Well – Being and Organizational Commitment on Teaching Competence in Public Secondary and Integrated Schools in Rural Areas

Well – Being and Organizational Commitment on Teaching Competence in Public Secondary and Integrated Schools in Rural Areas

Vincent Bob H. Orbuda¹, Dr. Aprell L. Abellana²

¹Graduate Student, Central Mindanao University, Sagundanon Integrated School, Department of Education, Sumpong, Malaybalay City

²Associate Professor III, Central Mindanao University, Professional Education Department, Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.905000387

Received: 15 May 2025; Accepted: 19 May 2025; Published: 18 June 2025

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the relationship of well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence among 250 public secondary and integrated school teachers in rural areas of the Municipality of Kitaotao, Bukidnon, during the school year 2024 – 2025. The study used a survey questionnaire to examine the well-being and organizational commitment of these teachers.

For the total survey, respondents rated mental, subjective and financial well-being highly. Organizational commitment was also rated high level in terms of loyalty and perceived obligations to stay with the organization in rural area schools. Teaching competence was rated overall as “excellent” among all of the indicators assessed, including content knowledge, pedagogical skills, interpersonal communication, classroom organization, and student assessment.

A statistical analysis using the SPSS confirmed the presence of a significant positive correlation among well-being and teaching competence. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between organizational commitment and teaching competence. In addition, out of the sub-variables of well-being, both financial well-being and mental well-being showed substantial association with teaching competence. However, organizational commitment including sub variables: emotional attachment, perceived obligation to stay and sense of loyalty did not give any sign of influence on the teacher’s teaching performance. Definitely, provide assistance for teachers’ mental health is essential for their effectiveness in the classroom settings.

In general, teachers have a rich financial and organizational support system in many ways. However, more needs related to emergency funds, long-term planning, and self-efficacy may further contribute to teacher well-being. Educational institutions need to work with support system and mental health measures to support and enhance the competence of teachers, so that their students experience better outcomes in rural schools.

Keywords: Well-being, Organizational Commitment, Teaching Competence, Public Integrated Schools, Rural Education

INTRODUCTION

Teaching competence is a foundational basis of educational achievement, particularly in public secondary and integrated schools in rural areas. It is widely considered the ability of educators to have an assurance of quality education, facilitate student engagement, and make a conducive educational environment that student feels accepted and belonged. In rural classroom settings, teaching competence is a great challenged by scarcity in terms of resources, a far-flung school, and student’s differences in economic background. Despite these hardships, competent teachers stay at the forefront in cutting educational shortcomings through sharing knowledge that are really promoting equitable access to quality education.

In public secondary and integrated school located in rural areas, educators encountered challenges that could really influence and impact their performance and effectiveness in terms of teaching competence. The common issues arise in the rural areas are limited access to professional development opportunities, outdated teaching tools, and the need to adapt approaches in diverse need of classrooms. The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670) provides provisions aimed at supporting teachers’ professional growth and improving working conditions, which directly influence teaching competence.

Teachers in rural areas work hard, which results in great competence in providing effective education. This addresses the shortages, physical distance of the area, mixed – grade classrooms and poverty – related barriers that affect student’s ways of learning. Despite these difficulties, teaching competence remains crucial for fostering quality education and resolving disparities in rural communities. However, competent teachers are vital in an excellent educational system, contributing to the learner’s holistic formation.

Furthermore, teacher’s teaching competence is an essential aspect of educational success for delivering an effective and well – prepared quality education in the rural areas. As per DepEd’s 2017 adoption of the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST) provides a framework for defining and measuring teacher competence based on increasing levels of knowledge, skills, and professional involvement in the real world of education settings in rural area. As an additional, teaching competence will be based on the standard of PPST where it serves as the foundation for all learning and development initiatives for teachers.

Teachers with higher levels of well-being are better positioned to meet the demands and expectations outlined in the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). Their enhanced emotional resilience, reduced stress, and increased job satisfaction can translate into improved classroom management, more effective instructional strategies, and stronger engagement with professional development opportunities, all of which are key indicators of competence within the PPST framework (DepEd, 2017).

Well-being served as an important factor in teacher’s teaching competence. Teachers with high levels of well-being are those who give more exhibit devotion in way of imparting knowledge, excitement in a way that they give their best, creativity for doing different methods, and resilience in individual work. There were factors that affect ability to manage classroom dynamics and quality education, namely workplace happiness, emotional resilience, and mental wellness.

On the other hand, organizational commitment served as the individual’s identification and involvement in a particular organization. Previous studies have linked teachers’ organizational commitment with positive outcomes at both the individual and organizational levels, including enhanced teacher work engagement, organizational citizenship behavior, job performance, school effectiveness, and reduced turnover intentions. (Li, Mingwei,2024). Consequently, there are teachers remain under rated in terms of quality performance which may lead to low delivering of learnings and development. Work contentment, work – life balance, and constant socialization on individual may affects well – being and organizational commitment, affects to development and effectiveness of learnings (Malik and Noreen, 2024).

This study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the mediating role of well-being and the organizational commitment on teaching competence of public secondary and integrated schools located in rural areas here in the Philippines, providing perspectives for learning facilitators to enhance and improve teachers’ organizational commitment through well – organized and prepared teacher development strategies and leadership workshop.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This research outlines the methodologies that employed for collecting and analyzing data, encompassing the research design, participant selection, study location, tools used for data collection, procedures for gathering data, ethical considerations, and statistical methods that applied to treat the data.

Research Design

The study employed a descriptive-correlational design to examine the associations between well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence among secondary and integrated school teachers in Kitaotao, Bukidnon. This non-experimental approach involved using surveys to describe the teachers’ current status on these variables and to analyze the strength and direction of their relationships without inferring causation. Statistical methods, including correlation and regression analyses, were applied to identify patterns and connections, providing insights into how these factors interrelate within the educational context of the region.

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in the municipality of Kitaotao, in the southern part of Bukidnon, Philippines. This is where the high rolling hills and diverse mountainous terrain is found, with border north Cotabato and Davao del Norte. The study involved the three districts in Kitaotao, namely Kitaotao I, Kitaotao II and Kitaotao III, each with various forms of instructional strategies. One of the great impacts of the well–being of teachers is the school environment, fostering emotional health matters through positive relations. Furthermore, teachers’ dedication and fidelity are built up when they receive good backing from school administrators and the surrounding community.

Research Instruments

The study tool, which is a structured questionnaire with three parts, will serve as the main tool of data collection. The first part will seek to measure the well-being of teachers over 3 dimensions (financial, mental and subjective) with a total of 30 items derived from known scales. The second section will assess organizational commitment through 27 items that examine teachers’ loyalty, emotional attachment, and perceived obligation to stay on a Likert scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” for response assessment. The third section will evaluate teaching competence with 50 items covering content knowledge, pedagogical skills, interpersonal communication, classroom organization, and student assessment, using a Likert scale ranging from “never” to “always” for response measurement. A pilot study involving 30 teachers was conducted to test its reliability, which resulted in Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.910, 0.26, and 0.985.

Data Gathering Procedure

In order to investigate the correlation between well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence among public secondary and integrated school teachers in rural areas, a mix of quantitative approaches was utilized. Surveys and questionnaires were utilized to collect quantitative data on teachers’ well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence. These tools provided measurable insights into the variables under study. In addition, survey questionnaires were used to gather quantitative data whereby a better understanding of teachers’ experiences and views within their distinctive rural teaching environments could be attained.

Statistical Techniques

Through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistics software, the data were summarized, visualized, and interpreted. It involves descriptive statistics that show mean averages and scores to assess and support the levels of well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence in public secondary and integrated schools. After data gathering, the data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients to test the relationships between variables. Additionally, to identify the strongest basis for teaching competence, multiple linear regression analysis was deployed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Table 1. Summary of the level of Well – being experienced by Public Secondary and Integrated School Teachers in Rural Areas

Legend:

Table 1 shows teachers generally experience a “high” level of well-being across the indicators measured. Mental well-being has the highest mean (4.43), followed with subjective well-being having a mean (4.35), and financial well-being with a mean (4.18). The overall mean resulted to 4.29 having the “high” level of well-being. This simply implies that, teachers evaluate their overall well-being positively and “agree” with statements indicating favorable financial, subjective, and mental health statuses despite the difficulties related to distance and being away from their families.

These results are in line with studies that show, high well-being financial well-being often lags behind other areas. Kim and Asbury (2020) study, found that while teachers generally report positive mental and emotional well-being, financial stress remains a significant concern affecting their overall quality of life. Another research by Collie and Martin (2017), “The relationship between teacher well-being and students’ academic achievement,” brought attention to the linkage between teacher well-being and student achievement, indicating that the support of teachers’ well-being is a key in ensuring an optimistic learning environment.

The findings show that the teachers in the research have a “high” level of well-being in all measured aspects, with mental well-being ranked highest. This is an indication that rural area teachers, in general, rate positively their psychological health, personal job satisfaction, and economic self-sufficiency. Increased and sustained optimization of these areas is critical in ensuring support of their overall effectiveness and job fulfillment.

Table 2. Summary of the level of Organizational Commitment experienced by Public Secondary and Integrated School Teachers in Rural Areas

Legend:

Table 2 summarizes how public secondary and integrated school teachers assess students in the classroom using the sub-variables of emotional attachment, perceived obligation to stay and sense of loyalty. The mean scores and corresponding descriptive analysis for each assessment type are included in the study.

Table 2 shows an overall mean for organizational commitment among teachers was 4.19, having a “high” level of commitment. This suggests that, teachers exerted efforts and a strong sense of dedication and attachment to their organization. It was categorized as “Agree” which implies that they have positive organizational factors that influence teacher’s commitment. Among the three sub variables, sense of loyalty received the highest mean (4.23), perceive obligation to stay (4.20) and lastly, emotional attachment (4.14). These results implied that, teachers showed strong loyalty to their institution and holding profound attachment to the school community. The sense of obligation to remain also plays a significant role, suggesting that practical and moral factors both contribute to their commitment. Emotional attachment, while slightly lower, still reflects a strong personal connection to the organization.

The findings show that all three components of organizational commitment: sense of loyalty, perceived obligation to stay, and emotional attachment are highly developed among teachers. The even distribution implies that teachers’ commitment is multi-dimensional, integrating emotional, rational, and moral bases. The dominance of high loyalty might be especially advantageous for organizational stability and culture. These results emphasize the value of developing all components of commitment for maintaining a committed teaching force.

Roffey (2019) highlights that psychological well-being and organizational commitment are closely linked, with higher commitment levels fostering greater engagement and positive outcomes among educators. Similarly, György and Szabo (2020) emphasize that factors such as distributive justice, psychological empowerment, and job autonomy significantly influence organizational commitment among school leaders, suggesting that a supportive and empowering work environment enhances loyalty and dedication. Together, these studies affirm that fostering organizational commitment through supportive practices is crucial for improving educational effectiveness and leadership stability.

The findings indicate that teachers report “high” levels of commitment and loyalty, and a genuine dedication to teaching, with feelings of deep affiliation with their schools and colleagues. Their feeling of duty to stay is reflective of a deep investment in their occupation and the publics they serve. Encouraging this positive organizational commitment can facilitate an environment of support where teachers feel appreciated and encouraged to continue making a positive impact.

Table 3. Summary of the level of Teaching Competence experienced by Public Secondary and Integrated School Teachers in Rural Areas

Legend:

Rural teaching competence involves five key sub-variables: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Skills, Interpersonal Communication, Classroom Organization, and Student Assessment. Each of these areas working together ensures teachers provide high quality education, engage students, and meet various learning requirements. Content knowledge provides precise delivery of lessons, pedagogical skills for flexibility, interpersonal communication for trust relationships, classroom organization for effective learning environments, and student assessment for monitoring performance and improvement, each playing a key role in rural teachers’ capacity to maintain effective and equitable education in the presence of resource limitations.

The overall mean of teaching competence experienced by teachers was 4.57, which indicates “Always” range according to the provided scale. This result means that, teachers consistently demonstrate excellent competence across all measured indicators. The qualitative interpretation confirms that the overall teaching competence is “Excellent”. Such a high overall mean reflects a strong and positive teaching environment within the institution.

Table 3 shows evident that teachers demonstrate consistently high levels of competence across all domains. The minimal difference between the highest and lowest means (4.59 to 4.55) suggests that teachers do not have significant weaknesses in any area of competence. This uniformity points to a balanced and comprehensive approach to professional development and teaching standards. The consistently “Excellent” ratings across all indicators reflect a culture of high expectations and effective teaching practices. These findings indicate that students are likely benefiting from a supportive and skilled teaching environment.

Woods et al. (2023) explore the complex relationship between teacher stress and job satisfaction, emphasizing how effective coping mechanisms can moderate this dynamic. Their study highlights that teaching competence, encompassing skills such as content knowledge, classroom organization, pedagogical strategies, interpersonal communication, and student assessment, plays a critical role in reducing stress and enhancing job satisfaction. Competent teachers are better equipped to manage classroom challenges and maintain positive interactions with students, which in turn supports their psychological resilience and professional fulfillment. This underscores the importance of developing comprehensive teaching competence as a means to improve both educator well-being and educational outcomes.

Findings show that teachers excel at every level of teaching effectiveness, from measuring the students to scheduling their class and communicating well. This mastery degree shows their devotion and dedication towards providing quality learning to their learners. Encouraging and complimenting these aspects can inspire the teachers to continually improve and enable their learners’ success.

Table 4: Correlation Analysis Between Well-being, Organizational Commitment, and Teaching Competence

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

Listwise N=250

ns – not significant

Table 4 shows that from the variables of well-being, mental well-being has statistically significant and high positive correlation with teaching competence (r = 0.787, P = 0.021). The implication is that teachers with “high” levels of mental well-being will likely have higher teaching competence in rural public secondary and integrated schools. Conversely, financial well-being (r = 0.787, P = 0.021) similarly also has a significant and high correlation, which suggests its significant contribution to the enabling of teaching competence. Subjective well-being (r = 0.213, P = 0.613) is, however, non-significant and of low correlation, which suggests that the latter does not contribute significantly enough to teaching competence in the context of this research.

Regarding organizational commitment, the research shows that Perceived Obligation to Stay (POS) has a strong and significant link to teaching competence (r = 0.789 P = 0.011). This suggests that teachers who feel they must stay at their schools often do better in their teaching roles. In contrast, Emotional Attachment (r = 0.389 P = 0.341) and Sense of Loyalty (r = 0.339, P = 0.372) have moderate and non-significant connections to teaching effectiveness, this points out that while emotional bonds to the organization might matter, the perceived need to stay has a bigger impact on improving teaching success in rural schools.

The findings emphasize the importance of supporting teachers’ mental and financial well-being, as well as fostering a sense of obligation to remain in their schools, in order to improve teaching competence in public secondary and integrated schools in rural areas.

Table 5: Regression analysis shows variables significantly affecting Teaching competence in Public Elementary Schools.

Dependent Variable: Teaching Competence

 R= 0.931  = 0.866   F = 19.432   P-value = 0.02

The multiple correlation coefficient (R) of 0.931 shows a strong positive link between the predictor variables (Mental Well-being towards Organizational Commitment) and teachers’ teaching competence. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.866 means that the predictor variables in the model explain about 86.60% of the changes in teaching competence. The unstandardized coefficients (B) show how strong and in what direction the predictor variables relate to teachers’ teaching competence. The constant term (intercept) is 9.243, which tells us the value of teaching competence when both predictor variables equal zero.

This high R² suggests that these variables collectively have a strong predictive power regarding teaching competence in rural public secondary and integrated schools. However, despite this substantial explanatory power, the remaining 13.4% of unexplained variance highlights that other important factor beyond those measured may also influence teaching competence.

The high R² value (0.866) suggests that the two predictor variables considered in the model can explain widely portion of the variance in of the teaching competence. There might be other factors not included in the model that significantly contribute to teachers’ competence in public and integrated school teacher in rural areas.

The equation to forecast teachers’ teaching competence utilizes two most important factors: Well-being (Mental Well-being) and Organizational Commitment (Perceived Obligation to Stay). The regression equation derived is Y = 9.243 – 0.995 () – 0.056(X2). In this equation: Y is Teachers’ teaching competence, X1 is Well-being (Mental Well-being), X2 is Organizational Commitment (Perceived Obligation to Stay). This regression analysis enables us to model the expected of teachers’ teaching ability with respect to their mental well-being and perceived Obligation to Stay. However, it is important to note that the model’s high R² value indicates that the concluded predictor variables explain a high portion of the variance in teaching competence. Other unaccounted factors may also play significant role in determining teachers’ competence in public and integrated school teacher in rural areas.

These findings underscore the need for targeted well-being programs addressing emotional regulation and self-efficacy. The high R² (0.866) suggests that institutional factors-such as workload, school climate, or resource availability – may mediate the well-being/competence relationship. Future research should validate competence metrics to distinguish self-perception from skill and explore how systemic stressors for instance post-pandemic demands that influence these dynamics (Frontiers in Psychology, 2024). Programs like the “Online Well-being Course,” which enhance emotional resilience and decision-making, offer promising frameworks for reconciling well-being and perceived competence (PMC, 2024).

These studies empirically support the regression model’s results, demonstrating the interplay between well-being (significant), organizational commitment (not significant), and teaching competence in rural public secondary and integrated schools. The mediating effect of work engagement emphasizes that competence is shaped not only by individual attributes but also by broader contextual factors, such as job engagement and institutional conditions. This underscores the importance of multi-dimensional strategies that account for rural-specific challenges, including limited resources and social pressures, to foster sustainable teacher competence.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were derived: Secondary and integrated school teachers show “high” level of well-being and possess a “high” level of commitment of organizational commitment. These indicate that they have implemented all the indicators of the independent variables. Thus, it is vital to public secondary and integrated school teachers’ teaching competence in rural areas.

It concluded that that public secondary and integrated school’s well-being is “high.” This means among public secondary and integrated school teachers indicates they report strong mental, emotional, and job-related satisfaction, likely supported by stable work environments and effective institutional practices. This suggests they are resilient, engaged, and equipped to maintain quality education in rural settings despite potential challenges. Organizational commitment is also “high” level of commitment. This indicates that teachers feel a strong psychological attachment and loyalty to their school, aligning themselves with its goals and values and expressing a clear desire to remain, perceived obligation to stay and still part of the institution. This “high” commitment is associated with increased motivation, job satisfaction, and willingness to contribute to school success, resulting in greater stability and performance within rural public secondary and integrated schools.

Thus, teaching competencies are categorized as “excellent”. This implies that educators demonstrate mastery across all critical domains such as content knowledge, pedagogical skills, interpersonal communication, classroom organization, and student assessment at a consistently high level. This excellence guarantees lessons are appropriate, structured well, and responsive to the learners’ needs, which enhances effective learning and academic progress. It demonstrates an overall capacity to provide quality education, even in adverse rural settings, by striking a balance between instructional demand and compassion and flexibility.

Mental well-being alone best predicts teachers’ teaching competence, and organizational commitment does not significantly predict teaching competence after regression analysis. This finding suggests that interventions aimed at improving teachers’ mental well-being may have a more substantial impact on their teaching competence than focusing on organizational commitment in these settings. These results emphasize the importance of prioritizing teacher mental well-being wherein it was strongly linked to higher teaching competence and effectiveness in rural public secondary and integrated schools. By fostering supportive environments that enhance teachers’ psychological health and strengthen their loyalty to the school, educational leaders can improve instructional quality and student outcomes in these communities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Department of Education (DepEd) may have given top priority to implement targeted mental health programs, including workshops on self-acceptance, stress management, and autonomy-building activities, to strengthen teachers’ psychological resilience. Provide access to counseling services and peer support networks to address emotional challenges, particularly in resource-limited rural schools.

Department of Education (DepEd) may also develop mentorship programs and collaborative platforms to foster continuance commitment while balancing affective commitment through leadership training. Introduce incentives like recognition awards or rural-specific benefits to reinforce teachers’ sense of purpose and loyalty. Prioritize professional development in communication and instructional strategies, coupled with regular needs assessments to tailor interventions. Foster school-community partnerships to create supportive environments that align teachers’ personal growth with institutional goals, ensuring sustainable teaching competence and student success.

Parents in rural areas are encourage to cooperate with teachers and involved by having open communication, participating school activities, and providing resources that develop both student knowledge and teacher well-being. Bonds of parent-teacher promotes a positive school environment where both valued and inspired, improving abilities to instruct and improve educational development of the learners. Parents help to maintain quality instruction, improve well-being of the school by having collaboration and support actions to all the teachers in the community.

Students in rural public secondary and integrated schools are encouraged to actively build positive, respectful relationships with their teachers and participate constructively in classroom and school activities. By showing appreciation, engaging in open communication, and supporting a collaborative learning environment, students contribute to their teachers’ well-being and still have sense of organizational commitment, which in turn enhances teaching quality and creates a more supportive, motivating atmosphere for everyone.

Future researchers are encouraged to further explore the complex relationship between teacher’s well-being, organizational commitment, and teaching competence in rural public secondary and integrated schools by employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Future studies should consider the unique contextual factors of rural environments – such as resource limitations, community involvement, and digital competence need, to develop targeted interventions and training programs that address the specific challenges and strengths of rural educators.

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