement on the other hand was limited to the students’ learning

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for the first semester of 2022-2023 in Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Person

and Personal Development subjects.

Definition of Terms

For clearer and better understanding of the terms used in this study, the following

are defined according to their use in the study:

Academic Performance refers to the academic achievement of the Senior High

School students (Grade 11 and 12 students) of STI College Pasay-EDSA shown through

their mean grades computed from the first and second quarter grades of the school year

2022-2023 in Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Person and Personal Development

subjects.

Classroom Management Skills refers to the teachers’ capacity to be in control of

the classroom atmosphere and the student’s behavior and conduct.

Evaluation Skills refers to the teachers’ ability to conduct a battery of purposeful

assessment tools in order to measure the student’s intellectual progress.

Instructional Competency refers to the teachers’ mastery of the subject field,

teaching skills, classroom management and evaluation skills.

Mastery of the Subject-Field refers to the subject matter proficiency of the

teacher.
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Students’ Perception refers to how the students recognize their

teachers’capacity to provide them with quality education and useful learning

experience.

Teaching Effectiveness refers to the potency of the instruction which

goes alongwith effective learning of the students.

Teaching Force refers to the faculty of STI College Pasay EDSA

Senior High School Department in the subject areas of Introduction to the

Philosophy of Human Person and Personal Development subjects.

Teaching Skills refers to the instructional abilities that a teacher must

possess inorder to become a more effective teacher.