Assessing the Competence and Challenges of Junior High School Teachers in Dapitan City National High School, Schools Division of Dapitan City

Article at a glance

Journal

Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies (JSSHRS)

Published

10 November 2026

Volume / issue / pages

Vol. 2, Issue 11, pp. 2031-2038

ISSN

3051-3561 (online) · 3051-3553 (print)

Licence

CC BY 4.0 — free to read and reuse with attribution

Peer review

Double-blind, at least two independent reviewers

Publisher

EP Journals Group

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the competence and challenges encountered of Junior High School teachers in Dapitan City National High School and its extension Schools during the school year 2026-2027. A descriptive-correlational survey design was employed with 131 teachers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using weighted means, standard deviations, and Spearman’s rank-order correlation at the 0.05 significance level. Respondents rated their overall competence as Highly Competent (WM = 4.56, SD = 0.49) and their professional challenges as Slightly Challenging (WM = 2.21, SD = 1.04). Content knowledge and pedagogy received the highest competence rating and the highest challenge rating, whereas diversity of learners received the lowest competence rating. Perceived competence was moderately and negatively correlated with perceived challenges (ρ = −0.311, p = 0.001). Thus, teachers who reported higher competence tended to report fewer challenges. The findings support targeted professional learning in inclusive instruction and content-specific pedagogy, together with mentoring and appropriate instructional resources. Because the study relied on self-reports and a correlational design, the results describe perceptions and associations rather than demonstrated teaching performance or causal effects.  

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