Professional Experience and Personal Circumstances as Determinants of Science Teacher Preparedness in Lupon District, Davao Oriental

Abstract

Science teachers play a critical role in ensuring effective classroom instruction, particularly in rural and resource-limited settings where instructional challenges persist. This study aimed to assess the level of preparedness of public secondary science teachers in the Lupon East and Lupon West Districts, Division of Davao Oriental, and to determine whether significant differences in preparedness exist across groups defined by selected demographic variables. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study examined teacher preparedness in terms of attitude toward preparation, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control using a quantitative descriptive research design. A total of 52 science teachers were included through total enumeration, and data were collected using a validated survey questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance. The results revealed a very high level of preparedness among science teachers across all three dimensions, with attitude toward preparation obtaining the highest mean, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. No significant differences in preparedness were found across age, sex, and educational attainment groups. Significant differences were observed based on civil status and length of service, with single teachers and those with six to ten years of teaching experience demonstrating higher levels of preparedness. These findings suggest that science teacher preparedness is shaped more by professional experience and personal circumstances than by demographic or academic characteristics. The study concludes that contextualized professional development programs tailored to teachers’ career stages and rural teaching conditions are essential to sustaining and enhancing science instruction in Lupon District, Davao Oriental.