Manuel T. Libao. Abstract

Transcription

1 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Institutional Capability of Cooperating Schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program: An Analysis Manuel T. Libao Abstract Educators are the persons most responsible in imparting knowledge to an individual as acquiring education is one of his needs in order for him to grow and prosper in all aspects of life. Accustomed to the hardships of the profession, the Filipino teacher has the capacity to overcome adversity. Indifferent to the appeal of material wealth, the Filipino teacher has the capacity to survive. Undaunted by her personal fears for her welfare and the welfare of her loved ones, the Filipino teacher has the capacity to achieve (Abad, ). Despite all hardships, from poor pay to poor working conditions, the Filipino teacher is still there. Yet in spite of the many challenges of the teaching profession today, many young minds still dare to enter this noble vocation. Many student teachers try their very best in the hope of becoming one good teacher in the future. The DMMMSU Teacher Education Program in its many years of producing teachers keeps on empowering these student teachers to pass all the trails and hardships of practice teaching. It is the desire of the researcher to determine the institutional capabilities of cooperating schools in the teacher education program of the College of Education of DMMMSU-SLUC. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework The teacher education curriculum of any teacher training institution has a very valuable component which a senior education student goes through for one semester. This is student teaching which is considered the key phase of the teacher education program. Many educators view it as the most important experience in the professional education of a prospective teacher. The program provides for actual teaching by the student teachers in the laboratory school and off-campus. Here the future teacher gets a feel of the school and a feel of the teacher. These professional laboratory experiences have been given various terms. In teacher training schools in the Philippines, practice teaching, student teaching and internship are used. The popular terminology used in the different teacher education schools is Student Teaching. College faculty in charge of the assignment, supervision and evaluation of student teacher for the duration of their practice teaching are called supervising teachers. Teachers in the laboratory schools or schools outside the campus under whose tutelage the student teachers teach and perform other tasks assigned to them are called variously teacher trainors, critic teachers, or cooperating teachers. In the College of Education, the term, cooperating teacher is preferred. Schools outside the campus, specifically public schools under the DepED, where student teachers are assigned for the off-campus portion of their

2 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, practice teaching are called cooperating schools. These cooperating schools are the focus of this study. Every year, over, college seniors head into the public schools for practice teaching. They bring with them their hopes and dreams for the start of a successful career in teaching. But many student teachers learn that they must walk a tightrope between a variety of conflicting demands and issues. These include not only imparting learning but also nurturing each child s predisposition towards the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue, as well as equipping learners with livelihood skills. Student teachers must also learn to balance theory and practice. They must now apply what they learned from teacher preparation courses to design practical classroom activities. For example, many teacher education courses introduce the theories of cooperative learning and inclusion. But student teachers need to know how to plan group work to ensure that each student is responsible for one part of a project, while making sure that learning-impaired students are not overwhelmed by the tasks or those fast learners do not go unchallenged. It takes years to learn how to do this effectively. Finally, student teachers must learn to function as an authority figure while maintaining a pleasant demeanor. This is difficult for many student teachers. Because the age difference between high school students and college seniors is not that great, many student teachers want to be viewed as a friend by their students. Finding a way to establish rapport with students which accounts for these dynamics is a challenge for many beginning teachers. The success of student teachers as future molders of young boys and girls depends to a great extent upon how well the student teaching program is carried out in the teacher training schools. An adequate teacher training program largely depends on an educational system can be improved directly and most effectively during the training process for new teachers by the qualified, competent, and concerned mentors of prospective teachers. Cooperating Schools Profile of the school Number of Teachers Educational Qualifications Number of Personnel School Facilities Student/Pupil Services Teacher-Student Ratio Personal factors Age, Sex, Civil Status Professional factors Appointment Status Years in Service Rank Years as Cooperating Teacher Educational Qualifications DMMMSU Teacher Education Program Fig. Research Paradigm

3 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Statement of the Problem The study entitled Institutional Capability of Cooperating Schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program: An Analysis has the following problems:. What is the profile of cooperating schools as to: a) number of teachers; b) educational qualification; c) number of personnel for support system; d) school facilities; e) student/pupil services; f) teacher-student ratio. What is the profile of the cooperating teachers as to personal factors (sex, civil status, age)?. What is the profile of the cooperating teachers as to professional factors (status of appointment, number of years in service, position/rank, educational qualifications, number of years as cooperating teacher)?. What is the extent of experiences of the cooperating teachers in handling student teachers?. What is the degree of perception of student teachers of their cooperating schools? Hypotheses The study attempted to test the following hypotheses:. Cooperating teachers always have a problem in handling student teachers.. Student teachers perceive their cooperating schools as superior/outstanding in the ten areas. Importance of the Study The findings and results of the study would be useful to the administrators of the DMMMSU Teacher Education program as well as the cooperating teachers, student teachers, and policy makers. Administrators. Results shall serve as an aid to the administrators to consider and strengthen ties with cooperating schools as strong allies in developing future shapers and navigators of learning. Cooperating Teachers. The study would be very important for the cooperating teachers to intensify their roles as the director and molder of future educators. This serves also as a way by which they can upgrade their approaches in handling student teachers. Student Teachers. The study hopes and appeals to the young hearts of student teachers that they will appreciate their chosen profession which is immersed in service. Hence, this study is a guide where they could improve and learn more from the experiences of others. Policy Makers. Results are directly of help to policymakers of teacher education program regarding the institutional capabilities of cooperating schools. 8

4 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Definition of Terms The following terms are defined operationally to facilitate understanding: Cooperating Schools. It is a public elementary or high school institution where student teachers will have their off-campus practice teaching. Cooperating Teachers. These are teachers who assist the student teachers in their practice teaching stint. Student Teacher. This refers to any senior student enrolled in BSE or BEE in DMMMSU-SLUC, Agoo who is undergoing practice teaching. Student Teaching. It is a series of professional laboratory experiences, carefully conceived and directed to develop in students the opportunity under optimum condition of supervision, to apply themselves and demonstrate ability in actual teaching-learning situation. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. The failure of education represents the failure of society. The failure of education represents the inability of society to adequately prepare its young for their inevitable ascendancy into leadership roles of the future (Abad, ). In the study conducted by Gacayan () on the Perception of Cooperating Teachers on the Institutional Competencies of Student Teachers, the cooperating teachers who served as respondents consisted of percent female and only percent male; percent are married and 8 percent single; percent are Teacher, or, percent are Master Teacher or ; percent are Bachelor s Degree graduate, percent with Masters or MS units, percent are MA/MS graduate and percent with Doctoral units. In the same study, the researcher recommends that the school should conduct a series of seminar workshops before or during practice teaching to upgrade the skills and competencies of student teachers for they fall beyond the expected performance level. There should also be a closer linkage between the teacher institutions and the cooperating schools to have more effective and systematic monitoring of student teachers performance. Another study was conducted by Gacayan () entitled BSE Student Teachers Performance as Perceived by their Off-Campus Cooperating Teachers. In this study, it was found out that majority of the off-campus cooperating teachers belong to the academic rank of Teacher, or. Most of them are Bachelor s degree holders with MA/MS units. The instructional skills as well as the personal and social competencies of the student teachers were only very satisfactory. Gacayan concluded that there should be more intensive trainings and exposure of the student teachers in all aspects of the teaching learning process in order to develop further their competencies to a very high level of competency. Out there in the cooperating schools, the student teachers will have an actual feel of the reality of teaching in the schools where they will soon teach as full-fledged teachers. Selected

5 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, schools whether central or barrio schools are designated as off-campus schools through the official communication between the training institution and the respective heads of the offcampus schools. Supervising instructors and cooperating teachers play a key role in the development of future teachers. They are in the best position to provide the supervision necessary to guide the student teachers through a successful teaching experience. They are influential role models for the novice teacher to a considerable degree. Their actions, attitudes, voice inflection, pronunciation, and other personality aspects are easily imitated by student teachers. Researchers have shown that this influence even affects the student teachers verbal interaction with the people in the classroom. Serving as models, the supervising instructors and cooperating teachers can make or unmake the student teachers professional laboratory experience and consequently their career. A satisfying student teaching experience is dependent upon their role as models. METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the methodology of the study, which includes the research design, population and sample, instrumentation and data analysis/statistical tool. Locale of the Study The study was conducted in twelve cooperating schools of the DMMMSU teacher education program. These are Tubao National High School, Pugo National High School, Aringay National High School, San Fabian National High School, Agoo East Central School, Don Eulogio De Guzman Memorial National High School, Sto. Tomas National High School, Pres.Elpidio Quirino National High School, Pozorrubio Central School, Mangaldan National High School, Calumbaya Elementary School and Caba Elementary School. The respondents include the school principals, cooperating teachers and student teachers. Research Design The descriptive design was used in this study. recording, analysis, and interpretation of data gathered. The study involves description, Instrumentation The study used one clerical tool, which was the questionnaire. The researcher selected this method with the idea that respondents would supply properly the necessary information that would help analyze the institutional capability of cooperating schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education program. Questionnaires were given to cooperating schools principals, cooperating teachers and student teachers. 8

6 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, The principal s questionnaire had six parts namely faculty profile, school facilities, student/pupil services, teacher-student ratio, responsibility and problems. Cooperating Teachers Questionnaire includes personal information (age, sex, civil status); professional factors (status of appointment, number of years in service, position/rank, number of years as cooperating teacher, and educational qualification); and experiences as cooperating teacher. The following scale was used to quantify the experiences of cooperating teachers: Always Seldom Sometimes Never Analysis of the responses made use of the following scale of means and the corresponding description:. (never).. (sometimes).8. (seldom). (always) Student Teachers Questionnaire gathered their perception of the following ten areas: Area goals and objectives of the school Area extension Area faculty members Area library Area instructional materials Area 8 school structure Area school services Area laboratory Area research Area school activities Ratings of the student teachers on the ten areas made use of the following scale and the corresponding description: Superior /Outstanding Poor Above average Very poor Moderate average Analysis of the means in perception was based on this scale, with the corresponding description:. (superior).8. (poor).. (above average)..8 (very poor).. (moderate average) Data Analysis/Statistical Tool The gathered data were processed and analyzed. findings, frequency counts and percentages were used. For systematic presentation of 8

7 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION This chapter presents the data gathered in the study as well as the analysis and interpretation of findings. Table.A. Profile of Cooperating Schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program A. Faculty Profile FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE. No. of Faculty Male. Female 8.8. Educational Qualification Ph. D./Ed. D.. M.A./M.S with Doctoral Units. M. A./M.S..8 BSE with M.A.. BEE with M.A.. BSE/BEE Graduate.. Personnel for Support Table shows the profile of cooperating schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program. As gleaned from the table, one-third (8.8 percent) of the faculty in the twelve cooperating schools are female, only. percent are male. This indicates that the teaching profession is dominated by females. Majority of the teachers are BSE/BEE graduates with units toward Master of Arts or Master of a field of Specialization. Only. percent or teachers are Ph.D/Ed.D. holders. This low number might be attributed to the fact that teachers have many tasks and they could not find time to pursue higher education. Another reason is the financial demands of higher education. Teachers in the field are hard up with finances considering the low compensation they get from this profession. Truly this vocation is bound by service, dedication and commitment. Among the twelve cooperating schools, there are personnel for support services. They could be the janitor, utility personnel, driver, etc. who help maintain primarily the school facilities. Table.B. School Facilities of Cooperating Schools SCHOOL FACILITIES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE. Classroom Classroom without CR.8 Classroom with CR Rooms Average Size Principal s Office x 8

8 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Canteen x Laboratory 8 x 8 Library Building (separate) 8 x (classroom) 8 x Medical/Dental Clinic x Technology Rooms x 8 The facilities of the twelve cooperating schools are presented in Table B. The table indicates that most all of the classrooms are provided with comfort rooms. This is shown by the frequency of 8 classrooms with comfort rooms (8.8) percent against (.8%) classrooms without comfort rooms. All the cooperating schools have principals offices and canteen. Almost all the schools have their library located inside their classrooms; only have libraries located in a separate building. Medical/Dental Clinic is present in schools; Technology/THE rooms are present in schools and there are only schools with Science Laboratory. It could be noted that the average size of the different rooms is good enough for working purposes. However, the medical/dental clinic is small. This might be attributed to the fact that the twelve cooperating schools do not have a full time physician/dentist; they are all part time workers. They come twice a year, according to the interview conducted by the researcher. Table.C. Student/Pupil Services of the Twelve Cooperating Schools STUDENT/PUPIL SERVICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE. Medical/Dental Services. Sports Facilities Basketball. Tennis Court Auditorium. Sports Center 8. Volleyball Court 8. Playground/Oval. Publication Frequency x a year Number of Copies. Canteen School. Outsider 8. The student/pupil services of the twelve cooperating schools are presented in Table C. Students/Pupils enjoy services such as medical/dental services, sports facilities, school publication and canteen. Like in the previous table B, there are schools with medical/dental rooms. Three schools do not provide their students/pupils with this service. In sports facilities, almost all the schools have their own volleyball court. Five schools have their basketball court and auditorium. Three schools have both tennis court and playground/oval for their learners. Six or percent of the cooperating schools produce their own publication in terms of school paper/newsletter. They publish their papers twice a year and with an average of, 8

9 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, copies every publication. Eleven schools manage their canteen. This means the funding and income of the canteen is taken care of by the school. This is one good source of income for the school. On the other hand, only one cooperating school has a canteen managed by an outsider. This outsider pays a monthly rental to the school. Table. Profile of Cooperating Teachers Personal La Union F P Pangasinan F P Freq. Perc. Factors Elem Sec Elem Sec Sex Male Female Age above Civil Status Single Married Table presents the profile of cooperating teachers in La Union and in Pangasinan as to personal factors (sex, age, civil status). Female teachers dominate with a population of or 8. percent compared to their male counterparts of 8 or. percent. Teaching really is for females. This is consistent with the finding of Gacayan () in her study of the Perception of Cooperating Teachers on the Institutional Competencies of Student Teachers. Regarding age, out of the 8 cooperating teachers, or. percent are years old or older. There are teachers whose ages range from - years and same percentages for teachers aged - years and - years. The finding indicates that cooperating teachers of DMMMSU Teacher Education are competent and mature in their profession. Eighty-five percent of the cooperating teachers are married, only fifteen percent are single. 8

10 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Table. Professional Factors of the Cooperating Teachers Professional La Union F P Pangasinan F P Freq. Percentage Factors Elem Sec Elem Sec Permanent Probationary Number of Years in Service - years - years - years - years - years - years - above Position/Rank Teacher I Teacher II Teacher III Master Teacher I Master Teacher II Master Teacher III Number of Years as Cooperating Teacher - years - years - years - years - years - years - above Educational Qualifications College Graduate Post Graduate w/ Units

11 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, The data on the Professional Factors of the Cooperating Teachers are shown in Table. As to appointment status, percent of the cooperating teachers are permanent and percent are on probationary status. More than half of the respondents have rendered - years of service. On the other hand, only about percent have been in the service for years or more. This means that these teachers are relatively young in the service. In addition, almost half of them, more that percent, have been serving as cooperating teachers for even a shorter period to years. Perhaps related to this is the finding that more than half are classified as Teacher, or, and the rest as Master Teacher, or. A teacher is classified as Master Teacher after he/she acquires a master s degree. It has been found out that of these cooperating teachers have a MA or MS degree and more than percent have only a bachelor s degree. Teachers have many tasks in school and barely find time to go back to school and upgrade their competencies. It was stressed by DepED Secretary Abad that even after many years of teaching, education is still needed. Through training, seminars and pursuing higher education, teachers can learn new techniques, strategies to upgrade their teaching competency. Poorly trained and incompetent teachers produce illiterates and substandard students. Table. Problems of Cooperating Teachers in Handling Student Teachers. Problems Average Mean Descriptive Rating. More than one ST per shift. Never. Inability to write lesson plan. Never. Tardiness.8 Seldom. Frequent absences. Never. Not wearing of uniform. Never. Not attending the flag ceremony. Never. Does not follow suggestions. Never 8. Disrespectful.8 Never. Shows favoritism. Never. Cannot discipline an unruly class. Seldom As seen in Table, there are at least ten problems experienced by the cooperating teachers in handling student teachers. Cooperating teachers rated eight problems as never which means they did not experience those problems in handling student teachers from DMMMS. Tardiness and inability to discipline an unruly class were rated by the cooperating teachers as seldom. This implies that in rare cases, they observed student teachers coming late to school or in attending their classes. Having unruly classes is understandable because student teachers are young and adjusting to the actual scenario of teaching-learning process. Student teachers should really collaborate with their cooperating teachers in order to gain as much experience and learning as they can from their practice teaching. 8

12 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Table. Perception of Student Teachers of the Twelve Cooperating Schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program AREAS AVERAGE MEAN DESCRIPTIVE RATING. Goals/Objectives of the School. Superior. Faculty Members. Above Average. Instructional Materials. Above Average. School Services. Above Average. Research. Above Average. Extension. Above Average. Library. Above Average 8. School Structure. Above Average. Laboratory.8 Above Average. School Activities. Above Average The perception of student teachers of the twelve cooperating schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education program is presented in Table. Student Teachers rated Area which concerns the Goals/Objectives of the cooperating school as Superior. This means that the cooperating schools were superior with the goals/objectives of the school. Teachers understood and implemented these goals and objectives. All the remaining nine areas were rated above average by the student teachers. Moreover, this implies that the cooperating schools have faculty members with harmonious working relationship with their students/peers and administrators. Faculty members were encouraged to produce their own instructional materials. These cooperating schools also conduct regular socio-cultural activities. They conduct extension activities and programs based on needs, problems and resources of the community. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATION The study entitled Institutional Capability of Cooperating Schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program: An Analysis sought to determine the profile of cooperating schools as to number of teachers, educational qualification of teachers, number of personnel, school facilities, student/pupil services, personal and professional profile of cooperating teachers, the extent of experiences of the cooperating teachers in handling student teachers, and the degree of perception of student teachers of their cooperating schools. The study was conducted in twelve cooperating schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program. The respondents included the school principals, cooperating teachers and student teachers. The descriptive design was used in the study with a questionnaire as the main gathering tool. Mean frequency counts and percentages were used. 8

13 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:, Salient Findings The findings of the study are the following: On Cooperating Schools. Two-thirds of the whole population of faculty are females, only one-third are males.. Majority of the teachers are BSE/BEE graduate and with MA/MS units.. There are supporting personnel of the twelve schools.. Most classrooms are provided with comfort rooms.. The schools have principal s offices and canteen.. The libraries of schools are housed not in a separate building but inside the classrooms.. Medical/Dental Clinics are present in schools. 8. THE/Technology rooms are present in schools. Six schools issue their own publication in the form of school paper/newsletter.. Eleven schools manage their own canteen, only is managed by an outsider.. Student Teachers rated their cooperating schools as superior in Area and Above Average on all the remaining areas. On Cooperating Teachers. Female teachers dominate the population of cooperating teachers.. Out of the 8 cooperating teachers, are years old and above.. There are teachers whose ages range from - years.. There are teachers ages - years and teachers aged - years.. As to appointment status, percent of the cooperating teachers are permanent, % are on probationary status.. Most of the teachers have been in the service for - years.. Most of them are classified Teacher or. 8. Only teachers out of 8 have acquired a master s degree.. More than percent of the teachers have a BS/AB degrees.. The cooperating teachers rated their student teachers from DMMMSU as Never in most of the problems encountered by cooperating teachers handling student teachers.. Tardiness and inability to discipline an unruly class were rated by cooperating teachers as Seldom problems. Conclusions From the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:. The teaching profession is dominated by females.. Schools need personnel for support system.. The cooperating schools of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program are all conducive for the teaching-learning processes in terms of facilities.. The students/pupils enrolled in these cooperating schools are given quite enough services. 88

14 ISSN: - Volume: Issue:,. The cooperating teachers of the DMMMSU Teacher Education Program are permanent and mature in their age but young in their years as cooperating teachers.. Many teachers do not upgrade their teaching competencies.. The cooperating teachers never experienced problems in handling student teachers from DMMMSU and seldom have they seen student teachers tardy or having unruly classes. Recommendations The researcher recommends the following:. Since the teaching profession is dominated by females, additional benefits should be given to them so that they could upgrade their strategies and methodologies.. The DMMMSU Teacher Education Program should also support its cooperating schools as a way of recognizing their effort in extending support of the program.. Cooperating Teachers should find ways and means to upgrade their competencies by enrolling in higher education, attending seminars, trainings etc.. Student teachers should be given in-depth training in campus to help them cope with the great tasks waiting for them in their off-campus training. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, Harold P. and Dickey, Frank G. Basic Principles of Student Teaching (New York: American Book, Co., ), pp. - Beltran, Linda B. A Guidebook for the Supervision of Student Teachers Rex Printing Company, Inc. c Brown, Thomas J. Student Teaching in a Secondary School New York: Harper and Row Publishers, pp. - Gacayan, Ignacio T. BSE Student Teachers Performance as Perceived by their Off-Campus Cooperating Teachers. BSE Research Journal Volume, No. December 8