Teaching Practices and Challenges Encountered by Out-of-Field Teachers of Junior High School in the City Division of Biñan

This study focused on determining the teaching practices and challenges faced by out-of-field teachers in public junior high schools. Few studies discussed out-of-field in junior high school, and the differences in the demographic profile (age, years of teaching non-major subjects, baccalaureate degree, and field of specialization of the teachers) and their relation to the teaching practices and challenges encountered were not much explored. The researcher employed a descriptive-correlational type of research in determining the association of the level of teaching practices (instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management) and challenges encountered (lesson planning, learning materials, and achievement of competencies) by the non-major teachers with their demographic profile. Using an adopted questionnaire from the standardized survey form of Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy (2001), the level of teaching practices and challenges encountered was determined and has been correlated with the demographic profile of non-major teacher respondents. Data revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of their teaching practices and challenges among out-of-field teachers in terms of their demographic profile. Moreover, the level of teaching practices and challenges faced by non-major respondents has a weak positive score (r=0.202), and the p-value (0.155) is higher than the level of significance (0.05). From the results, the Department of Education is expected to provide training to non-major teachers or come up with strategies to avoid mismatches in the subjects taught by teachers. Resiliency among non-major teachers heavily affects their mental and physical health and should not be normalized.