Impact of Teaching Outside the Area of Expertise to Performance and Job Satisfaction of Teachers

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The educational system is plagued with high numbers of teachers teaching subjects they are not qualified to teach. Teaching a subject without specific training in that subject has been common practice few have spoken up against. This study explores reasons on delegating teaching loads that are outside the area of expertise of teachers and its impact on their performance and job satisfaction.

METHODS

A mixed method was used. Using the constructivism theory, 30 teachers from selected schools responded to the researcher-made questionnaire for the quantitative data of the research, and unstructured interviews were done to gather personal perspective and feedbacks from the respondents.

RESULTS

Majority of the respondents indicated that the reasons they accepted the teaching loads delegated to them were due to the following: (1) they cannot refuse what was assigned to them by their school head; (2) they were deemed qualified if they attended a training related to the subject even if it was not their major; (3) lack of qualified teachers in the school. Respondents were not highly satisfied in terms of their instructional skills and classroom management. They also expressed low satisfaction in terms of their motivation in providing activities for the lesson. As a result, most teachers interviewed expressed their dissatisfaction in their performance and frustration in inability to be more precise and exploratory in the delivery of the lesson in fear of making mistakes. Respondents were also concerned that their teaching might negatively affect the performance of their students.

DISCUSSIONS

The findings of the study indicate the need for schools to manage teachers teaching outside their areas of expertise by continuous support from colleagues and school heads, as well as time to extend content knowledge and teaching approaches through trainings, professional development through Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions and provision of technical assistance of seasoned colleague. It is recommended that future researches may be done to verify or negate the results to serve as basis to address the problem