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 The Lived Experiences and Perceptions of Social Studies
Teachers and School Administrators on the Out-Of-Field
Teaching Phenomenon in Zamboanga City
 Sherwin ToringZamboanga City Sate Polytechnic Collegehttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-4509-2570
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v29i1.519

Keywords: Social Studies, lived experiences, out-of-field teaching, qualitative design, Philippines

Abstract

This study sleuthed on the wide yet less explored issue called out-of-field teaching among the public
junior high schools in Zamboanga City, Philippines. It focused on the extent and experiences of
teachers who are assigned to teach social studies but are not licensed in it and conversely those
licensed but are assigned to teach outside the field of social studies. It also sought to discuss the
perceptions of some school administrators on the factors that lead to the occurrence of the
phenomenon. Data were mainly gathered using a descriptive-qualitative method, particularly through
survey, interviews, and document analysis. The results revealed that 37% of the teachers assigned to
teach social studies is teaching out of their field of specialization. Interviews also show a consensus
in identifying under-loading of teachers, lack of resources, and the lack of coordination between the
HEIs and DepEd as main factors to out-of-field teaching in the city. It also suggests that out-of-field
teachers experience a certain degree of emotional and physical stress and difficulty in
understanding certain contents and practical concepts. These are reflected on their instructional
practices that include the reliance on textbooks and the use of survival strategies such as lectures,
group reports, and video presentations. This situation can be partly attributed to and/or is further
exacerbated by onerous number of subject preparations and the unavailability of adequate
instructional resources.    Hence, the findings of the study imply the need for higher education
institutions to conduct constant assessment of actual demand for teachers among the schools in
the division. Regular training programs for out-of-field teachers aided by the production of adequate
instructional resources are also necessary. Lastly, a review on the policy concerning the daily
number of teaching loads of the teachers is deemed necessary to minimize the extent and
magnitude of out-of-field teaching.
Author Biography

Sherwin Toring, Zamboanga City Sate Polytechnic College

Zamboanga City, Philippines

Published
 2017-11-06

Issue

Vol 29 No 1 (2017): July

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Articles

Copyright (c) 2017 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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 Instructional Design

Section 1.3 Theories of

Education and the Online
Environment
Theories about learning are mostly derived from psychology. While psychology describes how
people act, educational theory describes how people learn (O’Neil et al., p. 17). An understanding of
educational theories can assist us in the design and implementation of an effective online learning
environment. Three prevalent theories are described below (O’Neil et al., pp. 17-20):

 Behaviorism –  Behavior theorist  focus on observable behaviors, thus discounting

independent activities of the mind. Behaviorism defines learning as nothing more than the
acquisition of new behavior based on environmental conditions.

The psychological theory of behaviorism is used as an educational theory when

the learning experience is based on a stimulus and a response and by rewarding
behavior that will meet the educational goal and ignoring (or correcting) behavior
that is not goal directed. Large tasks are broken down into smaller tasks, and
each task is learned in successive order. The process is called successive
approximations. The traditional learning lab in which proper procedures are
learned for a task is an example of behaviorist theory (p. 17).

 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) – In SCT, information is stored in schema. As new

information is internalized, it is compared with existing information and knowledge. The schemas are
then reorganized to accommodate the new information and thought patterns are altered. Sensory
input is stored for several seconds, and the information disappears unless it is deemed important. If
deemed important, the information will be stored in short-term memory. If the information continues
to be important, it will be moved into long-term memory.

Cognitive theory is used in the traditional classroom to impart information from the teacher to the
student. The responsibility for learning lies with the student. A weakness of cognitive theory is its
inability to explain human thought and learning (p. 19)
 Constructivism – learning focuses on interpreting the world and in constructing meaning.
Learning is active and reflective which means there is doing, then reflecting about the doing and
then rethinking about the doing. Action and reflection enables the student to integrate new
knowledge with existing knowledge and experiences so that complex mental models can form.
Learning is authentic, complex, and contextualized, resembling real-life experiences. Constructivist
learning is process oriented and emphasizes collaboration and conversation among learners and
teachers.

In the constructivist approach, instruction is inductive and from the bottom, up.
The instructor is a model and a coach who encourages exploration of ideas in
learner-centered and learner-generated environment. Constructivism engages
learners in an active learning process.
 Although lectures may be well-written and well-delivered, they often pass from
the ear to the hand leaving the mind untouched. The active learning process
places responsibility on the learner and lends itself to a wider range of learning
styles. If the student is to construct meaning from content, faculty, activities, and
peers, then learning environments must be rich with strategies and resources
(pp. 19-20).

The way an online learning environment is designed is largely affected by the teacher’s philosophy
of learning and understanding of educational learning theories. As educators, it is important we
reflect upon the nature of how people learn and consciously utilize educational theory as the
foundation to construct meaningful learning experiences in our online classrooms.

In order for meaningful learning to occur according to Jonassen, Howland, Marra

and Crismond (2008), the task that students pursue should engage active,
constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative activities. Rather than testing
inert knowledge, educators should help students to learn to recognize and solve
problems, comprehend new phenomena, construct mental models of those
phenomena, and given a new situation, set goals and regulate their own learning
(learn how to learn) (p. 2).

Incorporating a constructivist approach to designing and implementing online learning can provide
the instructor and student with a variety of learning opportunities achieving the objective of 
meaningful learning. Figure 1.1 below is a representation of Jonassen’s characteristics of meaningful
learning (Jonassen et al., p. 3).

Figure 1.1 Characteristics of Meaningful

Learning are constructive, cooperative, authentic, intentional and active.
 1.1 Working Definition of E-Learning
 1.2 Effective Online Pedagogy
 1.3 Theories of Learning and the Online Environment
 1.4 Preparing to Teach Online
 1.5 Online Learner Characteristics
 1.6 Online Teaching Competencies
 1.7 Online strategies and the Role of Online Teaching
 1.8 Workload and Time Considerations
 2.1 Develop an Online Course Schedule
 2.2 Create an Effective Online Syllabus
 2.3 Education Law - Copyright and Fair Use
 2.4 Developing Accessible Materials
 2.5 Message and Media Components and Design
 3.1 Online Learning Tools: Asynchronous Communication Tools
 3.2 Online Learning Tools: Synchronous Communication Tools
 4.1 Student Engagement, Motivation and Classroom Strategies
 4.2 Facilitating Effective Online Discussions
 4.3 Creating a Sense of Community
 4.4 Acknowledging and Affirming Diversity
 4.5 Classroom Management Strategies
 5.1 Designing Effective Instructional Strategies
 5.2 Learning Objectives
 5.3 Instructional Strategies
 5.3a Absorb Instructional Activities Presentations
 5.3b Do Instructional Activities Practice
 5.3c Do Instructional Activities Discovery
 5.3d Do Instructional Activities Games and Simulations
 5.3e Connect Instructional Activities Reflection
 5.3f Connect Instructional Activities Guided Research
 5.3g Connect Instructional Activities Problem Solving
 6.1 Student Learning Assessment and Course Evaluation Strategies
 6.2 Student Assessment
 6.3 Course Evaluation
 6.4 Creating Rubrics to Evaluate Student Work
 6.5 Designing Quizzes/Exams/Tests

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