Introduction
Excellence teaching is the desired goal of the Department of Education (DepEd). To do this, the teacher should pursue a high-quality education. Teaching does not only mean knowing the content or mastery of the lesson. But rather, the teacher requires a deep understanding of principles and theories of teaching so that learning will be transferred effectively to the learners. Teachers ought to possess strong knowledge not only of the content but also of strategies and skills in teaching.
Education is important for all. It helps every person to gain knowledge and skills in many aspects. To have these, a competent and committed teacher is needed. However, the school should provide a conducive working environment for teachers to be able to perform their duties and responsibilities. A teacher is an asset to any school and occupies the most important place in an educational institution because he/she is in charge of the students. The provision of facilitating working conditions for teachers will help in the enhancement of their commitment to the profession. To have a strong educational system, the government needs trained, competent, and committed teachers who are aware of their duties; thus, they will perform their jobs with the best they can afford.
Teaching competencies are required in many aspects of teaching. It also includes teaching strategies to improve the learning outcomes of the students. The K to 12 Basic Education has a separate curriculum for Senior High School (SHS). Some of the teachers who were hired to teach in the senior high school were those from junior high school who applied for the position in the senior high school. Other teachers hired were not education graduates and just had their units in education and had passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).
Teachers who are committed professionally selected teaching as a profession, equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills, and dedication toward serving the students academically.
In contrast, job satisfaction depends on several different factors such as satisfaction with pay, promotion opportunities, fringe benefits, job security, and relationship with co-workers and supervisors. (1) A teacher who is satisfied with his/her work will stay in the profession, be committed to their work, and be proud of being a teacher. Highly satisfied teachers have a more positive relationship with students and are more likely to help them achieve higher academic outcomes (2). Therefore, this study was conceptualized to assess the competency, commitment, and satisfaction, of senior high school teachers in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.
Methodology
This study was anchored on the Two-Factor Theory by Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman (3). A descriptive research design was utilized in the study. Purposive sampling was used in choosing 62 Senior High School Teachers in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The researchers administered the questionnaire to the respondents by sending the Google Survey Form through FB messenger and explained the purpose of the research to elicit valid answers from them. Later, the researchers collected and tabulated the data gathered by means of descriptive statistics such as frequency count, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) was used to test the relationship between the two sets of variables.
Results and discussion
The findings showed that the average age of the respondents was 35 years, females, Bachelor of Secondary Education graduates, had 0–4 years in teaching, were LET passers, and Teacher II in position.
Teaching competencies of the respondents
The teaching competencies of the respondents got an overall mean of 4.30, described as strongly agree. The result revealed that the respondents strongly agreed that they have the ability to teach effectively.
Classroom management
The pooled mean for classroom management was 4.39, described as strongly agree. This implies that respondents believed that they were competent when it comes to classroom management, especially in managing the classroom, managing time, discipline, and physical environment of the classroom.
Table 1 shows that physical environment (4.47) got the highest mean, followed by managing classroom (4.40), and managing time (4.32) got the lowest mean. All items were described as strongly agree. This indicates that respondents believed that they should consider and be aware of the physical condition of the classroom. According to Turano (4), there are the following four major factors of the classroom environment: physical environment, time and instructional management, behavior management, and teacher effectiveness, which make learning effective. Moreover, Phillips (5) reported that the physical structure of a classroom is a critical variable that can affect students’ morale and learning.
Table 1. Teaching competencies of the respondents.
Content knowledge and skills
Findings revealed that content knowledge and skills got a pooled mean of 4.51, described as strongly agree. This implies that the respondents strongly agreed that a teacher should have a thorough knowledge of different areas of instructional strategies that apply to the content and pedagogical knowledge and skills in order to help all students learn. They facilitate student learning of the subject matter through the presentation of the content in clear and meaningful ways and through the integration of technology.
Assessment of learning (4.60) got the highest mean, followed by the formulation of goals and objectives (4.56), both described as strongly agree. The assessment was an integral part and necessary for the teaching and learning process. Success in learning can be achieved if the tools used by the teachers matched the styles of the students. In contrast, selection and use of teaching strategies (3.69) got the lowest mean, described as moderately agree. The result also showed that the respondents were competent in selecting and using teaching strategies appropriate for the learning of the students. Teachers whose knowledge allows them to see the “big picture” and to understand their students’ learning preferences may also be more willing to direct their strategies from teachers’ guides, build lessons on student discussions, and make more significant connections than teachers with less knowledge and skills on the topic (6).
Professional commitment of the respondents
Table 2 shows the professional commitment of the teacher respondents. It obtained an overall mean of 4.10, described as moderately agree. It implies that the respondents somewhat agree on the following three domains: the affective, continuance, and normative domains.
Table 2. Professional commitment of the respondents.
The affective domain obtained a mean of 4.30, described as strongly agree. The result showed that teachers were very much affected and enjoyed the company of his/her colleagues in their organization, and there was a strong feeling of belongingness. Under continuance, it has a mean of 3.93, described as moderately agree. This implies that the respondents moderately agreed that there was a need to continue working with the organization they were in. This can be attributed to the fact that the senior high school was only in its fifth year of implementation and teachers were still in the early stage. The normative domain had a mean of 4.06, described as moderately agree. This implies that loyalty is a moral obligation to one’s organization.
According to Crosswell (7), a teacher’s commitment and loyalty to an organization can be discussed merely in terms of external factors such as students and subject areas. Teacher commitment could also be enhanced if school cultures produce a such environment where teachers have independence in performing their duties (8). Commitment to the students describes that the teachers who care for their students as individuals try to adopt individualized learning and assessment (9). Student performance highly depends on the commitment of teachers (10, 11). Commitment to the teaching profession is devoted to teaching as a profession (12).
Job satisfaction of the respondents
The results showed that job satisfaction had an overall mean of 3.17, described as agree. It implies that the respondents were satisfied with their work.
Table 3 shows that people and work on the present job got the highest mean of 3.40, both described as strongly agree. This implies that respondents were satisfied with the people and work in their job because they were active and smart. Likewise, they were also creative. They use their abilities and give a sense of accomplishment which indicated that they were satisfied with their work. Handoko (13) argued that job satisfaction is an emotional state that is favorable or unfavorable to which employees view their job. Opportunities and promotion got the lowest mean of 2.58, described as agree. Respondents believed that there are opportunities and promotions allotted for a teacher. It only takes proper time and is somehow limited. Findings can also be attributed to the fact that there were very limited higher positions to be filled in. There can only be movements in the promotion once there are those who retire with the higher position or if new items are created because of the increase in the student population.
Table 3. Job satisfaction of the respondents.
Relationship between teaching competencies and job satisfaction of teachers
Table 4 shows that among the classroom management skills, discipline was found to be positively and significantly correlated with people in present job (r = 0.691), job in general (r = 0.503), work in present job (r = 0.110), and supervision (r = 0.098). This implies that the more disciplined the respondents were, the higher their job satisfaction in terms of people on present job, job in general, work on present job, and supervision. The result was similar to the findings of Mangkunegara and Octorend (14) who mentioned that work discipline, work motivation, and job satisfaction were highly and significantly correlated with each other, while Suyitno (15) found only a weak effect of competence, job satisfaction, and discipline of work on the performance of the employee.
Table 4. Relationship between teaching competencies and job satisfaction of teachers.
In contrast, the physical environment was positively correlated with people in present job (r = 0.708), job in general (r = 0.681), work on present job (r = 0.653), and supervision (r = 0.409). Findings revealed that the better the physical environment in the classroom, the higher the job satisfaction of the teacher–respondents in terms of the mentioned variables. Similar to the study by Vischer (16), the studies of stress in the work environment paid little attention to features of the physical environment in which work was performed. Yet the evidence was accumulating that the physical environment of work affected both job performance and job satisfaction.
Table 4 reveals that in terms of content knowledge and skills, the formulation of goals and objectives was positively correlated with opportunities in promotion (r = 0.321) and supervision (r = 0.677). Findings implied that if the teachers can have a better formulation of goals and objectives which were aligned and matched with the learning styles of the students and competency of the curriculum, the higher the job satisfaction of the respondents in terms of opportunities for promotion and supervision. For teachers who already had the knowledge and skills in the context of the content of the lesson and were able to formulate their own goals and objectives in their careers, opportunities for promotion were higher. In the context of supervision, it can also be connected to the knowledge and skills of the teachers and administrators to provide the necessary goals and objectives to be achieved by both the students and the teachers to enhance the teaching and learning process.
Moreover, the selection and organization of content were positively significantly related to opportunities for promotion (r = 0.711) and supervision (r = 0.198). This means that the better the selection and organization of content under the teaching competencies, the higher the job satisfaction of the respondents in terms of opportunities and promotions as well as supervision.
Selection and use of teaching strategies were significantly related to people in present job (r = 0.501), opportunities for promotion (r = 0.803), and supervision (r = 0.612). This implied that the better the selection and use of strategies under teaching competencies, the higher the job satisfaction of the respondents in terms of people at present job, opportunities, and promotion as well as supervision.
Selection and use of instructional materials were found to be positively significantly related to people in present job (r = 0.817), opportunities for promotion (r = 0.193), and supervision (r = 0.069). This means that the more appropriate use of instructional materials, the higher the job satisfaction in terms of opportunities and promotion as well as in supervision.
Furthermore, the assessment of learning was also found to be positively and significantly related to people in present job (r = 0.256), opportunities for promotion (r = 0.318), and supervision (r = 0.067), implying that the better the assessment of learning, the higher was the job satisfaction of the respondents.
Relationship between commitment and job satisfaction of teachers – Table 5
The affective domain was found to be negatively and significantly related to work on present job (r = − 0.718) and pay (r = −0.031), which implies that the higher the affective domain, the lower the job satisfaction in terms of work on present job. In contradicting the findings of Beck and Wilson (17) where highly satisfied teachers have more positive relationships and affection with their organizations and their students and are more likely to help them achieve higher academic outcomes.
Table 5. Relationship between commitment and job satisfaction of teachers.
The commitment was also found to be negatively and significantly related to work on present job (r = −0.444) and pay (r = −0.392). The result implies that the higher the continuance feeling of the respondents, the lower their job satisfaction in terms of work at present job and pay. This means that to continue work in their present organization would give them lower job satisfaction. In contrast, Dranitsaris (18) found that a group with a permissive leader who allowed them to continue to participate in decision-making had a more favorable attitude to their jobs, higher productivity, and higher morale than employees with a restrictive leader who made all decisions.
Moreover, the normative domain was likewise found to be negatively and significantly related to work on present job (r = −0.229) and pay (r = −0.023). This means that the lower the normative decisions of the respondents, the higher their job satisfaction, which also means that the lesser they think of transferring from one organization to another, the more that they become satisfied with their job.
As indicated by Jaiyeban and Jibril (19), satisfied and motivated teachers are important for any educational system. The success or failure of the education system depends mainly on satisfied teachers but also on satisfied school managers and administrators. Teachers, specifically, spend a great amount of time with their students in class, and therefore, they have a significant impact on student achievement (20, 21).
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing findings, the following were the conclusions: the result showed that the average age of the respondents was 35 years, females, Bachelor of Secondary Education graduates, had 0-4 years in teaching, were Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) passers, and Teacher II in position. The teaching competency of the respondents was rated as strongly agree. The commitment of the respondents was rated as moderately agree. Job satisfaction was generally described as agree. Among the classroom management skills, discipline and physical environment were positively correlated with job satisfaction. In terms of content knowledge and skills, the formulation of goals and objectives, selection and organization of content, selection and use of teaching strategies, selection and use of instructional materials, and assessment of learning were all found significantly correlated with job satisfaction. An affective, continuance, and normative domain was negatively correlated with the job satisfaction of the respondents.
Recommendations
The researchers recommend the following: the rating of the senior high school teachers was strongly agreed on many aspects; therefore, it is recommended that the same evaluation should be performed among other stakeholders such as the students and school heads. School heads should give chance to senior high school teachers to continue attending in-service training and continuing professional education. Likewise, they should continue to improve the teaching competencies of the teachers in order for them to become satisfied in their job. In contrast, teachers should also be given equal opportunities for promotion in order for them to become satisfied in their job. In terms of job satisfaction, teachers can be motivated to work on their present job if there will be an increase in their salary and other benefits. Professional commitment should be enhanced and developed further for the respondents to increase their job satisfaction. Future and further studies related to this should be conducted to verify the veracity and correctness of the results.
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