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 Salik-suri, 1(1) 1

Funded by
Provincial Government of Cavite through the
Special Education Fund

Published by
Southern Sparkle News and Publishing
Imus City, Cavite
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Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite

Province

Volume 1 Issue 1

December 2019

Salik-suri
ISSN: 2545-9503

Recommended Citation

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2019). Title of the article. Salik-suri, 1(1),
#-#.

Salik-suri is the research journal of the Department of Education – Schools Division Office
of Cavite Province. It presents research studies that are classified among the seven (7)
Basic Education Research Agenda themes that support the Department’s overall mandate.
Salik-Suri aims to inspire evidence based practice in the Division through the utilization of
local studies.
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Copyright and Disclaimer

Copyright © 2019
All rights reserved. The copyright for the texts in Salik-suri are held by
the Department of Education - Schools Division Office of Cavite
Province (DepEd Cavite), except if otherwise noted. This journal or any
portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without
express written consent from the author(s) and advance notification of
DepEd Cavite. For permission to reprint the research papers published,
please send us an email at depedcavite.research@deped.gov.ph.

Disclaimer
The contents of the research papers published in Salik-suri express solely
the opinions of the respective authors. Authors are responsible for their
citing their sources and the accuracy of their references and
bibliographies. The editors cannot be held responsible for any lack or
possible violations of third parties' rights. Interested parties may also
directly contact authors to request for full copies of their papers.

Printed in the Philippines

First Printing, 2020

ISSN: 2545-9503

Southern Sparkle News and Publishing

Imus City, Cavite

www.depedcavite.com.ph
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Salik-suri
Volume 1, No. 1
ISSN: 2545-9503
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
21st Century Cavite Literature: Writers and Writings ..........8
21st Century Teachers under the Lens: An Exploratory
Study on the Students’ Perspectives on the Qualities of a
Good Teacher .....................................................................19
Analysis of Research Data in the Schools Division Office
of Cavite Province..............................................................27
Assessing the Level of Research Writing Competencies and
Challenges of Public School Teachers ...............................39
Assessment of Health-Seeking Behavior and its
Determinants Among the DepEd Teaching Personnel in a
Public Schools District.......................................................50
Challenges Faced by Teachers in Teaching Non-Reader
Pupils .................................................................................59
Effectiveness of the Training on Enhancing Teacher’s
Skills in Reading Absolute and Relative Location ............69
Enhancing the Academic Performance and Attitudes of
STEM Students using Open Educational Resources
Materials in Pre-Calculus ...................................................76
Improving the Academic Performance of the TVL -
Animation Students through the Open Educational
Resource (OER) Kiosk ......................................................84
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8

21st Century Cavite Literature: Writers and

Writings
Flemhar R. Enriquez
Indang National High School-Senior High School
flemharia@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION
The 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World is one of the core subjects in Senior High School
taken by Grade 11 students. Its primary objective as
indicated on the Curriculum Guide (CG) is to “engage
students in appreciation and critical study of the 21st Century
Literature from the Philippines and the World encompassing
the various dimensions, genres, elements, structures,
contexts and traditions" (Department of Education, 2013, p.
1). One of the competencies in the course involves the study
and appreciation of the regions, where the school is located,
in relation to the literature of the other regions of the country.
The enactment of the Republic Act No. 10533, also
known as Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, approved
on May 15, 2013, was eventually implemented in June 2013.
The dearth of the literary materials for 21st Century
Literature in Cavite may be a relapse in achieving the full
competency in studying the local or regional literature.
Seemingly, in other regions such as Ivatan, Iloko, Bikolnon,
Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Pampanga, they have established,
recorded, and retrieved their own literary identity and
traditions. They have integrated these in their language
teaching and key macro skills development among their
students.
It can be observed that there seems to be a scarcity of
materials pertaining to Cavite Literature. Particularly, on its
CG’s fourth content pertaining to the names of the authors
and their works and backgrounds of the literature from the
regions where the high school is located. From this content
standard, the learners are expected to acquire competency in
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 9

valuing the “contributions of local writers to the

development of the regional literary traditions” (Department
of Education, 2013, p. 1).
Remarkably, Cavite Province, as the historical capital
of the Philippines, is popularly known for its significant
historical events and landmarks recorded in various history
books. Conversely, its literary facets seemed to have been
gradually emerging and evolving. What are available for
academic readings and utilizations are those that were
written in the Spanish era during the period of revolution in
1896 to 1898 prior to the proclamation of Philippine
independence. Additionally, the province’s oral traditions
similar for instance to that of Osipon sa Tolong Tataramon:
The Oral Folk Narratives of Partido in Three Languages
(Nieva, 2012) or children’s literature like Yudi Man: Mga
Osipon para Ki Nunuy Asin Ki Nini (Arejola and Billanes,
2009) are unexplored.
Consequently, there were few attempts in compiling
literary works from Cavite. One of those who took
significant initiatives was Efren R. Abueg (ERA). His Agos
sa Disyerto (1964) was a compendium of the life and literary
contributions of Caviteño writers during the Revolution
period. In 2005, his Sa Bagwis ng Sining: Mga Nangaunang
Manunulat ng Cavite, he anthologized those whom he
described as “neglected writers” of yesteryears. Abueg noted
some of the poets, essayists, novelists, and dramatists from
Cavite namely: Diego Moxica (General Trias), Carlos V.
Ronquillo (Kawit), Tomas P. Tirona (Imus), Lorenzo B.
Paredes (Imus), Alejandro G. Abadilla (Rosario), Timoteo
“Teo” Seneca Baylen (Noveleta) and David T. Mamaril
(Noveleta).
Further, Verzo (2013) traced the literary features
written in the 20th century Cavite and the writings of the
Cavite Young Writers Association (CYWA) for a decade. In
his paper, Sa Pasong-Tagiliran sa Pasayhe ng Panitikan, he
reiterated the challenge of Abueg to the young Caviteño
10_____________________________________________________________________

writers to respond and address the changing times and

landscape in Cavite brought by urbanization, migration
(pandarayuhan) and natural catastrophes. Verzo (2013)
stated, “Ang kabataang manunulat daw ang sagot sa mga
pangangailangan ng probinsiya, ngunit paano ka tutugon sa
mga pangangailangang hindi pa natutukoy?” (para. 5).
Florentino (2014) observed that most of the young
learners at present were familiar with works of literature
from foreign countries. This familiarity can be attributed to
the teachers' use of foreign literature because of availability
and accessibility. Studies also showed that local
instructional materials are the toughest and rarest to find and
produce, especially for literature under the branch of
Humanities. Miller (2019) believed the future would rely on
humanities majors, such as the credibility of information
would become more difficult to decipher. It would be the
partner of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Management (STEM) in interpreting scientific facts.
Humanists would also ensure progress and ethical futures.
Finally, they would catalyze valuable innovations in society,
government, business, culture, entertainment as well as
science and technology. Thus, the proponent of this study
describes literature as the "mistress of all other branches of
knowledge."
For this topic, Cavite seems to have gradually
initiating and popularizing its literature. Teachers for this
subject, fill in the topic by discussing the canonical Filipino
writers before the 21st century. However, there were
literature textbooks that were printed solely for academic
purposes such as 21st Century Literature from the Philippines
and the World (Uychoco, 2016), Muhon: Sining at
Kasaysayan ng Panitikan ng Pilipinas (Abueget et al., 2012)
and Panitikang Filipino (Austero and Suguran, 2012). These
were published by Cavite Studies Center, Jimczyville
Publications, Rajah Publishing House, Inc., and Rex
Bookstore, respectively.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 11

Nonetheless, none was printed or explored for 21st

Cavite Literature. Thus, these current circumstances of
inaccessible and unavailable references may disengage the
students (Schall, 2010). The lack of access for the 21st Cavite
Literature among the students and teachers led to this study.
It is intended that the results of this would contribute to the
literary enrichment of the grade 11 literature students. They
would also have a glimpse and great sense of "ownership" of
studying their own culture, heritage, and tradition through
literature. Finally, the excellent value for Caviteño local
writers would be appreciated.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answered the following questions:
1. Who are the 21st-century writers in Literature
from Cavite and their significant contributions in the literary
development of this province?;
2. What are the literary genres, characteristics, and
conventions in the works of the identified Cavite authors?;
and
3. How is Cavite Literature distinct from other
established regional works of literature as perceived by the
authors?.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study featured only five 21st-century Caviteño
writers and their selected writings. Eventually, the output of
this study could be utilized as reference and learning
materials for students in local Literature both for academic
and personal enrichment. The output must be evaluated by
literary critics or reviewers, school administrators,
preferably the Curriculum Department in the regional and
division education units. The needed output evaluation is for
validation, acceptability, enhancement, and alignment of the
12_____________________________________________________________________

localized and contextualized contents to the implemented

instructional materials guidelines.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This qualitative descriptive study delved on the
content analysis of the writings of the 5 identified 21st-
century Caviteño writers who confirmed to the informed
consent for this undertaking. Before the analysis and
interview with the authors, a preliminary interview with the
teachers handling the 21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World was conducted. Several grades
11 and 12 students were also randomly asked about the
lessons they have taken in the said subject for verification.
Additionally, those canonical Filipino writers and traditional
works of literature from the World were studied in their
class. Therefore, none was about Cavite Literature or from
the region where the high school students are located as
required in the curriculum guide in this Literature subject.
Afterward, these selected literary works for this
study were thoroughly read and analyzed relevant to the
literary genre, characteristics, and conventions evident in the
selected literary pieces. Then, an interview with the writers
was conducted to highlight significant contributions and
their advocacies reflected in their writings apart from their
stories, books, and other literary achievements. The
perceived distinct characteristics of Cavite Literature were
determined based on the proponent's analyses and writers'
responses.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This study featured 5 emerging 21st century Cavite
literary writers from 2014 to 2018. They are (1) Cheeno
Marlo Sayuno (Amadeo), (2) Dani Hernandez (Dasmariñas
City), (3) Ma. Ana Theresa Cruzate (Indang), (4) Zeus
Agustin (Naic), and (5) Eliza Dionco Rodolfo (Dasmariñas
City). The selected writings of these authors included in this
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 13

study are: (1) The Magic Bahag (Lampara House Publishing,

2014) and The Missing Blanket (Adarna House, 2018), (2)
Maglandi ay ‘Di Biro (Anvil Publishing Inc., 2016) (3) Torn
between Two Beki (PSICOM, 2018), (4) Agaw Trip Komiks
(8LETTERS Bookstore and Publishing, 2018), and (5)
Buhay Guro (2016), respectively. Sayuno’s The Magic
Bahag was awarded second prize, a short story for children
by Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in
2014. His The Missing Blanket was recognized as
Honorable Mention in Philippine Board on Books for Young
People (PBBY-Salanga Prize) in 2018. Also, the works of
Hernandez, Cruzate, and Agustin were accepted in various
national and international book fairs.
Through these literary endeavors, these Caviteño
writers, in one way or another, have significantly contributed
to the pioneering effort of recognizing literary outputs from
this historic Cavite. Sayuno, for instance, in his The Magic
Bahag (Lampara House Publishing, 2014), he combined his
passion for the Philippine cultural dances with his
indigenous writing from outside culture. This story depicted
industrialization and commercialization. The indigenous
people's migration from their roots to the urban dwelling was
due to mining activities in their hometown. In The Missing
Blanket, Sayuno highlighted the finding of the missing
blanket. It was a special blanket as it was a reminder of the
warmth and affection of their mother whom they
affectionately call, Ina. In the story, Ina recently passed
away, which could also symbolize the vanishing weaving
line of work. However, hope was invigorated when the
children manifested interest in weaving by requesting the
grandmother to teach them to weave a blanket. The ending
scene shows the beginning of the continuity, transmission,
and preservation of heritage and culture; thus, saving the
weaving industry.
Sayuno believes that writing for children needs
interaction with child readers. This story was influenced by
14_____________________________________________________________________

the insights he gained from Ramon Obusan, National Artist

for Dance, as well as the Sanghaya Dance Ensemble, a
Cavite-based cultural dance troupe where he has been a
member since 2009. Though, a pure-blooded Caviteño,
most of his storybooks are mainly influenced by the Kalinga
culture. It was written primarily to show children, readers,
the beauty of the Kalinga culture bringing awareness that
another culture exists outside of their own. Sayuno would
like to create an impact among the child readers to have a
love of culture, a sense of Filipino pride, and child
empowerment.
Dani Hernandez’ Maglandi ay ‘Di Biro is an
"authentic ride" of hilarity, conversational, experiential book
intending to connect, especially with the teens and young
adults. For him, they are the most susceptible to feelings of
infatuation, puppy love, and depression. The book also
reverberates to ages 30 and above that brings back youthful
memories and feel-good feelings. Beyond hilarity, the writer
would like to shed light on his readers on how to deal and
manage these emotions when faced with circumstances.
Ma. Ana Theresa Cruzate’s Torn between Two Beki
is indeed a label of her individuality, particularly a non-
believer of happy endings in a love story. In this romance
novel, Cruzate highlighted the twisted ending between the
bekis (gays) whom the protagonist had romantic
relationships with the one whom she knew already since
childhood and the recent beki stranger that complicated the
situation. The book discusses a very timely social issue,
particularly on the LGBTQ community and how a woman
and a beki (gay) romantic relationship progresses and works.
Observable in this story is the use of social media accounts
as channels of courtship and medium of expression of love
and affection. Cruzate, who is an advocate of out of the box
ideology, steps out of the comfort zone in writing by
working on various stories creating her style.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 15

Zeus Agustin is a recipient of awards in two

categories of Human Rights Online Pinduteros’ Choice
Awards in 2012. He is one of the creators of Agaw Trip
Komiks. This graphic literature conveys relevant advocacies
on socialism, protection, and defense of human rights,
especially workers’ rights. Generally, the objective is to
expose and discuss social injustices by the government and
the capitalist. Since they are mainly on Facebook, they
cannot control the target audience. Also, the presented
ideals and humor are actually crafted for everyone to
contribute to the transformation of society. According to
Agustin, the ideals espoused in their comics are somewhat
challenging to sell, especially in this era of post-truth politics
or fake news, and the government crackdown on critics. In
the coming years, they are planning to anthologize the
characters that have appeared on their [Facebook] online
comics. Agustin is not in tune with regionalism in presenting
his work. The uniqueness of their literary endeavors through
the comic strip genre is the fact that they are unafraid to get
political.
Eliza Dionco Rodolfo’s Buhay Guro offers a respite
and relief, especially in these trying times of the teachers.
Rodolfo, in this book, sensibly preserved the good vibes and
positivity of students' and teachers’ daily experiences,
dynamic conversations, and lively encounters. Regardless
of age, strife, and plight, they retained the harmonious
relationships most of the time. The book refueled the
teaching’s energy level and rekindled the passion for the
profession as creators of other professions in nation-
building. The book is also remarkable in intrinsically
depicting DepEd’s core values-Maka-Diyos, Makatao,
Makakalikasan, and Makabansa.
Results also showed that prose was the dominant
genre, such as children's stories, romance novels, comics,
and pop culture. They are substantially localized and
contextualized with relevance to images, themes, plot,
16_____________________________________________________________________

dialect or language, objective situation, and literary style.

Themes on the plight and hilarity in schools, teenage
depression, gender and development sensitivity, LGBTQ
community, historical-cultural allusions, indigenous people,
current political conditions, and relevant societal issues were
evident.
The conventions gleaned in this group of Caviteño
writers and their writings are: (1) visually presented through
arts, comics, and illustrations; (2) the vividness, freshness,
crispiness and blatant use of vernacular language which
could establish connection and emotion communicated by
the literary pieces; (3) shift from a more reserved to an
explicit cultural inclination presentation of issues and
conflicts; (4) appropriate for millennial readers; (5) digital
intervention resulting to accessibility trend for patronage,
promotion, and interaction between and among readers and
authors.
In the context of this study, Cavite Literature may be
described as literature written by Caviteños in English,
Filipino, or Tagalog about the province, its people, language,
and culture, regardless of the characters' ethnicities, and
settings. In the future, this may also consist of Cavite
writings, not necessarily written by a Caviteño. Based on
the proponent's analyses and authors' responses, the
contemporary character of Cavite Literature is that it is
peculiarly developing with its huge leap from historical
background to the post-modern milieu.

CONCLUSIONS
Based from the results, it can be inferred that there
are emerging 21st-century Caviteño literary writers that
continuously explore what is appealing to the taste, interests,
preferences, and needs of the millennial readers. There is
also a shift from textual to visual presentation and digital
interface capturing the millennial culture thriving in the
advancement of technology. This study recommends further
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 17

exploration of folk oral narratives, oral traditions, and other

intangible works of literature from Cavite.

REFERENCES
Abueg, E. (2005). Sa bagwis ng sining: Mga nangaunang
manunulat ng Cavite. Cavite: Cavite Studies Center.
Abueg, E., Carpio, P., Castillo, M., Balagot, A., Peña, R.,
Adaya, J., Mendoza, V., Malaga, M. (2012). Muhon:
Sining at kasaysayan ng panitikan ng Pilipinas.
Manila: Jimczyville Publications.
Agustin, J. Z. & Magguddayao, M. (2018). Agaw trip
komiks. Manila: 8LETTERS Bookstore and
Publishing.
Arejola, C. A. & Billanes, L .A. (2009). Yudi man: Mga
osipon para ki nunuy asin ki nini. Manila: National
Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Austero, C. & Suguran, T. (2012). Panitikang Filipino.
Manila: Rajah Publishing House, Inc.
Cruzate, M. A. (2018). Torn between two beki. Quezon
City: PSICOM Publishing, Inc.
Department of Education. (2013). K to 12 Basic Education
Curriculum Senior Highschool – Core Subject.
Retrieved from https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2019/01/SHS-Core_21st-Century-
Literature-from-the-Philippines-and-the-World-
CG.pdf
Florentino, L. (2014). Integrating local literature in
teaching English to first grades under the K-12
curriculum. Theory and Practice in Language
Studies, 4(7), pp. 1344-1351.
doi:10.4304/tpls.4.7.1344-1351
Miller, T. ( 2018). 4 reasons the future will rely on
Humanities majors. Retrieved from
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/4-
reasons-future-will-rely-humanities-
18_____________________________________________________________________

majors?fbclid=IwAR0uvHFc7vLQVyXlvNSUECbgI
wB7zx8-AldC3p4PxFEqdTxkVXrt-WtE4Ks
Nieva, L. (2012). Osipon sa tolong tataramon: The oral
folk narratives of Partido in three languages. Manila:
National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Official Gazette (2012). Features of the K-12 curriculum.
Retrieved from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/05/
15/republic-act-no-10533/
Rodolfo, E. D. (2016). Buhay guro. Cavite: n.p.
Sayuno. C. M. (2018). The missing blanket. Quezon City:
Adarna House.
Sayuno, C. M. (2014). The magic bahag. Quezon City:
Lampara Publishing House Inc.
Schall, J. (2010). Responding to literature in the 21st
century: Challenges and resources. Retrieved from
https://wowlit.org/blog/2010/11/29/responding-to-
literature-in-the-21st-century-challenges-and-
resources/
Uychoco, M. (2016). 21st century literature from the
Philippines and the world. Manila: Rex Bookstore.
Verzo, R. (2013, May 28). Cavite Young Writers
Association: Sa pasong-tagiliran sa pasayhe ng
panitikan. Retrieved from
https://panitikan.ph/2013/05/28/cavite-young-writers-
association-sa-pasong-tagiliran-sa-paysahe-ng-
panitikan-ni-ronald-verzo/
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 19

21st Century Teachers under the Lens: An

Exploratory Study on the Students’
Perspectives on the Qualities
of a Good Teacher
Ruskin John D. Desingaño, Esterlita M. Dolatre
ruskin.desingano@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Numerous research studies have attempted to define
and describe what a great teacher is. One of the most notable
among these is the study of Churchill et al. (2016), as they
argued the importance of defining a great teacher. With this,
academic institutions and government agencies around the
world have continued to work hand in hand to further train
and develop the teachers.
A great teacher, according to Churchill et al. (2016),
possessed both teaching quality and teacher quality.
Teaching quality comprises of teacher’s capacity to
implement curriculum and assess the students’ learning
(Riley as cited by Churchill et al., 2016). The Philippine
Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) is used to
measure the teaching quality based on expected
competencies. Alternatively, teacher quality refers to
identity of the teacher, their personal attributes, pedagogical
knowledge and abilities that are usually neglected to be
considered in common teacher evaluations and trainings.
Notwithstanding, teacher quality is weighs more than
teaching quality, as the former was considered as the most
critical factor in students’ success (Rice, 2003).
Work environment was said to affect the teacher
quality (Kennedy, 2010). It may include the work
assignments, tasks, availability of materials, and schedule.
The working situations of teachers are considered in
describing and defining a good teacher for their situations
20_____________________________________________________________________

either positively or unconstructively affect their personal

qualities.
This study describes what an effective teacher is
based on the teacher quality. It involves the perspectives of
the students and the teachers themselves. The students are
the ultimate clients of educators. They talk, interact and
learn with their teachers every day. Teachers are also
involved in this study to give emphasis on their work
situations.
This study provides a different lens on teachers’
development based on (a) the teacher qualities which
students sought from an effective teacher they knew, and (b)
teachers’ perspectives on the working situations which may
affect their personal qualities and in due course, their
teaching practices.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answers the following questions:
1. What are the top qualities of teachers that positively
contributes to students’ academic success?
2. What are the top qualities of teachers that negatively
affect the students academically?
3. What are the common working situations that affect
teacher quality?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study covers the perceptions of students on the
qualities of the teachers they viewed as effective facilitators
of learning. The first part of the research instrument used in
this study was based on the qualities discussed by Stronge,
Ward, and Grant (2011) and Stronge (2018). The students
rated the positive and negative qualities of teachers, in terms
of personal attributes, classroom instruction, and monitoring
of students’ progress and potential.
This study also explored the working situations of
teachers that contributed to their attitudes exhibited inside
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 21

the classrooms. The instrument used in describing teachers’

working situations is a self-assessment tool constructed by
the researchers.

METHODS
The participants of this study were the students and
teachers from 4 secondary schools in the District of Amadeo,
Cavite. The four secondary schools are four strata of the
population of the participants; namely, Amadeo National
High School, Pangil National High School, Halang Banay
Banay National High School, and Talon National High
School.
The researchers used stratified random sampling in
choosing the students to participate in the study. A total of
355 out of 3,224 students were selected. In choosing the
respondents from the group of teachers, simple random
sampling was utilized. A total of 111 teachers participated
in the study.
The researcher-made survey was administered to the
students of the four public secondary schools in Amadeo.
The respondents were then guided as they answer the
research tool. The names of the participants were given
utmost confidentiality to protect the anonymity of
respondents.
The positive and negative qualities of teachers were
identified by computing for the mean and frequency of the
responses of students. Averages were used to analyzed the
data from the accomplished self-assessment test of teachers.
For the qualitative analysis of open-ended questions, content
analysis was used to identify leading themes within the given
answers.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Students from the four high schools in Amadeo rated
the set of qualities included in the research survey. Of 27
positive teacher’s qualities adapted from Stronge, Ward, and
22_____________________________________________________________________

Grant (2011) and Stronge (2018), there were 7 qualities

which were most rated by the students. Identifying the
positive qualities of teachers is crucial in increasing the
academic achievement s of the students (Hallinan, 2018).
Moreover, Liakopolou (2011) presented that a teacher’s
personality trait the dominant contributing factor to their
efficacy
Table 1 shows the top qualities of a teacher that
influence the students’ achievements.

Table 1
Top Qualities of Teachers that Contributes to Students’
Academic Success

Teacher Qualities n Percent

1. Treats students equally and fairly 271 76.3
2. Understands feelings of students 269 75.8
3. Communicates clearly 262 73.8
4. Listens attentively to student
256 72.1
questions and comments.
5. Maintains confidential trust and
252 71.0
respect to students
6. Works actively with students by
253 71.3
making students involved in learning
7. Enjoys teaching by showing it (e.g.
247 70.0
smiling)

Notably, among the top qualities of teachers, 3 teachers’

qualities relate relationship, 2 attributes to communication
and 2 to instruction.

One component of learning experiences affecting

student learning is the relationship between students and
their teacher (Fallon, 2015). A total of 271 (76.3%) students
strongly agreed that a good teacher treats students equally
and fairly. In addition, understanding the feelings of students
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 23

was answered by 269 (75.8%) high school students as a

considerable factor to judge a teachers effectiveness.
Moreover, being trustworthy and respectful (71%) were also
showed to be contributing factors that lead students to
perform in the classroom. Frymier and Houser (2009)
mentioned that trust is developed and established between
students and the classroom teacher when the former are not
timid to ask questions, give feedback and get clarifications.
Relationship usually starts with a conversation.
Findings revealed that 73.8% of the respondents agreed that
a teacher who communicates clearly help them achieve. A
big portion of the respondents (72.1%) concurred that a good
teacher is attentive to the comments and questions of the
students. This coincides to the findings of Houser and
Frymier (2009). In their study, they asserted that clarity and
non-verbal immediacy of a teacher empowers their students
and makes them feel more competent to perform the given
tasks (Houser and Frymier, 2009). Seventy percent (70%)
of the respondents found that teachers who enjoy teaching
help them to succeed academically.
This study also revealed that 71.3% of the students
prefer teachers who provide activities that involved them and
their teacher.
Table 2 shows the top qualities of a teacher that
adversely affect the success of the students.
24_____________________________________________________________________

Table 2
Top Qualities of Teachers that Negatively Affect the Students
Academically

Teacher Qualities n Percent

1. Does not accept responsibility for
223 62.8
what happens in the classroom
2. Expresses bias (positive or
200 56.3
negative) with regard to students
3. Uses inappropriate language 198 55.8
4. Demeans, mocks, or makes fun of
189 53.2
students

The findings revealed the qualities of a teacher that

affect students academic performance negatively. Two-
hundred twenty-three (62.8%) respondents revealed that
teachers who denies responsibility for what happens in the
room. More than half (56.3%) disapproved teachers who
express bias among the students. The use of inappropriate
language (55.8%) was also seen as an indecorous
characteristic of a teacher. Lastly, 53.2% of the students
answered that a teacher who demeans, mocks, or makes fun
of the students affect them academically. Stronge, Ward,
and Grant (2011) have identified the aforementioned
attributes as red flags, or signs of ineffective teaching.
The common working situations of teachers that
affect their personal attitudes, qualities and teaching
practices were also included in this study. Ladd (as cited by
Meagher, 2011) asserted that a positive relationship between
teacher working conditions to teacher effectiveness and
students’ achievement existed.
Out of the 111 teacher-respondents, only 30% gave
their insights about the working conditions that affect
teacher quality.
Among the themes that emerged from the teacher
respondents is the environment where they needed to
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 25

accomplish teaching-related tasks in short duration of time

(45.71% of the responses). Also, the creation of learning
materials (40%) was said to affect the teacher quality. There
are also instances when teachers were asked to teach subjects
that were beyond their specializations (31.42%). These
negative working conditions may affect teachers either
positively or negatively based on the level of their
commitment as what Leithwood and McAdie (2007) pointed
out. They asserted that the burden of excessive paperwork
and other demands reduce the teachers morale and
commitment to the school (Leithwood & McAdie, 2007).

CONCLUSION
Teacher quality must be given equal importance as
teacher training development. This study suggests that
teacher qualities may affect the academic performance of the
tudents. While educational institutions provide abundant
venues to train for effective curriculum delivery,
development of teacher qualities must also be considered to
improve not only the learners, but also the teachers
themselves.

REFERENCES

Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A.,

Letts, W., Lowe, K., … Vick, M. (2016). Teaching:
Making a difference. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley &
Sons.
Frymier, A. B., & Houser, M. L. (2000). The teacher‐
student relationship as an interpersonal relationship.
Communication Education, 49(3), 207–219.
doi:10.1080/03634520009379209
Fallon, P. D. (2015). Perceived teacher significance: Ninth
grade student reported affinities for teacher traits,
interactions, and outcomes (Order No. 3689836).
26_____________________________________________________________________

Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/d

ocview/1678608113?accountid=34302
Hallinan, M. T. (2008). Teacher influences on students’
attachment to school. Sociology of Education, 81(3),
271–283. doi:10.1177/003804070808100303
Kennedy, M. M. (2010). Attribution error and the quest for
teacher quality. Educational researcher, 39(8), 591-
598. doi: 10.3102/0013189X10390804
Leithwood, K., & McAdie, P. (2007). Teacher working
conditions that matter. Education Canada, 47(2), 42-45.
Retrieved from https://www.edcan.ca/wp-
content/uploads/EdCan-2007-v47-n2-Leithwood.pdf
Meagher, T. (2011). An investigation of the relationships of
teacher professional development, teacher job
satisfaction, and teacher working conditions
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Loyola University
Chicago, Illinois). Retrieved from
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/68/
Rice, J. K. (2003). Teacher quality: Understanding the
effectiveness of teacher attributes. Retrieved from
https://www.epi.org/publication/books_teacher_quality_
execsum_intro/
Stronge, J. H. (2018). Qualities of effective teachers.
Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Stronge, J. H., Ward, T. J., & Grant, L. W. (2011). What
makes good teachers good? A cross-case analysis of the
connection between teacher effectiveness and student
achievement. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(4), 339–
355. doi:10.1177/0022487111404241
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 27

Analysis of Research Data in the Schools

Division Office of Cavite Province
May Anne Joy D. Romanes
mayannejoy.romanes@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Various scientists and academic scholars have long
acknowledged the role of research in contributing to
organizational success. The need to give gravity to policies,
increase efficiency, and predict outcomes have been the big
reasons for engaging in research activities, primarily
undertaken by those who are part of organizations.
In the Philippines, research has continued to be
strengthened by various government agencies, such as the
Department of Education (DepEd). Through the DepEd
Order (DO) No. 16, s. 2017, the Department has encouraged
the production of local research studies, which consider the
contexts of public schools in different areas. The Schools
Division Office (SDO) of Cavite Province, one of the
extension offices of DepEd has been following DO 16, s.
2017 for all its research-related endeavors. However, there
have been some points in the issuance that can be improved
by adding localized guidelines.
Data has been crucial in planning, implementing, and
evaluating policies, programs, projects, and activities.
However, collecting data is not enough. It must be analyzed
and interpreted—making relevance out of the numbers.
From 2016 to 2018, the numbers of research studies
produced were 120, 208, and 197, respectively. Though
these statistics are higher than of the other division offices,
the numbers still pose crucial questions on the rigor of the
28_____________________________________________________________________

studies produced (Inductivo, Avilla & Vertudes, 2019).

Moreover, the baseline data on the other relevant stages were
yet to be documented. Having said this, a localized version
of DO 16, s. 2017—the Division Research Management
Guidelines, also known as Division Memorandum (DM) No.
236, s. 2019, was released at the start of SY. 2019-2020.
This issuance established a system of research production
and decentralization of research supervision from the SDO
to the extension offices.
Aside from the research outputs, the statistics on the
personnel, who do research, were of equal relevance. Data
on human resources contribute to the sustainable
development of the organization (United Nations
Independent Expert Advisory Group, 2014). Aside from
this, the assessment of resources is crucial in decision
making, improving outcomes, and overcoming challenges
(Olney & Barnes, 2013).
Knowing the relevant data, including trends and
demographics, helps evaluate current policies, programs,
projects, and activities.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answers the following questions:
1. How do the demographics of the school-based
personnel compare to their research engagement?
2. What is the current trend in terms of the numbers
of the following: research proposed, finished, and the
presented at the division level?
3. How could the data help in planning the next
research management cycle process?
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 29

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study used the quantitative content analysis to
explore and find patterns on the 90 research reports and
communications submitted by the Municipal/City Research
Committees (MRCs) - SDO Cavite Province, Philippines,
for S.Y. 2019-2020. The records followed the initial data of
the 685 research proposals as guided by the DM No. 236, s.
2019.
The data extracted focused on the demographics of
the personnel in terms of the following designations: teacher,
master teacher, headteacher, and school principals. This
study also looked into the research production data for the
duration mentioned above. This study is limited in the
comparison of the demographic profiles of the researchers
with the current demographics of school personnel; the
statistics on the research proposed, finished, and presented
at the division level; and the generation of insights relevant
to planning of the next research management process.

METHODS
This study involved a quantitative research design
involving the content analysis method. Content analysis
involves systematic coding of a large body of texts to
identify patterns and meanings (Nang, Monahan, Diehl &
French, 2015). Quantitative content analysis categorizes and
records data systematically (Coe & Scacco, 2017).
A total of 90 official reports and communications on
local researches, submitted by the MRCs to the Schools
Division Research Committee (SDRC) of SDO Cavite
Province, were analyzed. These records contained
information on the research production at the school level in
30_____________________________________________________________________

S.Y. 2019-2020. Total enumeration sampling was used in

this study.
Codes were extracted from the records. Among the
data collected from the records were the: (1) number of
researchers in terms of their designations; (2) number of
teachers, master teachers, head teachers, and school
principals; (3) number of research proposed; (4) number of
finished researches; (5) number of the researches presented
in the division level. After the data were collected, the
number of researchers in terms of their designations, and the
number of school personnel in SDO concerned were
compared using frequency counts. Also, the Division
Research Management Guidelines were revisited based on
the research production stages that deemed problematic as
per the data.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Personnel, as the most critical resource of an
organization, is crucial in planning, implementation, and
evaluation of policies, programs, projects, and activities. In
the case of the Division research policy for SY 2019-2020,
data on the active researchers among the personnel is critical
in establishing a culture of evidence-based policymaking in
the Department (DO 13, s. 2015).
Figure 1 shows the side-by-side data of the school-
based personnel by their designations and research
engagement in the SDO Cavite Province as of December
2019. As per data, there is a total of 11,134 teachers, master
teachers, headteachers, and school principals in the Division.
From this, 91% or 10,127 are teachers; 6% or 620 are master
teachers; 2% or 198 are headteachers; and 2% or 189 are
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 31

school principals. On the right side of the figure shows the

research engagement of these personnel. Out of the 10,127
teachers, only 337 (3% of the total population) were engaged
in research. Only 25 out of 620 master teachers (1% of the
total population) have done research this school year. Also,
0.35% (25 out of 11,134) research engagement is composed
of school principals. As of the headteachers, only 25 (0.22%
of the population) have finished their researches in 2019.
Ninety-five percent (10,609) of the school-based personnel
in the Division did not engage in research. The findings of
Voce and Cervellini (2003) concurred with the results of this
study. There were few researchers in most developing
countries, such as the Philippines (Voce & Cervellini, 2003).
The common reasons for this were the lack of trained people,
insufficient resources, and unnecessary bureaucracy (Voce
& Cervellini, 2003).

School-based Personnel Research Engagement

1% 0.35%
2%
6% 2% 3% 0.22%

91% 95%

Figure 1. School-based personnel by designations and

research engagement.
32_____________________________________________________________________

Figure 2 shows the comparative data on the numbers

of the following: researches proposed, finished, and
presented at the division level. The graph shows that the
following have the total number of research proposals
submitted and reported to the Division Office: Alfonso had
26 research proposals; Amadeo had 62; Carmona had 13;
Division Office with 28; Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo with 18,
Gen. Mariano Alvarez with 40; Indang had 45; Kawit with
29; Magallanes had 20; Mendez with 10; Naic with 44,
Noveleta with 6; Rosario with 74; Silang with 47; Tagaytay
City with 52; Tanza with 51; Ternate with 14; and Trece
Martires City with 90 research proposals. The total number
of proposed researches submitted for S.Y. 2019-2020 is 685.
In terms of the number of finished researches, the following
were gained from the reports and communications: Alfonso
had five finished researches; Amadeo had 11; Carmona had
1; Division Office had 20; Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo with 9;
Gen. Mariano Alvarez with 37; Indang with 31; Kawit with
12; Magallanes with 11; Maragondon had 9; Mendez had 2;
Naic had 18; Noveleta did not finish any research; Rosario
with 58; Silang with 19; Tagaytay City with 14; Tanza with
27; Ternate with 3; and Trece Martires City with 32. There
were a total of 319 finished researches in SDO Cavite
Province. However, only 266 of these researches were able
to participate and present in the Division Research
Conference. These are comprised of the following numbers:
Alfonso with five researches presented; Amadeo with 8;
Carmona with 1; Division Office with 17; Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo with 8; Gen. Mariano Alvarez with 28; Indang
with 24; Kawit with 12; Magallanes with 11; Maragondon
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 33

with 9; Mendez with 2; Naic had 13; Noveleta did not

present any research; Rosario had 53; Silang had 19;
Tagaytay City with 13; Tanza with 18; Ternate with 3; and
Trece Martires City with 22.
From the data that appears in Figure 2, it is evident
that more than half (61.17%) of the research proposals
produced were unable to be presented at the Division level.
Also, less than half (46.57%) of the research proposals were
finished by December 2019. Bocar (2013) mentioned that
there were difficult stages in the research work that may lead
to the failure of completing the study. These findings are
supported by Akyurek and Afacan (2018). Most researchers
under their study were revealed that they lacked in the
knowledge of the research stages (Akyurek & Afacan,
2018).

90
100
74
90
80 62
70 52
58 47 51
60 44
40 45 5
50
26 2 2
40 37
30 1
18 31 2 16 14 32
10 27
20 28 6 19 14
20 24 18 22
11 9 18
10 1 12 1 9 1
5 8 13
8 2 3
0 1 0
A

I
D

R
L
EN
LF

EA

G
N

C
O

V
A

RO

SI
A
CA

TE
A

TM
M

M
IN

TA
TA
D

O
A

N
A

M
M
M

N
A

Proposed Researches Finished Researches Presented Researches

Figure 2. Data on the number of research proposals

finished researches and presented researches.
34_____________________________________________________________________

Figure 3 shows the steps in the research production

and presentation in SDO Cavite Province. The colors in the
figure show the three research stages mentioned previously:
proposed research in orange, finished researches in green,
and presented researches at the Division level in blue. The
other items in the figure are the pre-proposal presentation
stage in yellow, and the post-final presentation stage in
violet. The first three items were analyzed following the
data presented in Figure 2.
The research proposals submitted are composed of
2/3 of the parts of a completed research paper. In the
Division Research Management Guidelines, stipulated in the
DM 236, s. 2019, five steps precede the actual research
proposal presentation. These are the call for research
proposals, initial screening, evaluation of the proposals by
the MRCs and the SDRC, and the revision and improvement
of the proposals. From this, the research proposals are
presented during the district colloquium for critiquing. The
researchers make revisions and improvements on their
papers, and their respective research committee officials
conduct progress monitoring and technical assistance.
The number of research proposals that reached this
stage was reported to the Schools Division Research
Committee. It has been previously mentioned that there
were 685 proposals produced. Despite that these papers
were few steps away from being conducted and written into
a full manuscript, 6 out of 10 research papers failed to make
it until the full paper presentation. With the three steps in the
crafting of the proposal itself, the last 2—doing revisions and
giving of technical assistance could be the most critical
factors. This could be due to the reason that the steps
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 35

mentioned required more work in the part of the committee

members and researchers, than the actual research proposal
itself.
There are two steps in the finished researches stage,
namely: submission of full manuscripts and the full research
presentation at the district level. During this stage, the
MRCs report all the verified finished researches to the
Division Office. As per the data collected, there were a total
of 319 researches finished and presented out of 685 research
proposals. Only those studies, whose full manuscripts have
been submitted to the MRCs were permitted to present their
study during the second district colloquium. The gap
between the numbers of the proposals and full manuscripts
could be due to the failure to submit the latter to their
respective research committees on time.
With the full papers presented at the district level, the
next steps would be the submission of research abstracts for
the Division Research Conference. All the 319 researches
were expected to present their studies to the SDRC during
the Conference. However, only 8 out of 10 finished
researches were able to join the Conference. Unlike the past
Division Research Conferences, this year's event was
conducted virtually via the DepEd Cavite YouTube Channel.
Hence, the mode of presentation could be seen as one of the
factors as to why it did not reach a 100% participation rate.
After the Division presentation of the researches, the
manuscripts will be revised and improved according to the
comments and suggestions of the Division panel members.
Their researches will be collected by the MRCs and SDRC
for archival.
36_____________________________________________________________________

Progress
Call for Monitoring Submission of
research and Technical full manuscript
proposals
Assistance

Full paper
Revision and presentation at
Initial improvement
screening the District
of the paper
Level

Evaluation of Submission,
proposal by the Proposal Call for acceptance,
MRCs presentation abstracts and archival

Evaluation of Revision and Full Paper

proposal by the improvement Presentation in the Revision of
SDRC of proposal
Division Research full manuscript
Conference

Figure 3. Steps in the research production and presentation

in SDO Cavite Province.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the data generated in this study, the
percentage of SDO personnel who engage in research is few
(5%). Findings also revealed that among the three critical
stages of the Division research process, most researches fell
off after finishing the research proposal stage. Presentation
to a broader audience, such as during the Division
Conference, should be considered as it did not reach the
target of 100% participation. The steps in each stage,
especially in the proposed research stage, needs to be
revisited by the Municipal, City and Division Research
Committee officials.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 37

REFERENCES

Akyurek, E., & Afacan, O. (2018). Problems encountered

during the scientific research process in graduate
education: The Institute of Educational Sciences. Higher
Education Studies, 8(2), 47. doi:10.5539/hes.v8n2p47
Bocar, A. C. (2009). Difficulties encountered by the student
– researchers and the effects on their research output,
S.Y. 2008-2009. Social Science Research Network
Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1612050
Coe, K., & Scacco, J. M. (2017). Content analysis,
quantitative. The International Encyclopedia of
Communication Research Methods, 1–11.
doi:10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0045
Department of Education Order No. 13, s. 2015.
Establishment of a policy development process at the
Department of Education. Retrieved from
http://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2015/04/DO_s2015_13.pdf
Department of Education Order No. 16, s. 2017. Research
management guidelines. Retrieved from
http://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/DO_s2017_016.pdf
Division Memorandum No. 236, s. 2019. Revised research
management guidelines. Retrieved from
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bBQEEtJywaOb0Tw
rJ1j96G5yUu8s98mE
Inductivo, I. B., Avilla, R. A. & Vertudes, J. A. (2019).
Philippine Quality Award Application Report: DepEd
Cavite. Trece Martires City: Department of Education
Cavite Province.
38_____________________________________________________________________

Nang, R. N., Monahan, F., Diehl, G. B., & French, D.

(2015). A qualitative content analysis of global health
engagements in peacekeeping and stability operations
institute’s stability operations lessons learned and
information management system. Military Medicine,
180(4), 409-418. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00387
Olney, C. A. & Barnes, S. J. (2013). Collecting and
analyzing evaluation data. Retrieved from
https://nnlm.gov/sites/default/files/neo/files/booklet-
three.pdf
United Nations Independent Expert Advisory Group.
(2014). A world that counts: Mobilizing data revolution
for sustainable development. Retrieved from
https://www.undatarevolution.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/A-World-That-Counts.pdf
Voce, P. B. & Cervellini, A. (2003). Problems of scientific
research in developing countries. International Atomic
Energy Agency Bulletin, 25(2), 37-40. Retrieved from
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/mag
azines/bulletin/bull25-2/25205383740.pdf
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 39

Assessing the Level of Research Writing

Competencies and Challenges of
Public School Teachers
Mary Ann B. Gatpandan
mary.gatpandan@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Research is inevitable in all fields; it is essential for the
lives of professionals and even students. Teachers in the
Philippines, for instance, are encouraged to do research not
only because it is for a professional qualification (Aquino,
2017). Teachers understand various classroom conditions,
and learners' situations through research. Working within
evidence-based practice can be more helpful to teachers in
designing strategies that benefit the learners and the overall
quality of delivering education. Doing researches can serve
many benefits such as this can enhance communication
among educators themselves to students, revise the school
practices to innovative forms and improve the performance
of the students (Geoffrey as cited by Painter, 2019).
A research made by teachers is a practical way to
enable them to identify their area of interest as they
investigate the needs of students. Teachers who do research
will not only expand and enrich their teaching knowledge
and skills, but this can also be an avenue in collaborating
with co-workers, especially those who have a common
interest in classroom research (Mills as cited by Painter,
2019).
However, because of research-related challenges, such
as conforming to the required hours for teaching, and non-
teaching functions, research can be both a burden and a
challenge. They need additional time and resources to do it.
The technicalities of writing research can even put anxiety
on teachers. Murray, as mentioned in the study of Reigstad
(1982), called this anxiety as "terror of the blank page" or
reluctance or inability to compose good writing.
40_____________________________________________________________________

In the municipality of General Emilio Aguinaldo,

Cavite, only 24 out of 138 teachers from Kindergarten to
Senior High School, have conducted researches since 2015.
These teachers produced a total of 14 studies. From the data
of the initial survey, 21 out of 30 teachers responded that the
main reason for not doing research was the lack of
knowledge on its technicalities. A teacher mentioned that
lectures on the seminar were not enough for them to
understand and apply in producing a research.
This study helps in providing a description of the
teachers’ competencies in writing research and giving a
clearer picture through themes of teachers’ research-related
experiences and challenges. The results of this study provide
recommendations on helping teachers to be more confident
in doing research.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study answered the following questions:
1. What is the level of research writing competency of
public school teachers?
a. developing topics and finding sources;
b. research methodologies;
c. analyzing and interpreting data; and
d. writing conclusions and recommendations.
2. What are the personal challenges experienced by
teachers in conducting educational research?
3. What recommendations can be made to address the
needs of teachers based on the result of this study?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study involved public school teachers teaching in
Kindergarten to Senior High School in the District of General
Emilio Aguinaldo, Schools Division of Cavite Province,
Department of Education, Philippines, during the School Year
2019-2020. Interpretation of qualitative data relied heavily on
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 41

how the researcher interpreted and found themes in the

participants’ sharing of experiences.

METHODS
Mixed method research was used in this study. The
quantitative part utilized a descriptive method to assess the
competencies of teachers in research writing. For the
qualitative part, concepts were drawn from the teachers’
experiences. The researcher used simple random sampling.
The respondents for this research were from the public
schools in the municipality of General Emilio Aguinaldo.
The researcher used the Raosoft tool to compute for the
sample size of the total population (N=136). For the
qualitative part, 8 teachers were interviewed: 5 teachers who
already conducted researches, and 3 teachers who have not
done any research yet.
The researcher asked for the data of numbers of
teachers who conducted researches in the district through a
template. The template consisted of the number of action
and basic researches conducted in the school for the last 3
years and the number of teachers involved in it. The
researcher asked the teachers to answer the questionnaire,
which is divided into 5 parts. The researcher used a 4-point
Likert scale only (4=Excellent, 3=Average, 2=With Little
Knowledge, and 1=No knowledge at all). Table 1 shows the
scale for interpretation:
42_____________________________________________________________________

Table 1
Scale used in the study

Scale Range Interpretation

4 3.26-4.00 Excellent
3 2.51-3.25 Average
With little
2 1.76-2.5
knowledge
No knowledge at
1 1.00-1.75
all

Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were

utilized. Weighted mean was used to assess the research
writing competencies, and thematic analysis was used to
draw themes from the participants’ statements from the
interviews. Relevant statements were given an appropriate
theme or concept to serve as the basis for the
recommendation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The result of this study revealed that teachers had
common knowledge of the competencies listed on
“Developing Topics and Finding Sources” with an overall
weighted mean (WM) of 2.93. Teachers can conceptualize
topics and can create a title for the concept (WM=3.00), they
can develop research questions (WM=3.16), can collect the
amount of knowledge from previous studies (WM=2.98),
can formulate assumptions, and can select appropriate theory
(WM= 3.02) if a study calls for it. These 5 items had results
with “Average” verbal interpretation. On the other hand, the
teachers revealed that they had a little knowledge of how to
cite references properly (WM=2.93). This result implies that
teachers have an interest in doing research. They can
identify issues that need attention in the teaching-learning
process and know the needs of the school; however, the
teachers struggles in putting this into writing as a research.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 43

Citing references and expounding the reasons for their study

are the other things they find challenging.
In terms of competencies on research methodologies,
all items obtained a weighted mean, which had a verbal
interpretation of "Average." This part consists of statements
that measure competencies on different methodologies,
procedures for data gathering, selecting participants, and
identifying scales to be used in the study. The results
showed that the teachers found themselves knowledgeable
in this area. One of the participants said that the only
problem they encountered related to this was that they were
having difficulty in implementing the intervention smoothly
due to the previous cancellations of classes. Because of
postponements, they had problems between meeting the
deadline of the Division Office for the submission of
researches, and the quality of delivering the program to their
students.
On “Analyzing and Interpreting Data”, 4 out of 7 items
gained a weighted mean interpreted as "Average." These
statements referred to understanding the different research
methods and designing the procedure for data gathering. On
the contrary, statements on selecting the appropriate data
analysis techniques and data interpretation obtained a
weighted mean with an interpretation of "With Little
Knowledge." Likewise, statements pertaining to organizing
results and citing support for the findings also obtained the
same interpretation. The results implicate that this area
could be the most troublesome for the teachers; hence, it is
suggested to have this considered in planning for research
trainings.
Finally, statements about the writing of the
conclusions and recommendations obtained a weighted
mean with an interpretation of "Average." Among the 4
areas of research writing, this part obtained the highest
weighted mean. This implies that teachers can formulate
44_____________________________________________________________________

conclusions and recommendations or can design an action

plan if results are present.
The researcher concludes that based on these results
that there is a missing link between these two crucial areas
of conducting research. The researcher also argues that the
teachers can analyze, do the reasoning, and can make
decisions but lacks the proper procedure to arrive in the
findings that need conclusions and afterward the
recommendation.
The Challenge of Starting Up. Where to start? For
whom? What to do if I finish this?
One of the revealed problems of teachers aside from
how to start doing research was the appreciation of research
itself. A participant who is more than a year in the service
said,
“I don’t know why teachers are doing research.
For whom? “
(“Hindi ko alam kung bakit ba gumagawa ang
mga teachers ng research. Para kanino ba ito?”)
Some of the participants furthered that they could
identify problems inside the classroom, and they wanted to
do research, but they were afraid of how to start it up. They
did not know how to do some part of it. Some teachers said
that they already underwent trainings on research, but those
were not enough to be confident to start doing it.
(“Two hours of listening to resource speaker is not
enough.
We need to be guided on doing each part.” (Hindi
kasi sapat na nakikinig lang kami
sa speaker ng dalawang oras. Sana guided kami
sa bawat part para makagawa kami.”)
The Challenges of Accessing Journals. How to do
the RRL? Where to get sources? What are free sources?
Where to access supporting findings was another
challenge for researchers. A participant said that she did not
know sources which were credible but free.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 45

“How to do the Review of Related Literature? I

don’t know how?
Where can we access free sources?”(“Paano po
ginagawa ang RRL?
Hindi ako marunong at saka may mga bayad ang
mga napupuntahan kong websites”.)
Teachers need to be informed of the different available
free online sources. Teachers also need to be trained on how
to do the writings of the review of related literature properly.
The Challenges of Words and Numbers. How to
select the right method? What to do with these numbers?
How to analyze words as data?
This theme was all about the technical know-how. The
selection of the right method for a topic, the technicalities of
methodology part and, what to do with the data, were only
some of the things that seems to make research writing a
burdensome work for teachers. Its technicalities required
research writing to be exerted with great effort.
“I am afraid that I will be using wrong methods.”
(“Baka po ang mga gagamitin ko para makuha
ang result ay mali.”)
Also, analyzing quantitative data using statistical tools
and qualitative data using a technique to derive concepts or
themes from worded data had the lowest weighted mean on
the survey result. This coincides with the statements of
participants. One of them said,
"I do not know anything about statistics, or shall I
say my knowledge is minimal. I want to measure this
or that but I really don’t know how to do it.”(“Sa
statistcs Ma’am doon po ako hirap talaga walang
alam o siguro konti lang ang alam ko. Ano ang
gagamitin ko para makuha ito or ‘yon. Kumbaga ang
dami kong naiisip hindi ko naman alam paano
gagawin.”)
46_____________________________________________________________________

The Challenges of Doing it Right: The Pressures

and Frustrations. How can I make my students stay in
school after class? How to present it to the panel?
Conducting researches can be a satisfying experience.
Partala (2011) suggested in his study that conducting
research can satisfy emotions and can fulfill the
psychological needs of a professional. Yet becoming a
teacher-researcher also presents severe and unique
challenges (Wong, 1995). A participant said that because of
being a first-time researcher, he was not sure if he was doing
it right. It frustrates him when some students did not want
to stay at school after class, and he had to select other
recipients of his program. He said that during the whole
program, about 75% of the students finished the
intervention.
"I am afraid I am not implementing my
intervention properly
and besides convincing students to stay after class
is a big challenge.”
(“Baka po kasi mali ginagawa ko at ang hirap
magpastay ng mga bata pagkatapos ng klase.”
Some participants accrued that frequent cancellation
of classes due to typhoons or school events also frustrated
them. They could not follow the activities listed on the
timeline. In addition to this, one pressure on the whole
conduct of research was presenting it to the audience or
panelists. Presenting it in a conference meant being ready
with the questions of the audience, and it could be a dreadful
experience.
Time Constraints, Financial Constraints, and Heavy
Workload. How can I do this despite tons of work?
De Borja (2018) said the number of teaching load and
teacher tasks required too much time that they cannot devote
for research. Time to be allotted for doing the whole process
of research, the ancillary works to be done and the amount
of money to be spend from collecting data to the presenting
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 47

it in conferences are just some of the hindrances that prevent

teachers to do research.
Given that doing such researches entails additional
time, although it is included in their duties and
responsibilities, it has not been prioritized according to a
participant:
“Because of paperworks to be done and money to
be spend in the process of research,
I cannot find time to do it. Time and money for my
family will be sacrificed.”
(“Sa dami ng paperworks, hindi ko na din
maisingit ang paggawa ng research
at kelangan naman talaga ng pera para d’yan.
Madaming masasacrifice gaya ng time sa
pamilya.”)
Step-by-Step Training and Mentoring of the
Master Teachers. To continuously improve craft as
educators, teachers needed to upgrade their abilities.
Respondents of this study were teachable. Even if they have
attended several trainings on research, they still wanted to be
trained more intensively. Each part from the very start of
research should be taught. It could bring more confidence to
the teachers if they knew that each part of the research was
carefully explained to them. Master Teachers (MTs) could
do a series of research clinics with lectures and technical
assistance to teachers. As MTs, they were expected to be
equipped with the knowledge and skills in terms of doing
research. MTs could set a deadline for the submission of
parts of the research to teachers under their care. In an
interview, participants mentioned that they were more
motivated to do research if someone was checking it, and
deadlines of submission for different parts were being set.
Peer Researching. Around 11% of those who
responded in the survey were in the age bracket of newly-
hired teachers, and who were most likely to be in their 20s.
Some teachers, on the other hand, about 3.64% were those
48_____________________________________________________________________

who were nearly in the retirable age or above 55. Teachers

from different age brackets could collaborate in doing
researches so that the newly-hired could be mentored by
experienced teachers, and seasoned teachers could also be
given their part in researching. A 57-year old teacher said
that she was old enough to do research (“Matanda na ako
para d’yan.”). This should not be a reason to neglect
research work. Encouragement from younger co-teachers
could make them feel that this endeavor is fulfilling and
rewarding.
Lectures on Attending Conferences and
Publication. Based on the participants' statements, only a
few were informed about upcoming conferences organized
by a reputable institution and how to publish researches in
reputable journals. This calls for a lecture from experienced
researchers so that teachers are informed about the
presentation and dissemination of their studies.

CONCLUSIONS
The process of researching and putting it in writing can
be rewarding if a teacher religiously knows its value and why
they are doing it, not just for the purpose of treating research
as a requirement. It is expected to be a long and challenging
journey that contains different unanticipated hardships and
obstacles. It is important to teachers to understand that
problems are usual part of research writing. These
challenges may be disheartening, but these unlocks different
opportunities to improve one as a teacher.
The findings encourage rethinking one’s approach in
teaching or following a different path to improve students'
achievement. And so with the teacher as a person, doing
research often leads to their development with more reliable
methods, ideas, and principles.
As teachers, the ability to constructively deal with the
challenge is dependent on how they improve the quality of
their skills. One might need to learn the specifics of
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 49

research: the parts and the skills, but the fruits of

perseverance are worth the hardships.
When starting on a journey as a researcher, it is
advantageous to assess the strengths and weaknesses as
researchers and writers. A proper and honest assessment of
one’s ability helps to capitalize on the strengths and
overcome the weaknesses. If one can do proper self-
assessment, this can help to develop oneself as an educator
as they proceed on their journey as a researcher.

REFERENCES
Aquino, M. (2017). Identifying the research capability and
productivity of public senior high school teachers using
the 6P paradigm. Gen. Juan Castaneda Senior High
School, Imus City.
De Borja, J. (2018). Teacher action research: Its difficulties
and implications. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324980081_Te
acher_action_research_Its_difficulties_and_implications
Painter, D. (2019). Teacher Research Could Change Your
Practice. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/tools/17289.htm
Partala, T. (2011.) Understanding the most satisfying and
unsatisfying user experiences: Emotions, psychological
needs, and context. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220054929_U
nderstanding_the_mst_satisfying_and_unsatisfying_user
_experiences_Emotions_psychological_needs_and_cont
ext
Reigstad, P. (1982). Perspective on anxiety and the basic
writer: Research, evaluation and instruction. Retrieved
from https://wac.colostate.edu/jbw/v4n1/reigstad.pdf
Wong, E. D. (1995). Challenges Confronting the
Researcher/Teacher: Conflicts of Purpose and Conduct.
Educational Researcher, 24(3), 22–28.
doi:10.3102/0013189x024003022
50_____________________________________________________________________

Assessment of Health-Seeking Behavior and its

Determinants Among the DepEd Teaching
Personnel in a Public Schools District
Diana P. Topacio, May Anne Joy D. Romanes, Ronalyn P.
Salazar, Ma. Jovy P. Legaspi
depedcavite.sgod@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Over the years, education has been continually used
as a medium in looking after the health of the people.
Teachers kept talking about the importance of health,
hygiene, and overall wellness to the students (“How
important is,” 2019). Academic textbooks and curriculum
guides had also included topics on these (“How important
is,” 2019). As a result, there is a widespread assumption that
teachers would be the first ones to look after their health,
since they promote welfare and wellness among the youth
(“How important is,” 2019). Students learn best through the
examples observed from their teachers. However, a recent
study found that the health and welfare of the teachers have
shown more neglect as compared to employees from other
fields (Scheuch, Haufe & Seibt, 2015).
The World Health Organization (WHO) (2019) has
defined health as the complete well-being of individuals in
terms of physical, mental, and social aspects. In Germany,
Scheuch et al. (2015) found out that 2 out of 10 teachers took
early retirement, mainly because of mental and
psychosomatic illnesses. In Brazil, Vedovato and Monteiro
(2014) found that individual perception of a worsening in the
health situation, difficulty in sleeping well at night, history
of physical pain in the previous years, and teaching for a
longer time, significantly decreased the work abilities of
teachers. In the Philippines, locally available studies on the
health status of teachers in the country seem to fail in gaining
the interests of the local researchers.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 51

Topics on Health Seeking Behavior (HSB) have been

given attention globally in recent years (Musinguzi et al.,
2018). Atwine, Hultsjo, Albin, and Hjelm (2015) found
some dangers associated with HSB, such as the health risks
of switching between professional health care providers and
the use of unknown extracts and local herbs. Khan et al.
(2019) asserted the association of HSB with the severity of
infectious diseases. Worst among the effects of HSB was
cited in the study of Kagabo et al. (2018). Scientific shreds
of evidence strongly linked HSB to the mortality of the
participants under their study (Kagabo et al., 2018).
Considering the growing concern and serious risks involved
in HSB, its status, and determining factors could be of help
in informing the decisions of high officials in terms of taking
care of the health of their people.
In compliance with the Civil Service Commission
Memorandum No. 7, s. 1989, and as part of the Division
Teachers Health Welfare Enhancement Program, the
Schools Division Office of Cavite Province (DepEd Cavite)
has been regularly conducting the Annual Physical
Examination (APE) and health profiling among its teaching
and non-teaching personnel (Department of Education
[DepEd] Cavite Division Memorandum No. 92, s. 2019).
Data from these activities revealed that among school
personnel in the elementary, 2313 experienced errors of
refraction; 1249 with Urinary Tract Infection (UTI); 879
with hypertension; 294 with atheromatous aorta; 268 with
Diabetes Mellitus (DM); 213 with cough; 210 with allergies;
180 with proteinuria; 151 with colds; and 124 with
cardiomegaly (DepEd Cavite – Medical Unit, 2019). Out of
the 18 municipalities in DepEd, elementary teaching
personnel in District X were found to have one of the highest
numbers of teachers with ailments (DepEd Cavite – Medical
Unit, 2019). The following ailments were found among the
803 elementary teachers in the said district: 357 with
refractive errors; 59 with hypertension; 51 with UTI; 45 with
52_____________________________________________________________________

proteinuria; 32 with atheromatous aorta; 29 with DM, 20 had

cough; 17 with cardiomegaly; 10 had pneumonia; and 9 with
cardiovascular diseases (DepEd Cavite – Medical Unit,
2019). The alarming number of personnel experiencing
these illnesses poses a high possibility for these people to
resort to HSB.
Healthy and aware teachers promote healthy
behaviors, and practices among the students (“How
important is,” 2019). Also, healthy employees are a crucial
component of happy and progressive organizations (“How
important is,” 2019). As part of the vision of DepEd to
“continuously improves itself to better serve its
stakeholders” (Department of Education, 2019), the
assessment of health-seeking behavior and its determinants
among the DepEd Cavite teaching personnel is deemed
necessary.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the profile of the teaching personnel from
District X, in terms of age, civil status, range of net pay, and
distance from the nearest health facility, access to primary
healthcare providers, family type, and the number of their
dependents?;
2. What are the health-seeking behaviors of the
teaching personnel from District X?;
3. What is the level of the health-seeking behaviors
of the teaching personnel from District X?; and
4.Can the socio-demographic data of the respondents
predict the level of the health-seeking behavior the teaching
personnel from District X?.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study utilized a quantitative research design. It
involved 356 elementary and secondary teachers in District
X. It focused on describing the profile of the teaching
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 53

personnel from District X, in terms of age, civil status, and

distance from the nearest health facility, family type, and
number of dependents; identifying the health-seeking
behaviors of the teaching personnel from District X;
determining the level of the health-seeking behaviors of the
teaching personnel from District X; and identifying if socio-
demographic data of the respondents predict the level of the
health-seeking behavior of the teaching personnel from
District X.

METHODS
A total of 1450 elementary and secondary teachers
in District X were invited to answer the online survey. For
the data collection procedure, the online link for the
validated instrument was sent to the identified respondents.
The link was made accessible for 2 weeks. After this, data
were collected through an online spreadsheet. Consent forms
were included in the online instrument. Before answering
the questionnaire, the respondents were informed of the
study, the researchers, their contact details, time to be spent
in answering, possible benefits and risks, data security
measures, and the provisions of the Data Privacy Act of
2012. The respondents had the option to take part in or
withdraw from participating in the study. If they agreed to
give their consent, they were routed to the questionnaire;
otherwise, they exited from the link. Frequency count was
used in identifying the health-seeking behaviors of the
teaching personnel from District X. To determine the level
of the health-seeking behaviors of the teaching personnel
from District X, average, standard deviation, and mean
percentile score was computed. Ordinal regression analysis
was used to determine if age, civil status, range of net pay,
distance from the nearest health facility, access to primary
healthcare providers, family type, and the number of
dependents, can predict the level of health-seeking behavior
among the respondents.
54_____________________________________________________________________

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The findings revealed the socio-demographic profile
of the respondents. In terms of age, most of the respondents
ranged from 31-40 years old (39.04%). It was followed by
respondents aged 21-30 years old (34.55%), and 41-50 years
old (22.19%). The least number of respondents is composed
of 1 (0.03%) aged 61 and above. In terms of civil status, 214
(60.11%) respondents were married. One hundred twenty-
five (125 or 35.11%) were single. This was followed by 13
(3.65%) respondents who were separated, and 4 (1.12%)
were widowed. As for the distance from home to preferred
health facilities, 180 (50.56%) answered that these facilities
were within their municipality. One-hundred thirty-three
(133 or 37.36%) responded that their preferred health
facilities were within their barangay. Other respondents
confirmed that their preferred health facilities were within
Cavite (38 or 10.67%). A small number of respondents (5
or 1.4%) preferred to go outside Cavite to check their health.
Most respondents belonged to nuclear families (243 or
68.26%). Others had extended families (70 or 19.66%).
Twenty-three personnel (23 or 6.46%) had single-parent
families. Other personnel had childless families (10 or
2.81%). Very few of the respondents were living alone (5 or
1.40%), living with stepfamily (3 or 0.84%), or grandparent
family (2 or 0.56%). In terms of the number of dependents,
265 (74.44%) personnel have 0 to 2 dependents. This was
followed by 85 (23.88%) respondents who have 3 to 5
dependents. Six (6 or 1.69%) had 6 to 8 dependents.
Aside from the demographic data, the health-seeking
behavior of the participants was also analyzed. Among the
32 identified health-seeking behaviors, the top five were
identified. The highest among them was rest, with 239
responses (66%). This was closely followed by sleep with
236 (65.2%) responses. As for 198 (54.7%) respondents,
they were praying for healing was their resort if they felt
sick. The use of medicated oil/balm was preferred by 192
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 55

(53%) respondents. One-hundred eighty-six (186 or 51.4%)

answered that they used herbal medicine.
The health-seeking behaviors identified were
categorized and given their corresponding values based on
their risk of health. These categories were as follows:
requiescence (1), creative release (1 point each behavior),
unorthodox method (3 points), adrenaline rush (3 points),
indulgence (1 point), profligacy (3 points), and sifting
information (2 points). Under requiescence were rest, sleep,
meditation, pray for healing, isolation, meditation,
aromatherapy, use of medicated oil/balm, filing of leave, and
reflexology/massage. Creative release includes listening to
music, creating art, and creating literary works. Going to a
faith healer and use of herbal and alternative medicines fell
under the unorthodox method. Under adrenaline rush were
engaging in risky/ adventurous activities, shouting/ ranting,
and exercise. Doing the following activities were included
under indulgence: online games, online browsing, stress
eating, shopping, pampering oneself, movie marathon, and
going out with family/friends. For profligacy, consumption
of alcohol and cigarettes, smoking, and doing nothing about
the ailment were included. Under sifting information were
seeking advice from friends, family, and trusted persons and
looking up information about a specific disease or medical
problem online.
Using the normal distribution curve, the level of health
seeking behavior was determined. The scales used were no
health-seeking behavior (0 total points), mild (1-8),
moderate (9-16), moderately severe (17-24), and severe (25
and up). Findings revealed that only 2 (0.56%) had no
health-seeking behavior at all. One-hundred seventy-four
(174 or 48.88%) had mild health-seeking behavior. With
moderate health-seeking behavior were one-hundred
twenty-eight (128 or 35.96%) personnel. Following this
were the 47 (13.20%) personnel with moderately severe
health-seeking behavior. Five (5 or 1.40%) personnel were
56_____________________________________________________________________

found to have severe health-seeking behavior. The average

health-seeking behavior of teaching personnel in District X
was 9.67, categorized as moderate health-seeking behavior.
Regression analyses revealed that the socio-
demographic profile could not predict the level of health-
seeking behavior among the respondents.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the data generated through this study, health-
seeking behavior broadly exists among teaching personnel
in a public schools district. Data also revealed that the socio-
demographic characteristics of these personnel could not
predict health-seeking behaviors. These findings suggest
that future district wellness programs, projects, and activities
must include most, if not all, teaching personnel to address
their ailments adequately.

REFERENCES

Atwine, F., Hultsjo, S., Albin, B., & Hjelm, K. (2015).

Health-care seeking behaviour and the use of traditional
medicine among persons with type 2 diabetes in south-
western Uganda: a study of focus group interviews. Pan
African Medical Journal 20(76).
doi:10.11604/pamj.2015.20.76.5497
Bawa, Bhawna. (2019). Teaching as a profession.
Retrieved from
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/teaching-as-a-
profession-top-11-characteristics/76853
Carnegie Mellon University. (2012, April 2). How stress
influences disease: Study
reveals inflammation as the culprit. Science Daily.
Retrieved August 15, 2019 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402162546
.htm
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 57

Chandler, R., (2016). Manage stress during crisis.

Retrieved from
http//www.everbridge.com/manage-stress-crisis/
Department of Education. (n.d.). The DepEd vision.
Retrieved from https://www.deped.gov.ph/about-
deped/vision-mission-core-values-and-mandate/
DepEd Cavite – Medical Unit. (2019). Health profile 2019:
DepEd Cavite Teaching and Non-teaching Personnel.
Trece Martires City Cavite: DepEd Cavite.
Eury, D., King, J. & Balls, J. D., (2019). Teaching as a
profession. Retrieved from
https://www.teachhub.com/teaching-profession
How important is a teacher's wellness?. (2019). Retrieved
from
https://greycaps.com/theteacher/HealthandWellness/Tea
cherwellness
Jourdan, D. (2016). Health education in schools: The
challenge of teacher training. Retrieved from
http:inpes.santepubliquefrance.fr/CFESBases/
catalogue/pdf/1380.pdf
Kagabo, D. M., Kirk, C. M., Bakundukize, B., Hedt-
Gauthier, B. L., Gupta, N., Hirschhorn, L. R., …
Amoroso, C. L. (2018). Care-seeking patterns among
families that experienced under-five child mortality in
rural Rwanda. PLoS ONE, 13(1), e0190739.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190739
Khan, M.S., Ani, J.F., Rani, B., Apon, S.J., Rashid, F.,
Yead, T.I. …Chowdhury, S. (2018). Healthcare-seeking
behavior for infectious diseases in a community in
Bangladesh. International Journal of Advanced Medical
Health Research, 5(2), 52-56. doi:
10.4103/IJAMR.IJAMR_38_18
Kumar, Raja S. 2017. Nature of teaching and
characteristics of teaching and teacher. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/RajKumar2177/nature-of-
teachingcharacteristic-of-teaching-and-teacher
58_____________________________________________________________________

Musinguzi, G., Anthierens, S., Nuwaha, F., Van

Geertruyden, J.-P., Wanyenze, R. K., & Bastiaens, H.
(2018). Factors influencing compliance and health
seeking behaviour for hypertension in Mukono and
Buikwe in Uganda: A Qualitative Study. International
Journal of Hypertension, 1–13.
doi:10.1155/2018/8307591
Scheuch, K., Haufe, E., & Seibt, R. (2015). Teachers’
Health. Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online.
doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0347
Sharma, A. (n. d.) What are the characteristics of teaching
profession. Retrieved from
http://www.preservearticles.com/articles/what-are-the-
characteristics-of-teaching-profession/23053
The Alberta Teacher’s Association. (2019). Long range
policy. Retrieved from
https://www.teachers.ab.ca/About%20the%20ATA/WhatW
eThink/Policy/Educational%20Policy/Pages/Nature%20
of%20Teaching%20Profession.aspx
Vedovato, T. G., & Monteiro, I. (2014). Health conditions
and factors related to the work ability of teachers.
Industrial Health, 52(2), 121–128.
doi:10.2486/indhealth.2013-0096
World Health Organization. (2019). Constitution. Retrieved
from
https://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_e
n.pdf
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 59

Challenges Faced by Teachers in Teaching

Non-Reader Pupils
Kristine Mae D. Valentin, Kathleen M. Casipit
kristinemae.valentin@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
The ability to read is a crucial educational goal (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
[UNESCO], 2011). Reading opens up new opportunities. It
enables us to gain new knowledge, enjoy literature, and do
everyday things that are part of modern life. It is an essential
skill that, unfortunately, not all children in the world learn
sufficiently (National Research Council, 2010).
UNESCO (2017) reported that around 750 million
people still cannot read and write, and 250 million children
are failing to acquire necessary literacy skills globally. In
the recent years, a lot of high school teachers were alarmed
after discovering that many of their students cannot read.
Early this year, a high school in Quezon City went viral for
forming a special section for non-readers (Albano, 2019).
The Department of Education (DepEd) - Region IV-A Office
has recognized the reports of grades 7 and 8 students, who
still fail in reading accompanied with poor comprehension.
To respond to this problem, the said Office has
released a Memorandum in 2018 that heeds to strengthen the
implementation of the local policy on reading. Every Child
A Reader Program (ECARP), Philippine Informal Reading
Inventory (Phil-IRI), and the annual celebration of the
National Reading Month are some of the programs and
activities that promote reading and literacy among the
learners.
Despite the concerted efforts made to improve the
reading skills of the pupils, the number of non-readers and
frustration readers is ever-present. In the recently conducted
Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) pre-
reading assessment in Rosario Elementary School in June
60_____________________________________________________________________

2019, results revealed that there were 249 non-reader pupils

and 481 pupils in the frustration level.
Many research studies had been conducted in the past
to resolve the pressing issues and concerns in reading
(Phajane, 2012; Singh, 2009). However, the majority of
these studies tend to concentrate only on pupils' difficulties.
Other studies included the teachers who have a pivotal role
in helping these children become readers. Not much had
been heard about the challenges that confront teachers in
their teaching-reading undertakings. Taking these things
into consideration, the researchers considered it necessary to
explore the challenges faced by teachers in teaching reading
to non-reader pupils in Rosario Elementary School.
Ultimately, this study is geared towards helping the non-
readers, slow readers, and the teachers for the proper
implementation of the school reading program.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study addressed the following questions:
1. What are the professional and personal challenges
faced by teachers in teaching reading to non-reader pupils at
Rosario Elementary School?; and
2. Which intervention programs may be implemented
to cope with the challenges faced by teachers in the teaching
of reading skills in the classroom?.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This research study covers the professional (e.g. career
advancement, knowledge generation, and dissemination,
linkages) and personal (e.g. a reflection of character, ability,
skills) challenges faced by teachers in teaching reading to
non-reader pupils. The respondents in this study are the six
(6) reading teachers of Rosario Elementary School. These
teachers handle language subjects and primary school pupils.
The number of participants in the study was determined
upon reaching the data saturation wherein common themes
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 61

of the teachers' challenges in teaching reading had been

identified.

METHODS
The study employed a qualitative method of research.
Thematic analysis was adapted to explain further and
understand the challenges of teachers in the teaching reading
to non-reader pupils. Six (6) teachers participated in the
study. Identified participants were purposively selected
considering the following criteria: (a) they must be reading
teachers; (b) has at least three years of teaching experience;
and (c) they are handling non-reader pupils. An in-depth
interview was administered to gather information.
For the conduct of individual interviews, the
researchers arranged the time and the venue considering the
availability and convenience of the respondents. The
average length of the interview was 30 minutes. It was
carried out after the class time of the respondents. The
researchers ensured that the setting of the interview was
conducive, and free from noise and other disturbances.
Storytelling method was adapted to free the participants
from any restrictions in narrating their accounts and insights.
The qualitative data gathered through the interview
were transcribed, read repeatedly, and subjected to thematic
analysis. Transcribed data were coded, and the
superordinate themes were extracted from the coded data.
The researchers treated all statements with equal value and
identified the significant elements and constant meanings of
their accounts.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Eight (8) distinct themes were formed to describe the
challenges faced by teachers in teaching reading to non-
reader pupils, as revealed from the thematic data analysis.
These themes were categorized as professional and personal
challenges. The themes included in the professional
62_____________________________________________________________________

challenges were lack of time due to heavy workload,

inadequate instructional reading materials, lack of teachers'
training in reading, and lack of administrative support. The
personal challenges that emerged were the following:
association of pupils' lack of interest, lack of parental
involvement and cooperation, lack of teachers’ enthusiasm
and motivation, and parents’ misconception about their
children’s learning.
Professional Challenges. The current research finds
lack of time due to a heavy workload as one of the significant
challenges faced by teachers in teaching reading. Teacher-
respondents claimed that their job was not only confined to
teaching but also to several administrative and student
support roles assigned to them. These include paper works
on seminars and trainings that they were tasked to attend and
additional designations in line with student guidance,
budget, disaster response, and health. Teachers are likewise
expected to participate in the implementation of various
government programs, such as mass immunizations,
community mapping, conditional cash transfer, deworming,
feeding, population census, anti-drug campaigns, and
election affairs (David, Albert & Vizmanos, 2019). David,
Albert and Vizmanos (2019, p. 1) argued that “actual
teaching is increasingly being sidelined by the multitude of
other responsibilities and roles that teachers play.” As a
result, the time spent in helping the pupils-at-risk in reading
becomes limited because of the administrative tasks that
teachers need to attend to.
The inadequacy of instructional reading materials
seemed to be another challenge for teachers. For them, this
concern was something that can severely impact the way
they want to take the struggling and non-readers forward. A
teacher-respondent pointed that the reading materials they
use were not sufficient and appropriate to cater to all the
reading needs of pupils. As a result, they resort to borrowing
materials, and most of the time, they end up buying them
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 63

using their own money. Anney, Mmasa and Ndunguru

(2016) stressed the importance of the availability of
materials and supportive educators in the teaching and
learning process. Mwoma (2017) concurred that reading
materials at home and at school and support from both
parents and teachers had significant contributions in
promoting reading among children.
Training, on the other hand, is undoubtedly essential
for the continuous improvement of teachers. Nevertheless,
teachers had seen raising concerns about the lack of training
in teaching reading. They affirmed that the reading-related
trainings that they attended were not enough. They
described it as mere discussion, too short, wrongly-focused,
and awkwardly scheduled. Spaull (2013) cited that
educators who were not familiar with methods of teaching
reading suitable to the learning styles of the learners would
inevitably fail to meet the required standards of teaching
reading.
The school heads were suggested to execute strong
collaboration and communication with the teachers (Kouzes
and Posner, 2012). Related to this, administrative
collaboration and support are effective strategies to assist
classroom teachers in teaching reading. Alternatively, lack
of it can bring lots of challenges to educators. The findings
indicated that the respondents faced lack of support in the
process of teaching reading. Though they mentioned that
they are supported in some ways, they also emphasized the
inconsistency of this support, especially during the process
of reading intervention. Ensuring that teachers have
adequate resources and materials to do their jobs well, giving
immediate feedback, and providing adequate opportunities
for professional development were seen as adequate
administrative support.
Personal Challenges. Laziness, the stigma of being
left behind by their peers and being branded dumb, finding
numerous excuses, and lack of retention in reading were few
64_____________________________________________________________________

of the many reasons why pupils tend to behave this way as

revealed by the respondents in this study. The same case
was found out in a study conducted by Balinas, Rodriguez,
Santillan, and Valencia (2017). Their study revealed that
during their reading remediation process, the way pupils
behaved affected their program (Balinas et al., 2017). Pupils
were shy, talks a little, distracted, and not interested in
reading (Balinas et al., 2017, p. 90).
Parents' assistance in reading plays a significant role in
the learning process of children. This was supported by the
study of Crosby, Rasinski, Padak, and Yildirim (2014), who
pointed out that parental involvement had been proven to be
a useful reading intervention. Contrary to this, findings
revealed that lack of parental support and cooperation
seemed to be one of the challenges that the teachers faced in
teaching reading. Many parents were negative and were not
prepared to assist their children in learning to read at home
because of their personal reasons. Most of them were said
to claim that they were not teachers and lack time to teach
their children. To add, some parents showed no interests in
monitoring their children's reading levels. As a result, the
teaching of reading, which was supposed to be a shared
responsibility of home and school, became the sole
responsibility of teachers. It was incredibly frustrating for
them that parents did not support their efforts in teaching
their children how to read. A partnership must exist between
school and home to provide the best learning experiences for
students. However, some parents did not follow through
with their responsibilities. While many of the best teachers
go above and beyond their jobs to make up for lack of
parental support, a total team effort from the teachers,
parents, and pupils is the ideal approach.
Teachers' engagement and motivation are essential
determinants of pupils' success in reading. A well-motivated
teacher is bound to be dedicated to their responsibilities to
bring about the needed learning among the learners.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 65

Dembele and Rogers (2013) noted that there were factors

that drain the motivations of teachers. Some of them were
poor working conditions, low salaries, poor management,
and lack of appropriate incentives (Dembele & Rogers,
2013). Parallel to this, the findings showed similar
responses from the reading teachers. They admitted that
they felt unmotivated to teach reading at times because of
low compensation, heavy workloads, and lack of support,
which could have made a big difference in their level of
motivation once attained.
Lastly, parents' misconceptions about their children's
learning were revealed to be a major challenge in teaching
reading. According to the respondents, some parents
believed that teaching reading was more of the teacher's job
because they were more skilled in that aspect. Parents
seemed not to be aware that more than teachers, they were
the primary educators and models of their children. This
misconception could have been one of the root causes of why
some parents keep themselves from being involved in the
process of reading intervention. As a result, teachers found
it hard to get the full support and cooperation of the
concerned parents.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings showed that teachers faced several
personal and professional challenges in teaching reading to
non-reader pupils. These challenges must be addressed not
only because struggling readers are to be helped, but also
because the teachers have a pivotal role in helping these
children become readers.
In light of all these findings, a local program called
“Enhanced School Reading Intervention Program” is
developed to cope with these challenges faced by teachers in
the teaching of reading skills in the classroom.
66_____________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Albano, E. J. (2019). Senate should look into worsening

reading crisis in PH. Retrieved from
https://opinion.inquirer.net/ 121791/senate-should-look-
into-worsening-reading-crisis-in-ph#ixzz6LD3MHOg1
Anney, N. V., Mmasa, M. & Ndunguru, N. (2016). Literacy
and numeracy teaching in Tanzanian classrooms:
Insights from teachers’ classroom practices. Journal of
Education and Practice, 7 (9), 137-154. Retrieved from
https://www.iiste.org/
Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/29632/30502
Balinas, E.S., Rodriguez, J.R, Santillan, J.P. & Valencia, Y.
C. (2017). Remedial Reading Program of AUF-CED:
Best Practices and Impact. Advances in Social Science,
Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), 109,
83-93. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=
&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjzu-Lp-
pTpAhW0yYsBHU-
sCpAQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%
2F%2Fdownload.atlantis-
press.com%2Farticle%2F25884223.
pdf&usg=AOvVaw08QW0k64zk7_tOdvJL0PNT
Crosby, S., Rasinski, T., Padak, N., & Yildirim, K. (2014).
A 3-year study of a school-based parental involvement
program in early literacy. Journal of Educational
Research, 108(2), 165-172. doi:
0.1080/00220671.2013.867472
David, C. C., Albert, J. R. G. & Vizmanos, J. F. (2019).
Pressures on public school teachers and implications on
quality. Retrieved from
https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/
PUBLICATIONS/pidspn1901.pdf
Dembele, M. & Rogers, F. H. (2013). In J. Kirk et al.
(Eds.), More and better teachers for quality education
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 67

for all: Identity and motivation, systems and support.

Retrieved from
https://moreandbetterteachers.files.wordpress.com/2013/
09/more-and-better-teaching_september-2013.pdf
Department of Education (DepEd) - Region IV-A Office.
(2018). Brigada for Every Child a Reader (Regional
Memorandum No. 312). Retrieved from
https://depedcalabarzon.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2019/11/Regional-Memorandum-No.-
312-s.2018.pdf
Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership
challenge: How to make ordinary things happen in
organizations. Retrieved from
https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/
3988308/mod_resource/content/2/LEADERSHIP%20C
HALLENGE.pdf
Mwoma, T. (2017). Children’s reading ability in early
primary schooling: Challenges for a Kenyan rural
community. Issues in Educational Research, 27(2), 347-
364. Retrieved from
http://www.iier.org.au/iier27/mwoma.pdf
Phajane, M. H. (2012). Methods used for reading
instruction at primary schools in the Bojanala Districts
of North West Province (Unpublished master’s thesis,
University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa).
Retrieved from
http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/6584/disser
tation_phajane_mh.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Singh, R. J. (2009). Creating a foundation phase classroom
that promote reading amongst children. Retrieved from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Creating-a-
Foundation-Phase-classroom-that-promotes-
Singh/b0c598f5de8dbc5475353f46544926fb183dbf67
Spaull, N. (2013). Poverty and privilege: Primary school
inequality in South Africa. International Journal of
68_____________________________________________________________________

Educational Development, 33, 436-447. doi:

10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.09.009
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. (2011). Education counts towards the
millennium development goals. Retrieved from
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/ 48223/pf0000190214
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. (2017). Reading the past, writing the
future. fifty years of promoting literacy. Retrieve from
https://unesdoc.unesco. org/ark:/48223/pf0000247563
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 69

Effectiveness of the Training on Enhancing

Teacher’s Skills in Reading Absolute and
Relative Location
Amelita E. Diloy, Emily R. Quintos, Rodel Q. Amita,
Marilyn B. Encarnacion
amelita.diloy@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Geography is one of the most critical disciplines in
Social Science. Alvarez et al. (2005) mentioned that our
daily lives were linked with geography. People understand
human activity through geography. Also, geography helps
us to make wise decisions in using our resources, resolving
environmental issues, and cultural differences. It also helps
people to be appreciative of cultural diversity.
Despite the benefits of teaching and learning
geography, De Guzman, Olaguer and Novera (2017) found
that doing so is becoming unpopular among the educators.
One of the reasons was because geography involves learning
a lot of factual information, as compared to other subject
areas (De Guzman et al., 2017). Notwithstanding the fact
that schools must provide quality education for all students
(Durban & Catalan, 2012), most of the public schools face
problems in the availability and accessibility of facilities and
instructional materials. This situation further aggravates the
lack of interest in the said learning area.
In the Philippines, the study of basic geography is
included in the curriculum for Araling Panlipunan for grades
5 and 6. Specific competencies are mandated to be taught
by the public school teachers in the said subject area. At the
intermediate level, there are Araling Panlipunan teachers,
who did not specialize in teaching geography, especially in
map reading on absolute and relative location. Thus, meeting
the standards set by the Department of Education might be
jeopardized if teachers assigned to teach the said learning
area are unable to unpack the competencies to the students.
70_____________________________________________________________________

To initiate solutions to the problem of teaching and

learning geography, the Department of Education – Schools
Division of Cavite Province (DepEd Cavite) has launched a
program to address a problem in teaching map reading on
absolute and relative location. The program was done during
a capacity building activity for selected 72 elementary
teachers from the different municipalities of DepEd Cavite.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answered the following questions:
1. What are the mean scores in the pretest and post-
test?
2. What is the mastery level of the observed-group in
the pretest and post-test?
3. Is there a significant difference in the pretest and
post-test mean scores of the observed group?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The respondents of this research were 72 grades 5
and 6 teachers in the DepEd Cavite. The respondents were
the participants in the Division Training on Content and
Pedagogy in Araling Panlipunan held from October 21 to 23,
2019 at Alfonso, Cavite. The district key administrators
chose the participants in the training in Araling Panlipunan.
The conduct of the study was limited to a two-hour training
on map reading focused on determining absolute and relative
location.

METHODS
The researchers employed the One-Group Pretest-
Posttest Design. In this research design, a single group of
respondents is subjected to the same treatment. The
effectiveness of the treatment is tested by calculating the
difference between the results of the pretest and post-test
(Allen, 2017). The treatment in this action research was a
two-hour training under a structured learning environment.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 71

Data were collected through a validated self-made 15-

item test based on Araling Panlipunan competencies for
grades 5 and 6 with the codes: AP5PLP-Ia-1, and AP6PMK-
Ia-1, respectively. Both competencies focused on reading
map lines, and primary and secondary locations. These
skills are essential in determining absolute and relative
location. A review of documentation notes of the observed-
group reactions and queries during the conduct of the
training was also conducted and utilized to support the
results of the empirical data derived from the test.
A pretest was administered before the start of the
training. Following the structured learning environment, the
observed-group was given interactive activities through four
A's (Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, Application). After the
two-hour training, a post-test was administered. The
proceedings of the training were also documented.
The results of the pretest and post-test were subjected
to descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and
mean percentage scores. The Automated Item Analysis used
in Learning Outcomes Assessment was also utilized to
determine the mastery level in each item before and after the
training. The results of the item analysis were then described
with reference to the test items.
Paired sample t-test was employed to determine the
significant difference between the pretest and post-test
results.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 presents the pretest and post-test results of the
observed group in a 15-item test. The observed group has a
pretest mean score of 12.27 and the post-test mean score of
14.97. It can also be gleaned from the table the increase in
the post-test mean percentage score of 99.80%, which is
higher by 16.67% than the pretest. This indicates that the
observed-group skills in reading absolute and relative
location could have been enhanced through the training.
72_____________________________________________________________________

Table 1
Pre-test and Posttest Results of the Observed Group

Pre-test
Posttest Score
Score
Mean 12.47 14.97
SD 1.47 0.17
Mean Percentage
83.13% 99.80%
Score

Table 2 presents the results of the Automated Item

Analysis. Data shows that the observed group has mastery of
7 items in the test, and 8 items under closely approximating
mastery. Analysis of the test questions in which the
mastered level was achieved were basic knowledge in
preparation on map reading. The following items had an
interpretation of closely approximating mastery of the skills
concerned: understanding the use of line, reading map signs,
and reading grid lines to identify absolute and relative
location.
As shown in the table, the highest percentage of
correct response (98%) was achieved in test item number 8
(Maraming instrumento na ginagamit sa pag-aaral ng
lokasyon ng isang lugar at isa na sa mga ito ang compass.
Sa paanong paraan ito nakakatutulong?). While the lowest
percentage of correct responses of 72.22% was recorded in
test item number six (Ginagamit ang grid sa pagtukoy ng
eksaktong lokasyon o tiyak na kinalalagyan ng isang lugar.
Ano ang tiyak na lokasyon (absolute location) ng
Pilipinas?).
Analysis of the documentation further revealed that
the proceedings of the training supported these above results.
In the facilitated activities, it was evident that the observed-
group had knowledge of determining absolute location but
showed confusion when reading grid lines and on identifying
the relative location. It could be attributed to the fact that
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 73

some in the observed were not Araling Panlipunan major,

and some were the first time to attend training in content and
pedagogy. The observed-group also expressed difficulty in
teaching primary and secondary locations to students.
Although the purpose of the study was to test the
effectivity of the training on enhancing the teacher's map
reading skills, particularly in absolute and relative location,
an underlying goal of the training was also to retool teachers
on the pedagogy of teaching geography by enhancing their
content. After the structured learning activities, observed-
group demonstrated mastered level in all items with a
percentage of correct responses of 98.61% (items 12 and 13),
and 100% on the rest of the test items. They also added that
the provided structured learning activities served as an
interactive learning process that the teacher-participants
could adopt in teaching the same topic to their pupils,
granted that the activities would be modified to suit the
learners' level.

Table 2
Results of Automated Item Analysis

No. of % of
Item
Correct Correct Interpretation
No.
Responses Responses
1 65 90.28 Mastered
2 59 81.94 Mastered
3 68 94.44 Mastered
4 59 81.94 Mastered
5 68 94.44 Mastered
Closely Approximating
6 52 72.22 Mastery
7 68 94.44 Mastered
8 71 98.61 Mastered
Closely Approximating
9 54 75.00 Mastery
74_____________________________________________________________________

No. of % of
Item
Correct Correct Interpretation
No.
Responses Responses
Closely Approximating
10 57 79.17 Mastery
Closely Approximating
11 56 77.78 Mastery
Closely Approximating
12 57 79.17 Mastery
Closely Approximating
13 55 76.39 Mastery
Closely Approximating
14 55 76.39 Mastery
Closely Approximating
15 54 75.00 Mastery
Table 3 illustrates the significant difference between
the mean scores of 12.31 in the pretest and 14.97 in the post-
test. Utilizing paired sample t-test, the null hypothesis was
rejected since the computed p-value of 0.000 is lesser than
0.005. The empirical data proved that there was a significant
difference between the pre-test and post-test scores after the
observed-group was subjected to the training. Moreover, the
results validate the effectivity of the training on enhancing
the teacher's skills in reading absolute and relative locations.

Table 3
Difference between the Pre-test and Post-test Results

t- p- Remarks Decision
value value
Pre-test
Scores Reject
27.714 .000 Significant
Posttest Ho
Scores
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 75

CONCLUSIONS
Geography is one of the themes in teaching social
studies; thus, an in-depth understanding of the content
standard is a prerequisite to developing the pupils learning
competency on map reading, which centers on reading grid
lines to identify the absolute and relative location. Trainings
may help enhance the content and pedagogical knowledge of
Araling Panlipunan teachers, regardless of their
specializations. In the long run, trained teachers create
learning environment, which is fun and worthwhile for them
and the learners.

REFERENCES

Allen, M. (Ed). (2017) One-group pretest–posttest design.

In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research
Methods. doi: 10.4135/9781483381411.n388
Alvarez, K., Deal, M. S., Gress, G., Gritzner, C., Morill, R.,
Pavlovic, Z., … Boehm, R. (2005). Why geography is
important: Understanding the world, cultural diversity,
environment, and society globalization. Retrieved from
https://geography.vt.edu/content/dam/geography_vt_edu
/why_geography.pdf
De Guzman, M. F., Olaguer, L. & Novera, E.G. (2017).
Difficulties faced in teaching geography lessons at
public secondary schools Division of Zambales,
Philippines. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social
Science, 22(9), 64-70. doi: 10.9790/0837-2209076470
Durban, J. & Catalan, R. (2012). Issues and concerns of
Philippine education through the years. Retrieved from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ISSUES-AND-
CONCERNS-OF-PHILIPPINE-EDUCATION-
THROUGH-Durban-
Catalan/8476426a3f039d8ad035f7ed545095c1ce94
365c
76_____________________________________________________________________

Enhancing the Academic Performance and

Attitudes of STEM Students using Open
Educational Resources Materials in Pre-
Calculus
Mark Anthony F. Papa, Haydee P. Mojica, Felinda E. Cruz
markanthony.papa@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Research shows that the amount and quality of
acquired knowledge a student achieved in learning
mathematics can be attributed to their attitudes towards
mathematics (Papageorgiou, 2009). Similarly, the
Philippines’ K to 12 Mathematics Curriculum attributes
students’ success to their attitudes and beliefs (Science
Education Institute, Department of Science and Technology
& The Philippine Council of Mathematics Teacher
Education, Inc.).
Students considered as high achievers in school tend
to have more positive attitudes toward mathematics than
students with lower achievements (Ajisuksmo and Saputri,
2017). Having said this, students must maintain wholesome
attitudes and positive beliefs about mathematics. They
should develop the attitudes, such as perseverance,
persistence, reflection, self-assessment, and self-confidence
are frequently keys to success.
The advent of technology in mathematics education
gives rise to a multitude of instructional materials that the
teachers can utilize. One of these materials is the so-called
“Open Educational Resources” or OER. OER are teaching
and learning materials that reside in the public domain or
have been released under an open license that permits free
access, use, adaptation, and redistribution with no or limited
restrictions (The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as
cited by Zawisza, 2018). Here, learning materials becomes
freely available and accessible to learners and teachers.
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 77

Teachers can also adapt and modify the accessed OER to suit
to the needs of their students.
Because of the potential to help in achieving quality
education, OER Project was launched by the Department of
Education in 2019. This project primarily aims to bring
learning materials to the Filipino learners, who live in areas
that have difficulty in accessing the internet. Under the OER
Project, learning materials can be accessed from a learning
package and can be used for independent learning.
The Schools Division Office of Cavite Province
(DepEd Cavite), Department of Education, Philippines, is at
an advantage, because some of the trainers and implementers
of OER are teachers in the division. The locale of the
research, Indang National High School, Indang, Cavite,
Philippines, was the first school in DepEd Cavite to be
trained on the use of the OER.
Pre-calculus is one of the specialized subjects in the
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) strand in Senior High School. STEM students of
Indang National High School found the subject difficult, as
reflected in their summative tests and performance tasks
during the early months of S.Y. 2019-2020. The initial
assessments of the problem showed that the students had
poor attitudes towards the subject.
For these reasons, the researchers were motivated to
study the effectiveness of OER, as an intervention tool in
improving the attitudes and achievement of STEM students
in Pre-calculus subject.
The results of this study can be a great help in
addressing the poor attitude and improving the achievement
of STEM students in the said subject area. This study also
suggests changing the approach of mathematics teachers in
teaching the subject.
78_____________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answered the following questions:
1. What is the academic performance of STEM
students in Pre-Calculus before and after the utilization of
OER materials?;
2. What is the attitude of STEM students in Pre-
Calculus before and after the utilization of OER materials?;
3. Is there a significant difference in the academic
performance of STEM students in Pre-Calculus before and
after the utilization of OER materials?; and
4. Is there a significant difference in the attitudes of
STEM students in Pre-Calculus before and after the
utilization of OER materials?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study was limited to the academic performance
and attitudes towards the Pre-Calculus subject before and
after the utilization of OER materials. The respondents of
this study are the 25 Grade 12 Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students of Indang
National High School Senior High School, Schools Division
Office of Cavite Province, Department of Education
Philippines. This study was conducted in S.Y. 2019-2020.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Participants of this study are the twenty-five (25)
Grade 11 STEM students, who obtained a final grade of 84%
and below in Pre-Calculus during the First Quarter of S.Y.
2019-2020 at Indang National High School - Senior High
School.
The participants used OER materials in Pre-Calculus
available in the DepEd OER collection. The materials
included the Course Lab 2.4 and Wondershare Quiz Creator.
Course Lab 2.4 - is an open E-learning creation software that
can be used to animate lectures and PowerPoint
presentations. Wondershare Quiz Creator is a quiz
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 79

application that promotes responsive quizzes and real-time

feedbacking mechanism.
These OER materials were modified and utilized
based on the very least mastered competencies in Pre-
Calculus in the First Quarter of S.Y. 2019-2020. Selected
STEM students used OER materials for 1 month.
A 10-item test for every identified very least mastered
competency in Pre-Calculus was administered before and
after the intervention program using OER materials.
The Attitude toward Calculus Inventory (ATCI)
(Huang & Lin, 2015) was used to measure students’ attitudes
toward Pre-Calculus. It was administered before and after
the utilization of the OER materials. This 20-item inventory
scale is divided into four sub-scales, such as self-confidence,
value, enjoyment, and motivation.
T-test of correlated means was used to identify if there
was any significant difference in the pre- and post-tests
scores and the attitudes of participants before and after the
intervention program in Pre-Calculus.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows the students’ academic performance
in Pre-Calculus before and after the utilization of OER
materials. Results revealed that the students performed
better in Pre-Calculus in the post-test than in the pre-test.
80_____________________________________________________________________

Table 1
Pretest and Post-Test Score in Pre-Calculus

Competency Pre-Test Post-Test

Code Mean SD MPS Mean SD MPS
STEM_PC11
3.00 0.82 30.0 6.72 1.24 67.2
AG-Id-1
STEM_PC11
3.12 0.78 31.2 7.28 1.24 72.8
AG-Id-3
STEM_PC11
3.24 0.78 32.4 6.76 1.30 67.6
AG-Ie-1
Overall 9.36 1.82 31.2 20.76 3.18 69.2

Table 2 shows the students' attitudes in Pre-Calculus

before and after the utilization of OER materials. Results
showed a 41.17% increase in the attitudes of STEM students
in Pre-Calculus before and after the utilization of OER
materials. The results suggest that the utilization of the OER
materials may have improved the self-confidence, value,
enjoyment, motivation, and the overall attitude of STEM
students in Pre-Calculus.

Table 2
Students’ Attitudes in Pre-Calculus

Pre- Post-
%
Item Assessment Assessment
Increase
Mean SD Mean SD
Self-
15.04 1.40 23.24 2.33 54.52
confidence
Value 12.40 1.44 20.08 1.55 61.94
Enjoyment 19.20 3.32 24.60 1.50 28.13
Motivation 10.20 1.55 12.32 0.99 20.78
Overall
56.84 4.02 80.24 3.50 41.17
Attitude
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 81

Table 3 shows the comparison of pre- and post-test

scores in Pre-Calculus. Results showed that there was a
significant difference in the performance of students in Pre-
Calculus before and after the utilization of OER Materials.
The utilization of OER materials in Pre-Calculus may have
increased the students’ performance in the subject.

Table 3
Comparison of Pre-test and Post-test Scores in Pre-Calculus

Competency t value p value Remarks*

STEM_PC11AG-Id-1 11.48 0.00 Significant
STEM_PC11AG-Id-3 14.22 0.00 Significant
STEM_PC11AG-Ie-1 11.30 0.00 Significant
Overall 14.60 0.00 Significant
*Using α=0.05 and α=0.01 level of significance

Table 4 shows the comparison of students’ attitudes

in Pre-Calculus before and after the utilization of OER
materials. Results showed that there was a significant
difference in the attitudes of students in Pre-Calculus before
and after the utilization of OER Materials. Hence, the
utilization of OER materials in Pre-Calculus could have
contributed in the improvement of their attitude towards the
subject.

Table 4
Comparison of Students’ Attitudes in Pre-Calculus

Item t-value p-value Remarks*

Self-confidence 14.13 0.00 Significant
Value 15.60 0.00 Significant
Enjoyment 7.54 0.00 Significant
Motivation 5.93 0.00 Significant
Overall Attitude 19.34 0.00 Significant
*Using α=0.05 and α=0.01 level of significance
82_____________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION
Results revealed that the integration of OER
materials increased the academic performance and improved
the attitudes of STEM students in Pre-Calculus. The OER
materials could have improved the performance and attitude
of students in learning advanced mathematics subjects like
Pre-Calculus. Campaigns on the use of OER materials as
supplementary learning implements for schools with no
available learning modules and internet, should be taken into
consideration. Lastly, the teachers should be oriented on the
availability of these materials, so that they will be equipped
to meet the needs of the 21st-century learners.

REFERENCES

Ajisuksmo, C. and Saputri, G. (2017) The influence of

attitudes towards mathematics, and metacognitive
awareness on mathematics achievements. Creative
Education, 8, 486-497. doi: 10.4236/ce.2017.83037.
Huang, Y. C. & Lin, S. H. (2015). Development and
validation of an inventory for measuring student
attitudes toward calculus. Measurement and
Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 48(2),
109-123. doi: 10.1177/0748175614 563314
Papageorgiou, G. (2009). The effect of mathematical
modeling on students’ affect (Unplublished masteral
thesis, AMSTEL Institute, Amsterdam University,
The Netherlands). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=
&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjik_Hp
5ZLpAhWiF6YKHbrlD80QFjAAegQIARAB&url=h
ttps%3A%2F%2Fesc.fnwi.uva.nl%2Fthesis%2Fcentr
aal%2Ffiles%2Ff1357360726.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0C
KPojgvDb2wQzvsz_m5vA
Science Education Institute, Department of Science and
Technology & The Philippine Council of
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 83

Mathematics Teacher Education, Inc. (2011).

Mathematics framework for Philippine basic
education. Retrieved from http://www.
sei.dost.gov.ph/images/downloads/publ/sei_mathbasi
c.pdf
Zawisza, K. (2018). TFSC: Open Educational Resources.
Retrieved from https://tips.uark.edu/tfsc-open-
educational-resources/
84_____________________________________________________________________

Improving the Academic Performance of the

TVL - Animation Students through the Open
Educational Resource (OER) Kiosk
Johnel B. De Guzman, Jhoanna B. De Guzman, Mark
Anthony F. Papa, Mignon Cecille M. Mangoba, May Anne
Joy D. Romanes
depedcavite.ict@deped.gov.ph

INTRODUCTION
Technology makes a powerful education (United
States [U.S.] Department of Education, 2017). It helps
improve instruction delivery. It is used to reinvent the
approaches to learning and collaboration, reduce gaps in
equity and accessibility, and adapt experiences to respond to
the needs of the students (U.S. Department of Education,
2017). To realize the full benefits of technology in our
education system, educators need to use technology
effectively in their practice and manifest its success in the
improvement of the academic performance of the students
(U.S. Department of Education, 2017).
Open Educational Resources, also known as OER,
cover all the teaching, learning, and research materials
available to the public, or released under an open license
(United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization [UNESCO], 2019). An OER with an open
license allows free access and distribution (UNESCO,
2019). Since 2002, OER supports the response of the
international community to provide more relevant learning
opportunities for the more diverse 21st century learners
(UNESCO, 2019).
The Department of Education (DepEd) (n.d.)
recognized Open Educational Resource (OER) as an
innovative means to support the K to 12 Curriculum. In the
national level, OER is seen as localized ICT-assisted
materials designed to provide quality, relevant, and
liberating education to prepare the learners in the future
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 85

(DepEd, n.d.). This type of materials were promoted by the

Department as part of their Digital Rise (DepEd, n.d.).
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Track is
taken between Grades 9 to 12 (DepEd, n.d.). During grades
7 to 8, exploratory subjects are taken at 40 hours per quarter
(DepEd, n.d.). One of its specialization is Animation under
the strand of Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) (DepEd, n.d.). This particular area consists of 320
hours (DepEd, n.d.). CIIT Philippines - College of Arts and
Technology (2019) studied the challenges faced by Senior
High School Animation students. Some of the challenges
identified were loss of interest, lack of skills, and creative
block (CIIT Philippines - College of Arts and Technology,
2019). In the last year first quarter results in a public Senior
High School, a Mean Percentage Score of 51.58% was
obtained—way below the Department’s target of 80%
mastery. With these challenges, OER could be of help.
An OER Kiosk is a standalone device that provides
interactive online and offline learning materials. Unlike the
commercially available kiosk, it is made using low-cost
materials. It is foldable and portable for easy transport.
Bluetooth option is added in the Kiosk. Trackpad is also
made available to make the device more user-friendly. The
OER Kiosk also serves as a container of learning outputs.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research answered the following questions:
1. What is the level of the academic
performance of the students before the integration of the
OER Kiosk?;
2. What is the level of the academic
performance of the students after the integration of the OER
Kiosk?; and
3. Is there a significant difference between the
scores of the students before and after the integration of the
OER Kiosk?.
86_____________________________________________________________________

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This study was conducted among the 10 Grade 11
TVL students in Animation in a public Senior High School
during the First Quarter of S.Y. 2019-2020. This study
focused on the level of the academic performance of the
students before and after the utilization of the OER Kiosk.
Academic performance was measured using a teacher-made
test covering the first quarter competencies in Animation. It
also focused on the determining any significant difference
between the scores of the students before and after the
integration of the OER Kiosk.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used quantitative research design. Ten
Grade 11 TVL students in Animation in a public Senior High
School were involved in this study. They are selected using
total enumeration sampling. A 50-item diagnostic test was
administered before the intervention. This test was validated
by selected division personnel. The OER Kiosk was used as
the intervention to provide accessible and easy-to-use
material for the respondents. The same test was
administered to the participants after the utilization of OER
Kiosk. To determine the level of the academic performance
of the students before and after the utilization of the OER
Kiosk, scores were categorized into mastered (48-60 points),
closely approaching mastery (36-47 points), moving towards
mastery (24-35 points), low mastery (12-23 points), and very
low mastery (0-11 points). Paired sample t-test was used to
identify any significant difference between the scores before
and after the OER Kiosk integration.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The findings revealed the level of the of the academic
performance of the students before and after the integration
of the OER Kiosk. Before the integration of OER Kiosk, it
was found out that the respondents was at low mastery. The
 Salik-suri, 1(1) 87

respondents got a mean score of 12.72, standard deviation of

5.66, and 25.45% mean percentage score. After the
integration of the OER Kiosk, the respondents got a mean
score of 32.91, standard deviation of 9.95, and 65.82% mean
percentage score. Hence, the level of the academic
performance was moved from low mastery to moving
towards mastery. Significant difference between the scores
before and after OER Kiosk integration was found. The
results suggested that the integration of OER Kiosk in the
instruction delivery in Animation during first quarter may
improve the academic performance of the students.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the data generated through this study, OER
Kiosk may help in improving the academic performance of
animation students. These findings suggest further studies in
its use in other grade levels and other subject areas.

REFERENCES

CIIT Philippines - College of Arts and Technology. (2019).

6 problems senior high school animation students
encounter. Retrieved from
https://www.ciit.edu.ph/senior-high-school-animation-
problems/
Department of Education (DepEd). (n.d.). Open
Educational Resources. Retrieved from
https://www.deped.gov.ph/ resources/oer/
Department of Education (DepEd). (n.d.). Technology and
Livelihood Education (TLE) and Technical-Vocational-
Livelihood (TVL) Track. Retrieved from
https://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/about/k-to-12-basic-
education-curriculum/technology-and-livelihood-
education-tle-and-technical-vocational-livelihood-tvl-
track/
88_____________________________________________________________________

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO). 2019. Open Educational
Resources (OER). Retrieved from
https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-
societies/oer
U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Reimagining the
role of technology in education: 2017 national
education technology plan update. Retrieved from
https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/ NETP17.pdf
Salik-suri, 1(1) 89
90_____________________________________________________________________