OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Don Honorio Ventura State University
Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
Graduate School
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE
IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
A Thesis Presented to
Dr. Vicky P. Vital
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject
Research Methodology 1
Galang, Monette L.
Master of Arts in Education
Major in Educational Management
1-C
October 2021
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
It is known across the globe that to produce quality education for students; there should be
quality teachers first which will demonstrate the best qualities in their teaching performance. The
performance of teachers is an essential factor in enhancing the students' achievement in school
because they have a direct influence on students' learning progress. The teachers' teaching methods,
strategies, and techniques in presenting the lessons may affect how the students perform. Moreover,
the effectiveness of teaching performance will reflect the passion and commitment that the teachers
have. So, it is crucial to make sure that all these good attributes should possess by teachers so that
students will be able to attain the quality education that they deserve.
Furthermore, teachers should acquire appropriate attitudes, behaviors, and values about
teaching in general because it can also impact their teaching performance. They must display good
qualities by accommodating the students' academic, social, and emotional needs. In addition, to
enhance and to achieve the quality of teaching performance, teachers are required to demonstrate
commitment to continuing professional development through interest and participation in
appropriate in‐service training, admission to graduate school, and or commitment to research.
In this study, the researcher believes that the teaching performance has a beneficial impact
on increasing students' achievement and on improving the quality of education. Based on the
researcher's observation, a teacher should have the qualities to display an exquisite performance to
promote students' success. To name a few, these are the master of content knowledge and
pedagogy, good interpersonal skills, and critical thinking skills. At the same time, students learn
well if the teachers who facilitate their learning have mastery of the subject, promote active and
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
collaborative participation and support emotional needs. Through this, the students may develop
an optimistic attitude towards learning which will eventually improve their academic achievement.
(Fraser and Walberg 2005), as cited by (Bonney et al., 2015) state that teachers play a vital
role in ensuring quality education delivery, and they are best known for educating students in their
care. In addition, he emphasizes that teachers are responsible for promoting and modeling
appropriate standards of behavior.
According to educational researchers, they have found out that there are indicators of
teacher quality found to promote and to improve positive student achievement. If teachers were
certified in their field, if teachers obtained their master's degrees, and if teachers are enrolled in
graduate studies, there will be a possibility for student achievement increase, and dropout rates
decrease. Furthermore, more than any other school-based factors, teacher preparation and
certification had the strongest correlation for student achievement.
Recent research has discovered statistically pertinent relationships between the gains in
student achievement and the objective measures of teaching quality such as experience, mastery of
the subject matter, certification and licensure, quality of the preparation, and teacher stability. As
Xuhui, Emily & Tanja (2008) stated, teaching quality, as perceived by the students, is quite closely
linked to student engagement measures, and the relationships work mainly in expected directions.
Coleman et al (1966) as cited by Sirait (2016), student achievement has been a focus of several
empirical studies to examine the student performance as measured by standardized test and school
resources characteristic in relation to educational quality. Many Studies show that teacher quality
is the key central in student performance. According to by Darling-Hammond et al (2000), teacher
characteristic significantly affects the student performance. Teacher characteristic such as,
educational background, experience, certificate status, leadership experience, perseverance,
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
teacher evaluation score, preparedness course work are the variables that should be given a lot of
attention in relation to student achievement.
Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain (2005) discovered that having qualified teachers was more
important than school organizations, management, or opportunities offered at school. In other
words, teachers have a substantial effect on student achievement. According to the World Bank
(2011), qualified teachers can narrow the academic achievement gap between students from high-
and low-income groups, which is one of the issues of society today.
However, assigning teachers to a teaching position for which they have not qualified
influences how they perform in school. Most schools often faced a lot of challenges like teacher
shortage due to the limited funding. As the population increases in school, more students suffer
from teacher shortages. In this case, many schools, particularly the private ones, need to ask the
teachers to teach the subjects that are away from their area of expertise. This phenomenon among
schools is called out-of-field Teaching.
Out-of-field teaching is defined in different ways by different researchers. The term Out of
Field Teaching describes teachers assigned to teach subject areas or year levels out of their major
or specialization. Moreover, out-of-field Education has been a worldwide concern. Teachers who
teach subjects out of their fields have become slightly worse in recent years, regardless of plenty
of programs focused on enhancing teacher quality.
Hobbs (2013) stated that out-of-field teaching occurs when principals assign teachers to
teach a subject they are not qualified for. In other words, out-of-field teachers are classified as
teachers whose qualifications are not suitable or aligned with the topics or grade level that they are
teaching. The qualifications to teach a particular subject or grade level may include the teachers'
content knowledge and pedagogy and or teaching experiences.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
For example, a teacher is an English Major, but the school where he or she is working has
limited funding to hire additional teachers. To maximize the school's teaching force, the English
Major Teacher may be offered to teach other subjects like History or Values Education which are
out of his or her field.
In countries like Australia, many teachers are teaching subjects they are not qualified to
teach. Based on the ACER or the Australian Council for Educational Research report, some
educators have been teaching for seven to ten years outside their aptitude. In Washington, USA,
there is also an increase in out-of-field teaching where teachers are assigned to teach subject
learning areas that do not match their educational background or training and experience.
Out-Of-Field teaching is long-rooted in American schools (Hechinger, 1985, October 8).
It has been a persistent and widespread phenomenon in public schools since the 1980s and has been
extensively studied since the 1990s. In addition, out-of-field teachers are thought of as under-
qualified teachers. They are automatically associated with a negative influence on student
achievement, though the evidence for such claims has never been clear.
The study from the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics Schools) and SASS
(Schools and Staffing Survey) in the US provided information about the analysis on teacher
qualifications and out-of-field teaching across schools and the sources of school-to-school variation
in out-of-field education. The study found that while most teachers were generally qualified, a
significant number of teachers, especially in disadvantaged and marginalized schools were assigned
to teach classes outside of their expertise.
In the Philippines, out-of-field teaching is a long unrecognized problem in schools and
education in general. Other educational issues have received more attention in previous years than
the failure to ensure that primary and secondary education classrooms are filled with qualified
teachers (Bayani & Guhao 2017). In the past years, studies and reports have expressed their
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
attention to this issue in education, which resulted in numerous initiatives to upgrade the quality
and quantity of the teaching force in the Philippines.
All these related literatures gathered by the researcher in relation to out-of-field teachers,
students’ academic achievement led up with the conceptual framework in her study.
Conceptual Framework
In this study, the researcher will use the following conceptual framework. The IV-DV
model or the Independent Variable (IV) and Dependent Variable (DV) Model will be employed in
where the IV is concerned with data about Out-Of-Field Teachers’ Performance while the DV is
about the Students’ Academic Achievement. In this framework, the researcher will explore the
teacher respondents’ performance in relation to student respondents’ academic achievement.
Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Out-Of-Field Teachers’ Students’ Academic
Performance Achievement
Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of the Study
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Statement of the Problem
The researcher will determine the relationship of out-of-field teachers’ performance to
the students’ academic achievement. Therefore, the objective is to investigate the pivotal role
of teaching performance in relation to the students’ achievement in order to propose a plan or
program to help enhance the teaching performance and academic achievement of the
respondents.
Specifically, the study attempts to answer the following questions:
1. How may the respondents’ teaching performance be described in terms of:
1.1 Content Knowledge and Pedagogy;
1.2 Classroom Management;
1.3 Interpersonal and Communication Skills
1.4 Attitudes, Values, and Behaviors; and
1.5 Monitoring and Assessing Students’ Academic Achievement?
2. How may the respondents’ academic achievement be described in term of:
2.1 Knowledge; and
2.2 Mastery of Skills?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the out-of-field teachers’ performance and
students’ academic achievement?
4. Based on the findings of the study, what action plan or program may be proposed by school
administrators to help improve the teaching performance of the respondents and to enhance
students’ academic achievement?
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Hypothesis
In this study, the researcher will use the alternative hypotheses but will test the null:
Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant relationship between the out-of-field teachers’
performance and students’ academic achievement.
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant relationship between the out-of-field teachers’
performance and students’ academic achievement.
Significance of the Study
The study will be beneficial to the following:
Teachers. This study is beneficial, primarily to the out-of-field teachers because the results
of the study will help them improve their teaching performance in school. They will be guided on
how they will prepare and plan for effective pedagogies and activities that will enhance their
students’ achievement. They will also become an agent to promote quality of education.
Students. This study will help the students in improving their academic achievement.
School Principals. The school principals will be given the opportunity to investigate a
bigger picture on how the performance of teachers can affect the performances and the
achievements of the students. Through this study, they will be able to implement programs that
will help in upgrading the teacher quality of the teachers for the betterment of the students and for
advancing the quality of education.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
School Administrators. The results of this study are also beneficial to the school
administrators in terms of monitoring the performance of teachers and the students. It will help
them to strengthen and develop the school that they are managing.
Future Researchers. This study will help the future researchers to have an additional
related literature and studies, and a guide as further reference in conducting their studies or
research.
Scope and Delimitation
The study will only focus on the out-of-field teachers’ performance and its relationship to
students’ academic achievement. The respondents of the study include 184 students from Senior
High School. The study will be conducted in the 2nd quarter of the 1st semester of school year
2021-2022 at Santa Rita College of Pampanga and will not be undertaken in another locale.
Definition of Terms
For better understanding of this study, the following terms are defined:
Out-Of-Field Teachers. The word out-of-field teaching is a term used to refer to the
teachers teaching outside their field of qualifications, expertise, or specialization. In this study out-
of-field teachers are classified as teachers whose qualifications are not suitable or aligned with the
topics or grade level that they are teaching. The qualifications to teach a particular subject or grade
level may include the teachers' content knowledge and pedagogy, and or teaching experiences.
Performance. This refers to the action or process of carrying out something. In this study,
performance relates to the approaches, practices, strategies, and techniques demonstrated in
teaching.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Achievement. Achievements are the building blocks that enable someone to construct a
sense of success. Achievements are indicators of the successful results of learning of the students.
This may include the set of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviors they have gained.
Quality Education. According to Thom-Otuya et al. 2016, quality education is related to
knowledge building and skillful application of all forms of knowledge by the students who function
both independently and in relation to others. In this study, quality education serves as a dependent
variable. It could only happen and achieve if it is adequately delivered to the students through the
availability of the best teachers and the accessibility of various resources to support effective
teaching pedagogies.
Classroom Management. The process by which teachers and schools create and maintain
appropriate behavior of students in classroom settings. It serves as an indicator in which the teacher
fulfilled one of his or her duties to promote a healthy routine, managing the class to sustain order
and harmony in class.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills. The skills required to effectively
communicate, interact and work with individuals and groups. A teacher should acquire good
interpersonal and communication skills because they have many responsibilities in the classroom
as the organizer, instructor, speaker, facilitator, sometimes entertainer. Teachers do not only face
the students but other teachers, school administration staff, and parents as well. Strong
interpersonal skills, especially communication, are the hallmark of being a teacher.
Assessment and Evaluation. Assessment refers to the feedback from the student to the
instructor about the student's learning. At the same time, Evaluation talks about the usage of
methods and measures to judge student learning and understanding of the material for purposes of
grading and reporting. Evaluation is feedback from the instructor to the student about the student’s
education.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Mastery. It is an effective transfer of learning in an authentic and worthy performance.
Students have mastered a subject when they are fluent, even creative, in using their knowledge,
skills, and understanding in key performance challenges and contexts at the heart of that subject,
as measured against reasonable and high standards.
Attitudes. It refers to a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward a particular object,
person, thing, or event. Students’ attitudes are often result of the learning took place and the
experience they encountered. Teachers’ attitudes can have a powerful influence over the students’
behavior and performance in school.
Skills. These are the learned abilities to act with determined results with good execution,
often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. It is proven that the teaching skills provided
by teachers are essential to foster the learning of the students.
Content Knowledge. It is knowledge about a particular content area. Content knowledge
generally refers to the facts, concepts, theories, and principles taught by the teachers and learned
by the students.
Teaching Pedagogy. It refers to the methods, strategies, and techniques on how teachers
teach, in theory, and in practice. Teachers use a variety of teaching pedagogies in order to help
students to build on prior learning and to establish meaningful classroom activities.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
CHAPTER 2
METHODS
This chapter focuses on the research design used, research instruments, respondents involved,
data collection procedures, ethical considerations, and statistical treatment of data gathered by the
researcher.
Research Design
In this study, the researcher will use a descriptive-correlational type of quantitative research
to determine the relationship between out-of-field teachers' performance and students' academic
achievement. A descriptive design explains what exists, determines the frequency with it, and
categorizes the information. The researcher observes, describes, and documents various aspects of
a phenomenon. On the other hand, correlational designs require the systematic study of the essence
of relationships or correlations between and among variables. In addition, correlation analyzes the
direction, degree, magnitude, and strength of the relationships or associations. Furthermore,
descriptive correlational design relates the variables and the relationships that occur naturally
between and among them. (Sousa et al., 2007)
This design is the most suitable for this research because the researcher believes that
descriptive-correlational design can clearly describe the relationship that occurs naturally between
and among the independent variable and the dependent variable of this study.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Respondents
The research will be conducted during the second quarter of the first semester of 2021 -
2022 at Santa Rita College of Pampanga, San Jose, Santa Rita, Pampanga. The respondents in this
study will come from two groups: (1) Out-Of-Field Teachers and (2) Senior High School Students.
The researcher will use the universal sampling method. The researcher will have all the
Out-Of-Field Teachers and all the Senior High School Students.
Table 1 Respondents of the Study
Respondents Population Sample Percentage
Teachers 12 12 6.12%
Students 184 184 93.88%
Total 196 196 100%
Instruments
To determine the relationship between out-of-field teachers' performance and students’
academic achievement. The researcher will employ two different kinds of instruments. All these
instruments are researcher-made. These instruments include one for the out-of-field teachers and
one for the students. Three experts in the field validated all questionnaires: (1) One chief of the
Curriculum Implementation Division from DepEd, (2) one research expert, and (3) one statistician.
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OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Part One Questionnaire. This part is intended for out-field-teachers to identify their
performance in these areas: Content Knowledge and Teaching Pedagogy, Classroom Management,
Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Attitudes, Values, and Behaviors, and Monitoring and
Assessing Students’ Performance. For each area, there are five benchmark statements. So, all in
all, there are a total of 25 statements.
Part Two Questionnaire. For this part, the participants will be the senior high school
students since their academic achievement is the dependent variable in this study. The researcher
will measure each area: Mastery of Knowledge and Mastery of Skills Retention. There are also five
statements for each area. So, there are 10 statements in total.
Data Collection Procedures
The researcher will first write a letter of approval to the Principal of Santa Rita College of
Pampanga. When the Principal has already approved the letter, the researcher will provide a consent
letter attached with the data privacy form and orient the students on the use of the questionnaire.
Since the respondents are the teachers and the students, the researcher will no longer translate the
questionnaires. Since the study is being conducted amid the pandemic, the researcher will
communicate with the teachers and students through the Online Platforms such as Google Meet,
MS Teams, or Zoom. Then, the questionnaire will be forwarded to the respondents through Google
Forms, and it is only restricted to the respondents of the study.
The respondents will be asked to secure a screenshot of their accomplished responses, and
they will be provided their automated copy of the accomplished google form sent via google mail.
Once done, the researcher will collect all the respondents' responses for the statistical data analysis.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Ethical Considerations
One important thing to consider in research is the ethics in research, which is evident by
proper citation and reference. According to Ticsay (2021), it is essential to ensure that all the
information provided in this research was given due credit to avoid plagiarism. So, in this research,
the researcher will utilize the American Psychological Association Format of citation and
referencing.
In addition, the researcher will not be asking the respondents question that is not part of the
research questionnaire. The respondents will not be forced and have the freedom to answer the
questionnaire, but they will be encouraged by the researcher to respond to meet the needed
responses. Moreover, all gathered data and information will not be disclosed to anyone and kept in
complete confidentiality.
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