Competencies of Student-Teachers in State Universities and Colleges (Sucs) 

Introduction

Quality education lies in the hands of committed and effective teachers who dedicate the best years of their lives to the service of the youth. In building the foundation for tomorrow, no task can be more daunting than that held by educators of the land. In their hands, lie the responsibilities of shaping minds, molding character, and empowering the spirits of the youth. Teachers are provided with unique opportunities for influencing students. Thus, the task of producing quality graduates is dependent upon them [1]. Quality teachers, therefore, are the single greatest determinant of student achievement. Teacher education, ability, and experience account for more variation in student achievement than all other factors. Studies have found that 40 to 90 per cent of the difference in student test scores can be attributed to teacher quality [2]. Knowing the subject matter, understanding how students learn, and practising effective teaching methods translate into greater student achievement. Therefore, it is vitally important that teachers are well-prepared when they begin teaching and that they continue to improve their knowledge and skills throughout their career. It is at this context that the researchers take initiative to conduct this investigation on the competency of the student-teachers in order to establish empirical evidence that would help the College Teachers Education Department set directions toward offering teacher education training in consonance to the thrust of the government and toward producing quality teachers.

Statement of The Problem

This study aimed to determine the level of competence of the student-teachers in State Colleges and Universities in Negros Occidental, Philippines as basis for monitoring strategies. Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

a) What is the profile of the student-teachers in terms of age and gender; Socio-economic status of parents as to Educational attainment of both mother and father, Occupation of both mother and father, combined monthly family income, Size of the family, and Aptitude test result?

b) What is the level of competence of SUCs student-teachers as perceived by themselves, by the critic teachers and the intern supervisors in terms of the following domains: Social regard for learning, learning environment, Diversity of learning, Curriculum, Planning, assessing and reporting, Community linkages, and Personal growth and professional development?

c) Is there a significant difference in the perception of the student-teachers, critic teachers, and intern supervisors on the competency of SUCs student-teachers?

d) Is there a significant relationship between the competency of the student-teachers and the identified variables in their profiles?

Methods

This study used the descriptive-survey method of research to describe the nature of the present situation and to interpret functional relationship between variables involved.

Respondents

The respondents of this study were all the Fourth Year Bachelor of Secondary Education students during the Academic Year 2009- 2010 qualified for student teaching and internship, the critic teachers, and the intern supervisors of the respective State Colleges and Universities.

Instruments

The Hollingshead four-factor index of socio-economic status (SES) as modified by Barnett (2003) was utilized to determine the socio-economic status of the respondents. Also, this study utilized the Competency Checklists provided in the Teacher Education and Development Program [3-5]. These are checklists of the competency in teaching according to the strands of desired teaching performance and specific performance indicators in seven (7) domains such as: social regard for learning [6-8], learning environment, diversity of learning, curriculum, planning, assessing and reporting, community linkages, and personal growth and professional development [9-10].

Results

Findings revealed that the level of competence of SUCs studentteachers was high as a whole and in almost all of the domains except in community linkages. No significant differences were observed in the level of competency of SUCs student-teachers as perceived by the respondent groups. Likewise, no significant relationship was observed between student-teachers level of competence and the identified variables in their profile.

Conclusion

It was concluded therefore, that SUCs student-teachers were competent in terms of the seven domains except in community linkages. Likewise, respondent groups were almost the same in their perceptions of the competence of SUCs student-teachers in terms of the seven domains. Furthermore, SUCS student-teachers competence is not related to the variables in their profile.

Recommendation

Student-teachers shall be encouraged to strengthen their links to the communities, particularly as these links help in the attainment of the curricular goals.

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