Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Sustainable Development | Vol. 10, No.

2 | March 2022
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Assessment of Teachers’ Research Asia Pacific Journal of

Management and
Capability towards the Promotion of Sustainable Development
Vol. 10. No. 2, pp. 45-50
Research Culture in Elementary Schools March 2022
ISSN 2782-8557(Print)
Benjie M. Manila1, Honey Bert G. Dayanan2,
Jose M. Barlis, Jr.3, Josefin D. Fajardo III4
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Bataan Branch
bmmanila@pup.edu.ph1, hgdayanan@pup.edu.ph2,
jmbarlisjr@pup.edu.ph 3, jfajardo@pup.edu.phl4
Abstract – Research had irrefutably displayed its importance in the field of education. However, amidst
the increasing developments in the teaching practices from the research results and findings, conducting
research remains to be one of the waterloos of most teachers, especially in basic education. Hence, this
study was conducted to assess the capability of Elementary school teachers in conducting research.
Descriptive research design was utilized, and data were obtained through online survey from 32 teachers
coming from different public elementary schools in Mariveles District. The gathered data were encoded
and analysed in SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study revealed that most
of the respondents had no research activity yet. Findings of the study revealed that teachers are slightly
capable of performing activities related to conducting educational research. This means that they can write
a research proposal with close supervision of an expert. Furthermore, there were significant variations in
their research capabilities when grouped by their position, highest educational attainment, and level of
seminars attended. Post-hoc analysis revealed that teachers who hold a higher position and educational
attainment; and have attended higher level of seminar are more capable of writing a research proposal
than the other teachers. A training design was proposed based on the results of the study to enhance
teachers’ capability in doing educational research.
Keywords – Elementary schools, elementary teachers, research capability
INTRODUCTION Republic Act (RA) No. 7722. CHED is also mandated
to facilitate collaboration and expertise sharing
Research's major goal is to improve quality of life.
between and among higher education institutions
This concept alone demonstrates the value of research.
(HEIs), research agencies/organizations, and individual
It has provided with fresh knowledge and insights into
scientists and researchers, all of which are deemed
a variety of life concerns, as well as assisting in making
critical mechanisms for promoting and developing
informed decisions and solving problems. In the area of
research capability and increasing research
education, research is an academic activity carried out
productivity [4].
by educators who are constantly advocating learning,
discovering new information, evaluating data, Universities in the Philippines, in accordance with
modifying behavior, and increasing modern the mandate, take the lead in doing research, whether
educational standards and teaching quality. This would individually or cooperatively, by academic members.
result to valid scientific conclusions in research that This is to encourage high-quality instruction, expand
could be used to solve problems [1], improve teaching, knowledge, and improve people's lives which makes
and improve students' learning [2]. teaching an evidence-based profession [5].
Collaboration in research amongst university
Furthermore, conducting research is essential for
professors and elementary school teachers not only
school administrators and instructors to face challenges
strengthens their linkages but also results in
thus improving as educators. Research has long been
professional competent, research-oriented, and
considered as a tool for transforming educational
productive faculty members who are capable of the
practice while also contributing to the body of
university's growth and sustainability toward greatness.
knowledge in the field. Research has the ability to help
improve and transform educational practices [3]. Apparently, the Higher Education has the
primordial mandate to conduct research, while in basic
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is
education, research is simply secondary to the teaching
responsible for the development of research functions
tasks of teachers. The Department of Education
of HEIs in the Philippines, as stated in Section 8 of
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 Manila et al., Assessment of Teachers’ Research Capability towards the Promotion of Research Culture…
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(DepEd) has a strong drive to motivate teachers to significant difference on the responses of the Teachers’
conduct research. Several directives had been instituted Research Capabilities when grouped by profile.
by the DepEd to provide funding and improve research
culture. These can be seen in DepEd Orders that are MATERIALS AND METHODS
intended to finance the conduct of education-related Research Design
researches/studies through the Basic Education This study employed the descriptive method of
Research Fund (BERF) such as the DepEd Order (DO) research using survey to assess the capability of the
No. 24 s. 2010, DO No. 43 s. 2015, and DO No 4 s. of respondents in conceptualizing and writing a research
2016. Also, DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017 provides proposal.
Research Management Guidelines (RMG). Further, the
policy mentions research as one of the critical Instrument of the Study
performance indicators in the new Result-based The survey-questionnaire was face validated and
Performance Management System (RPMS), hence, it had undergone a reliability test before it was
becomes a part of the teacher's tasks. The DO No. 39 s. administered online. This consisted of three parts. The
2016 promulgates the Basic Education Research first part deals with the profile of the respondents while
Agenda (BERA), which sets different research the second part gathers information about their research
priorities. activities. Lastly, the third part elicits information on
Despite the department's mandates, initiatives, and how the respondents assess their capabilities to the
programs, teachers’ research productivity in our tasks related to writing a research proposal such as
country's basic education remains low [6]-[7]. conceptualizing research, formulating research
Furthermore, a study revealed that teachers in basic problems, writing literature review, designing research,
education are still adjusting to action research as part of determining quantitative research, determining
their educational culture [8]. This is likewise the case qualitative research design, and completing other parts
in the Schools Division of Bataan-Mariveles Annex. of the research proposal. The researchers made use of
This scenario prompted researchers to conduct this the DepEd Research Management Guidelines as basis
study which assessed the research capability of the for creating the third part of the survey-questionnaire.
elementary teachers in the said district. The study
recommended an extension project proposal in Respondents of the study
collaboration with SDO Bataan – Mariveles Annex A nonprobability sampling was used to gather the
where teachers submitted action research proposals as data from the respondents which composed of 32
outputs under the close supervision of facilitators. The public elementary school teachers in the SDO Bataan –
close supervision is stipulated in one of the conclusions Mariveles Annex with inclusion and exclusion criteria
of the study which yields favorable outcomes in the such as elementary teachers who hold permanent
extension project conducted. position, and willing to be trained or undergo a research
capability training program.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study aimed to determine the research Data gathering procedure and Analysis
capability of public elementary school teachers in a Gathered data were encoded and analysed using
SDO Bataan – Mariveles Annex to improve their skills SPSS. Percentages, mean scores and post-hoc analysis
in writing and conducting research. using Tukey HSD were used in the study. The research
Specifically, the study presented the profile of the capability of the respondents was interpreted using a
respondents in terms of gender, age, highest scale of means with the following verbal
educational attainment, academic ranks, length of interpretations: Highly Capable (HC), Capable (C),
service, attendance to seminars/trainings related to Moderately Capable (MC), Slightly Capable (SC), and
research, and research activities of teachers. In Not Capable (NC).
addition, the study determines the research capability Prior to the data gathering, the researchers explained
of teachers in terms of formulating research problems, all the procedures to the respondents and distributed
writing literature review, designing research, informed consent to each respondent stating all the
determining quantitative research, determining responsibilities and benefits of the study. The
qualitative research, and completing other parts of the
research proposal. Finally, the study tests the
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Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Sustainable Development
Volume 10, No 2, March 2022
 Manila et al., Assessment of Teachers’ Research Capability towards the Promotion of Research Culture…
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respondents were assured of full confidentiality of all trainings related to research.
the information that will be gathered from them. In terms of the research activities of teachers,
majority (93.8%) of them have no research activity
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION from the time they started working as elementary
The study revealed the necessity to further teachers. There are two (2) respondents with research
capacitate the teachers in the conduct of research as activity, however, only 1 (3.1%) had passed the
reflected in the following results. screening process and were able to conduct the research
Majority (84.4%) of the respondents are female, process but not yet completed during the conduct of the
while only 5 (15.6%) are male. In terms of age, most of training needs analysis. Also, it shows that 1 (3.1%)
the respondents are young teachers as more than half researcher attempted to submit research proposal, but it
(62.5%) of the teachers are 20 to 39 years old. The was disapproved during the screening process. This
remaining percentage is comprised of teachers who are information may imply that teachers have limited
in the middle age, 21.9% of the teachers with ages knowledge and skills or lack the capabilities in doing
between 40 to 49 years old, and 12.5% of them are 50 educational research. This also indicates poor research
to 59 years old. There is only one among them who is productivity rates among schools in the District of
above 59 years old. This shows that elementary schools Mariveles.
are composed of both young and seasoned teachers.
A great majority (71.9%) of teachers are pursuing Table 1. Summary of Teachers’ Research Capability
graduate education and have earned master’s units, Items M SD VI
while 18.7% of them have not yet taken graduate Formulating research problems 2.43 .620 SC
Writing literature review 2.53 .671 SC
education programs. On the other hand, only 3 or 9.4% Designing research 2.43 .620 SC
of the teachers have completed their master’s degree Determining quantitative research 2.26 .589 SC
program. It would mean that only a few of the teachers Determining qualitative research 2.06 .529 SC
have experienced writing a full-blown research paper. Completing other parts of the
2.41 .593 SC
Data also indicate that all the respondents are research proposal
classified as proficient teachers in the Philippine
Scale of Descriptive Equivalent Description
Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). Almost Means
half (43.7%) of the respondents are in the entry-level 4.20-5.00 Highly Capable (HC) can do the task independently and
can assist others in doing it
position or Teacher I, 5 or 15.6% of them are Teachers 3.40-4.19 Capable (C) can do the task independently
2.60-3.39 Moderately Capable (MC) can do the task with minimal
II, 11 or 34.4 are Teacher III, and 2 or 6.3% are Master supervision
Teacher I. In the PPST, only those highly proficient 1.80-2.59 Slightly Capable (SC) can do the task with close
supervision
teachers or Master Teacher I-IV are required to conduct 1.00-1.79 Not Capable (NC) cannot perform the task
research. However, although it not required for Table 1 summarises the teachers’ research
Teachers I to III, it is a plus factor especially if they are capability It described as Slightly Capable in terms of
aiming for higher teaching positions. conceptualizing research, formulating research
In terms of their length of service, there are 12 or problems, writing literature review, designing research,
37.5% of them who have rendered 0 to 5 years. Nine or determining quantitative research, determining
28.1% of them have been teaching for 6 to 10 years, qualitative research design, and completing other parts
while 7 or 21.9% of them are in the service for 6 to 10 of the research proposal. Slightly Capable means that
years. Teachers who have been teaching for 16 to 20 the teacher-respondents can do the tasks but with close
years and 21 years and above have the same frequency supervision of a research mentor.
of 2 or 6.3%. In terms of formulating research problems, teachers
In terms of seminars/trainings, more than half are slightly capable of writing the general and specific
(59.4%) of the teachers had attended seminars/training problems of the study, formulating the hypothesis
related to research in a school level only. There are 6 or based on the specific problems, discussing the
18.7% of them who had attended research seminars in significance of the study, and determining the scope
the district level, 4 (12.5%) in the division level, and 3 and limitation of the study. Moreover, in terms of
(9.4%) in the international level. This may indicate that writing the literature review, teachers are slightly
capable of determining keywords that lead to related
teachers have very limited exposure to seminars and
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Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Sustainable Development
Volume 10, No 2, March 2022
 Manila et al., Assessment of Teachers’ Research Capability towards the Promotion of Research Culture…
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literatures, organizing literature search based on estimates, making a plan for dissemination and
themes, determining the information in the literature, utilization of research results, preparing the list of
citing references using the APA citation style, and references, preparing the letters and accomplishing
using reference management system like Mendeley and forms required in the completion of the proposal.
EndNote.
It could be inferred that teachers had a limited Table 2. Variations on Teachers’ Research
knowledge in writing action research that needed Capabilities when grouped by Profile
expert support. The results confirmed similarities to the Profile F-value Sig. Interpretation
characteristics of teachers in the study of reference [9] Sex 1.699 (t) .158 Not Significant
where teachers exhibited inadequate knowledge in the Age .981 .434 Not Significant

conduct of action research which leads to writing Highest Educational

7.730 .002 Significant
Attainment
anxieties. Position 7.582 .001 Significant
In terms of designing research, teachers are slightly Length of Service 1.362 .273 Not Significant
capable of identifying and making use of appropriate Seminars/Trainings 11.426 .000 Significant
research design, determining appropriate data Table 2 shows the variations on teachers’ research
collection method, and constructing appropriate capabilities when grouped by profile. As shown, there
research instrument. They are also slightly capable of are significant variations on teachers’ research
ensuring the validity and reliability of research capabilities when grouped by highest educational
instrument. Furthermore, in terms of determining attainment (F= 7.730, Sig.= .002), position (F= 7.582,
quantitative research design, teachers are slightly Sig.= .001), and seminars/trainings (F= 11.426, Sig.=
capable of formulating null hypotheses based on the .000). These findings corroborate various studies which
problems, deciding on the suitable sample size and found that teachers’ capability in doing educational
sampling technique. They are also slightly capable of research varied in terms of their academic rank [13,14],
identifying the needed data for the study and highest educational status [13], and the number of
determining the appropriate statistical tools/treatment. training attended related to research [14,15]. Post-hoc
Furthermore, they are slightly capable in applying analysis using Tukey HSD showed that teachers with
statistical tools/treatment using excel, SPSS, STATA master’s degrees tend to be more capable of writing a
and other similar soft wares. research proposal than those who are college degree
It could be inferred that teachers were having holders or with only master’s degree units taken.
struggles in planning. Similarly, reference [10] in his Reference [17] indicated that teachers who had finished
published study revealed that teachers had a high level programs in graduate schools were capable to do
of difficulty in research processes and moderately research. The author suggested that pursuing higher
capable of action planning. Moreover, reference [11] education studies would lead to high-quality research
also revealed in their study that teachers only have fair output. In addition, the authors in reference [18] found
skills in selecting and developing research instruments out that teachers who attained higher educational
and choosing appropriate statistical tools. attainment have improved researcher skills and are
In terms of determining qualitative research design, more knowledgeable in the research process, and
teachers are slightly capable of formulating guide dissemination. Furthermore, the present study revealed
questions, deciding the appropriate participants and that teachers who hold Master Teacher positions are
sampling procedure, identifying the data gathering more capable than those with Teacher I-III ranks.
technique appropriate for the study, determining Authors in references [13,16] found out in their studies
appropriate strategies in organizing and analysing data. that the position or academic rank is one of the factors
The results revealed that teachers need expert that influence the research capability of teachers.
support in terms of determining the technicalities of the Teachers with higher academic ranks or positions are
action research which validates the claims of reference those who were able to acquire higher educational
[12] that teachers were moderately capable in terms of attainment. Lastly, those who attended international
technical writing of research. seminars gained more capability than those who only
Lastly, in terms of completing other parts of the attended school and district level seminars and training.
research proposal, teachers are slightly capable of Several studies have indicated that teachers were
preparing timetable/Gantt Chart/Workplan, capable of conducting research through various
determining the allowed expenses and prepare cost training they attended related to research [15,16,19].
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Table 3. The Training Design
Activity Outcomes Time Persons
Frame Involved
Session 1 Participants should be able to: 1 Day -Resource Speaker
DepEd Research Agenda/ 1. Determine the research agenda of DedEd -Faculty Members of PUP Bataan as
Research Format of 2. Familiarize with the research format of Trainers/Facilitators, Elementary
DepEd/ Brainstorming for DedEd -Teachers from the District of
possible research topic 3. Produce research topic Mariveles
4. Produce background of the study

Session 3 Participants should be able to: 1 Day -Resource Speaker

Reading on Related Studies 1. Determine possible sources of related -Faculty Members of PUP Bataan as
studies Trainers/Facilitators, Elementary
2. Differentiate legitimate and not legitimate -Teachers from the District of
sources of related studies Mariveles
3. Produce review of related studies and
literatures

Session 4 Participants should be able to: 1 Day -Resource Speaker

Understanding Ways to 1. Determine ways to collect data -Faculty Members of PUP Bataan as
Collect Data 2. Create procedures on how to collect data Trainers/Facilitators, Elementary
-Teachers from the District of
Mariveles
Session 5 Participants should be able to: 1 Day -Resource Speaker
Finding Answers to the 1. Determine appropriate statistical treatment -Faculty Members of PUP Bataan as
Research Questions/ on answering statement of the problems Trainers/Facilitators, Elementary
Statistical Treatment 2.Produce statistical analysis/ treatment for -Teachers from the District of
the study Mariveles
Session 6 Participants should be able to: 1 Day -Resource Speaker
All About Plagiarism 1. Determine the types of plagiarism -Faculty Members of PUP Bataan as
2. Know how to avoid plagiarism Trainers/Facilitators, Elementary
-Teachers from the District of
Mariveles
Completing the parts and Participants should be able to submit their 1 to 2 Faculty Members of PUP Bataan
Finalization of the research research proposal to the Schools Division Months and the Elementary Teachers of
proposal Office of Bataan DepEd Mariveles District

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Furthermore, significant variations were found on

Considering the research activities of the respondents, it teachers’ research capabilities when grouped by educational
can be said that the elementary teachers are inexperienced in attainment, position, and seminars/trainings attended.
writing and conducting research. In terms of their research Teachers who hold a higher position and educational
capabilities, they are slightly capable of conceptualizing attainment; and have attended higher level of seminar are
research, formulating research problems, writing literature more capable than the other teachers. Thus, it is also strongly
review, designing research, determining quantitative recommended to encourage teachers to aspire professional
research, determining qualitative research design, and advancement through post graduate studies and provide
completing other parts of the research proposal. Slightly opportunities to attend international seminars and
Capable means that the teacher-respondents can do the tasks conferences.
but with close supervision of a research mentor.
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