The Influence of Teaching Efficacy and Resilience on Teacher Competence on Teachers Handling Learners with Disability

The Influence of Teaching Efficacy and Resilience on Teacher Competence on Teachers Handling Learners with Disability

Kathleen S. Miguel., Febbie M. Lumangkibe., Roselyn M. Ricaforte

Holy Cross of Davao College, Davao City, 8000, Philippines

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.906000348

Received: 03 June 2025; Accepted: 09 June 2025; Published: 16 July 2025

ABSTRACT

Teacher competence identifies the issues of insufficient content knowledge, ineffective pedagogical skills, limited use of technology, and the lack of continuous professional development. This study aimed to determine the influence between teacher efficacy and teacher resilience on the competence of teachers instructing learners with learning disabilities for the 2024-2025 school year. This study used a descriptive quantitative research design, utilizing a correlation approach design involving 183 senior high school students. The overall mean score for both teacher efficacy and teacher resilience regarding the competence of teachers working with learners with learning disabilities was interpreted as very high.  The study found that there is a significant relationship between teaching efficacy and resilience in teacher competencies and the result of the R-value shows a significant influence of both teaching efficacy and resilience on teacher competence in handling learners with disabilities. That accepts the theory of Observational Learning Theory (Albert Bandura, 1977). The conclusion that teacher professionalism, skills, and attitudes are acknowledged and validated by the findings of this study is clear. It is recommended that this research explores different variables not covered in this study. Such replication aims to either reinforce or question the findings, allowing for a broader understanding of the influences on academic progress.

Keywords: teaching efficacy, resilience, competence

INTRODUCTION

Lack of competence often leads to ineffective teaching practices, low student engagement, and poor academic performance among learners (Hascher et al 2021). From other perspectives, it is a way of managing the everyday demands of teaching (Wabule 2020). However, teachers are unmotivated, unsupported, and emotionally drained without professional development (Palm 2020). In addition, teachers lack inspiration and are out of focus on their teaching career (Sawyer et al 2020).

In Australia, Heffernan et al. (2022) found that limited support for teaching materials and overwhelming work demands contribute to teachers’ perceived lack of competence. Similarly, in South Africa, Nakidien et al. (2021) highlighted that emotional instability, poverty, and inadequate resources are key factors affecting low teaching competencies.

Meanwhile, in the Philippine context, Banal and Ortega-Dela Cruz (2022) identified several challenges affecting teaching competence, including inadequate support for teaching materials, high student-to-teacher ratios, low salaries, excessive teaching loads, and limited mental health support. Additionally, Ebardo et al. (2024) emphasized that poor self-esteem conditions are also a prevalent issue contributing to the decline in teaching competence among Filipino educators.

While studies such as Mullen et al. (2021) highlight the low teaching competence and challenges teachers face in inclusive and diverse classroom settings, there remains a lack of research on targeted interventions aimed at addressing these issues. In particular, few studies have explored how teachers interact and influence learning in special education environments. This gap underscores the need for comprehensive research focused on developing and evaluating effective strategies for enhancing teacher competence in inclusive education. Hence, this study is conducted.

This study supports the beneficial to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) Quality Education, particularly its call for inclusive and equitable education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, including children with disabilities. Specifically, to determine the significance of the relationship of teacher teaching efficacy and resilience on their teaching competence in handling learners with learner’s disabilities, and also aims to determine the significance of the influence of teacher teaching efficacy and resilience on their teaching competence in handling learners with learner’s disabilities. Furthermore, it examines the hypothesis there is no significant effect of the influence of teachers’ teaching efficacy and resilience on their teaching competence in handling learners with disabilities

This study is anchored on Social Cognitive Theory (Albert Bandura, 1986). States that individuals acquire skills by attending to salient aspects of the modeled performance and by coding the received information into cognitive representations. These representations allow one to produce novel motor performance through observation by using this representation as an internal standard against which to monitor the correctness of one’s produced movements. These processes will now be examined in more detail. The salience of modeled information depends on its familiarity, task structure, and the feedback it generates. The most salient information conveyed by the demonstrator is the relative spatial and temporal features of the movement pattern. Representations actively transform and restructure information about events into multidimensional symbols that capture their structure and function. Response production involves a conception-matching process in which component responses are cognitively organized into a response pattern that roughly approximates the desired movements (Horn & Williams 2004).

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the study

METHOD

A quantitative research correlational design was used in this study. Quantitative research encourages researchers to use multiple approaches to gather, collect, and analyze the data within a single approach (Ghanad, (2023). Upon using this approach, the study can validate the quantitative results, providing a deeper explanation of the contexts in which teacher efficacy and teacher resilience correlate with competence in learners with learning disabilities. a descriptive correlational design was employed. It determines the association and relationship among variables and predicts the important issue based on the current data (Aloustani et al 2020).

This study was conducted at Malita Schools Division, Province of Davao Occidental, Philippines. It was selected as the research locale due to its diverse population and accessibility to the researchers. Surrounded by a rural and agricultural community, the school provides educational opportunities to senior high school students coming from various socio-economic backgrounds, Malita School division of Davao Occidental is committed to inclusive education. With its dedication to learning and supportive community, the school continues to be a vital institution in shaping senior high school students to provide quality education. The school’s conducive learning environment, along with its active engagement in both academic and non-academic activities, makes it an appropriate and relevant setting for this research.

The 183 respondents of the study were senior high school students who were currently enrolled in the Malita School District Division. The quantitative was entails the involvement of the selection of respondents through a stratified random sampling technique. This technique pertains to the quality of teachers’ efficacy and teacher resilience from the total list of senior high school students in a population to obtaining a great amount of knowledge and behavior in senior high school students (Howell et al., 2020).  A panel of specialists validated the questionnaire and its Cronbach’s alpha was 0.919. with excellent equivalent internal consistency.

The study focuses on teacher-related constructs such as teaching efficacy, resilience, and competence, the inclusion of senior high school students as respondents is essential to gain a well-rounded understanding of how these traits manifest in actual classroom experiences. Senior high school students, particularly those in inclusive education settings, are cognitively mature enough to reflect and assess their teachers’ effectiveness in handling students with learning disability. Their perspectives provide valuable insight into teacher competence from the learner’s point of view and the importance of student perfectives in evaluating inclusive teaching practices. This approach also strengthens the study through triangulation, offering a more comprehensive view of the inclusive education environment.

This study strictly followed ethical research protocols to protect the rights, privacy, and well-being of all participants. Informed consent was given to all public elementary school teachers after clearly explaining the objectives, procedures, and voluntary nature of their participation. Participation was entirely voluntary, and respondents were informed of their right to withdraw at any point without any consequence. For respondents under the age of 18, parental consent was also secured before their involvement in the study. To show appreciation for their time and input, a small token of gratitude through giving a P50.00 worth of gcash load was given to participants after completing the data collection process. Anonymity and confidentiality were strictly upheld, and all data collected was used solely for academic and research purposes. Approval from the appropriate school authorities and ethics committee was also obtained to ensure compliance with institutional and ethical guidelines.

The researcher secured a letter to conduct the study with formal approval from the public school district supervisor, the researcher proceeded to conduct the study by distributing both a hard copy and a Google Form of the survey questionnaire to selected senior high school students, ensuring that each item was clearly explained and translated when needed for better understanding, with the full cooperation and support of school heads, principals, administrators, and advisers; the administration process strictly observed the Data Privacy Act of 2012 by securing all personal information, maintaining respondent anonymity, and safeguarding both printed and electronic data in secure storage throughout the study, after which all materials were properly retrieved, statistically analyzed using JAMOVI and responsibly disposed of through shredding for physical copies and permanent deletion of electronic files to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the respondent.   Mean. will identify the teachers’ efficacy and teacher resilience in competence, which measures the central tendency to get an overall data set that gives an average. Furthermore, the standard deviation (SD) was used to spread out the given values of the data set, it is useful to compare all the available data which has a relation to the mean.   Moreover, the Pearson Correlation was used to determine a significant relationship between teachers’ efficacy and teacher resilience in teaching competence.

RESULTS

Table 1: Descriptive Level of Teaching Efficacy and Resilience on Teacher Competence in Handling Learners with Disabilities

Presented in Table 1, is the descriptive level of the overall results for resilience scored a mean score of 3.38 and with a standard deviation of 0,473 and were interpreted as very high. This indicates that teachers have a very high resiliency. Among the four indicators under the resilience of teachers handling learners with disabilities, social emerged as the highest mean score of 3.69 with a standard deviation of 0.462 and was interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers have a very high resiliency in handling learners with disabilities. The lowest mean score of 3.09 with a standard deviation of 0.423 belongs to emotional and is interpreted as high. This indicates that teacher has a high resiliency in handling learners with disabilities.

Moreover, the overall results for teaching efficacy scored a mean score of 3.45 with a standard deviation of 0.519 interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers have a very high teaching efficacy.  Among the three indicators under teaching efficacy, student engagement emerged as the highest mean score of 3.63 with a standard deviation of 0.521 and was interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers have a very high teaching efficacy. The lowest mean score of 3.34 with a standard deviation of 0.524 belongs to instructional strategies, which is interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers have a very high teaching efficacy.

Furthermore, the results for teacher competence scored a mean score of 3.47 with a standard deviation of 0.529 interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers always demonstrate teacher competence. Among the five indicators under teacher competence of teacher handling learners with disabilities, Professional skills emerged as the highest mean score of 3.53 with a standard deviation of 0.501 and was interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers always demonstrate teacher competence. The lowest mean score of 3.43 with a standard deviation of 0.543 belongs to Professional Development and Lifelong Learning, interpreted as very high. This means that the teachers always demonstrate teacher competence. Overall, the findings indicate that teachers maintain a strong and positive outlook in life and enhance their competence.

Table 2: Test of Relationship of Teaching Efficacy and Resilience on Teacher Competence on the Teachers Handling Learners with Disabilities

Shown in Table 2 is the relationship between teaching efficacy, resilience, and teacher competence. The Resilience shows a strong positive relationship with an R-value of .74 and a p-value of .001 which means a strong correlation between teacher competence among teachers handling learners with disabilities that implies that resilience has a strong significant relationship with teacher competence signifying the null hypothesis is rejected. Furthermore, the teaching efficacy shown also a strong positive relationship with an R-value of .84 and a p-value of .001 which means a strong correlation between teachers’ competencies that implies teaching efficacy has a strong significant relationship signifying that the null hypothesis is rejected.

Table 3: Test of Influence of Teaching Efficacy and Resilience on Teacher Competence on the Teachers Handling Learners with Disabilities

Table 3 shows that both teaching efficacy and resilience have a significant influence on teacher competence. This shows the overall regression model has a strong influence, on teaching efficacy and resilience as predictors of teacher competence. The results reveal teaching efficacy and resilience significantly predict teacher competence as shown in the result of an F-value of 21.7, and a p-value of.001. The p-values are below the 0.05 threshold, leading to the rejection of the null hypotheses, and indicating that both teaching efficacy and resilience have a significant influence on teacher competence in handling learners with learning disability.

DISCUSSION

The results demonstrate the strong influence of teacher efficacy and teacher resilience on competence. The correlation table indicates that both teacher efficacy and teacher resilience are positively and significantly associated with competence (Li 2023). These findings are further supported by the regression analysis, in which teacher efficacy emerged as a strong and statistically significant predictor of competence, while teacher resilience showed a positive statistically significant effect. These results align with the study of Purniningtyas et al (2024), who emphasized that teacher efficacy significantly enhances professional performance, classroom management, and student learning outcomes. Similarly, Hascher et al (2021) highlighted that teacher resilience contributes to sustained competence, especially under challenging circumstances. However, the current findings suggest that efficacy may be more dominant in predicting perceived competence among teachers. This emphasizes the importance of strengthening teacher efficacy through professional development and support systems to enhance overall teacher effectiveness (Sims Et al, 2025).

Teacher competence refers to personal and professional attributes such as resilience and teaching efficacy (Kavgaci, 2022).  Based on the study of Mullen et al, (2021) emphasizes that resilience enables teachers to cope with stress, adapt to change, and maintain their commitment to teaching despite challenges, which contributes to the effectiveness of teaching competence. Teaching efficacy, on the other hand, reflects a teacher’s belief in their ability to influence student learning and manage instructional tasks, which has been shown to impact both teacher behavior and student achievement (Kılınç et al, 2021). These factors are essential in teacher competence and responsiveness in inclusive diverse classroom needs (Rajendran et al, 2020).

Teacher competence influences quality education when impacted by diverse school learning (Sulaiman & Ismail 2020). Teaching competence includes a range of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that enable teachers to teach effectively, facilitate inclusive learning, and respond to diverse student needs (Boyle et al 2020).  The study of König et al., (2021), emphasizes that it is widely acknowledged competent teachers contribute significantly to student success, classroom management, and overall school improvement. Moreover, teacher competence is also implementing inclusive and learner-centered, making it the most focus in professional development and skills in improving education quality (Than et al, 2024).

Based on the finding that there is a significantly improved competence by having a positive learning goals impact on how the teacher prepares, integrates, and collaborates methods of a teacher. It highlights the importance of fostering both teaching efficacy and resilience through targeted professional development, mentorship programs, and institutional support. It also strengthens and empowers educators to ensure more equitable and responsive learning environments for all students, particularly those with special educational needs. This supports the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986), which highlights that beliefs in one’s capabilities, and adaptive personal attributes are critical in shaping teachers’ competence. Thus, the review process is an effective tool for enhancing competence in line with social cognitive theory.

In conclusion, the study reveals that teaching efficacy and resilience are critical factors influencing the competence of teachers who work with learners with disabilities. Teachers with strong self-efficacy tend to approach challenges with confidence and are more willing to employ creative and adaptive teaching strategies to meet students with learning disability. Likewise, resilient teachers demonstrate the ability to recover from manage emotional stress, and maintain a positive outlook despite the difficulties often encountered in inclusive classrooms. These two qualities together empower educators not only to persevere but also to thrive in demanding teaching environments. However, the study is not without limitations. It was constrained by a limited sample size, and a specific geographic focus, which may not fully reflect actual classroom practices. Moreover, external factors such as administrative support, classroom resources, and the school’s inclusive culture were not fully explored and may have also influenced teacher competence.

Based on the findings, it is recommended that schools and educational institutions prioritize teacher efficacy through continuous professional development programs focused on instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement. Teacher education should support training on inclusive education, emotional resilience, and self-efficacy for better preparedness teachers in teaching students with diverse needs.  The teacher training programs incorporate modules focused on building resilience and confidence, particularly in inclusive education contexts. Educational policymakers are also encouraged to support these efforts by allocating resources, developing specialized training programs, and creating policies that promote teacher well-being and professional growth. Strengthening both teaching efficacy and resilience is essential in equipping teachers to provide quality education to learners with disabilities and in advancing inclusive education as a whole. Additionally, teacher resilience plays an important role in initiating programs that promote emotional well-being, and stress management, and peer support systems should also be integrated. Strengthening both efficacy and resilience will empower teachers to perform effectively and sustain their competence in the face of evolving classroom challenges. According to the report, the r-square value is .726, which means that the predictor, teacher resilience, and teacher efficiency can explain 72.6% of the variation involved in teachers’ competence. The remaining 27.4% is attributed to the unexplained variance or factors not included in this study.

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