Instructional Competence and Stress Coping Styles of Newly Hired Secondary Teachers in Relation to Work Performance: Basis for Capacity Development Program

This study examined the instructional competence level of newly-hired public school teachers, the stress coping styles used while teaching, and whether their work performance during the school year 2022-23 changed based on their instructional competence and stress coping styles as the basis for capacity development programs. According to some studies, regardless of their years of experience, teachers of all grade levels are highly susceptible to experiencing work-related stress and being diagnosed with burnout syndrome. The participants of this study are the newly-hired teachers of the municipalities of Pulupandan, Valladolid, San Enrique, and Pontevedra of Division of Negros Occidental. The study employed a descriptive correlational design. It was used to describe the level of instructional competence, stress-coping styles, and work performance of newly-hired teachers when taken as a whole. This study also used the quantitative descriptive design utilizing the survey method through survey questionnaires. In this study, respondents answered questions through questionnaires. The first instrument was adapted from the study of Lebeco (2022) for the Work Instructional Competence, and a modified questionnaire for Stress Coping Styles was used which had undergone validity and reliability properly validated by experts. The respondents are asked to rate each of these parts using a five-point Likert-type scale. The interpretation of passive emotional thinking as very low suggests that the respondents seek help or find people with whom they can share their sentiments about stress. This is a great way of dealing with problems related to their nature of work as newly hired educators. Strategies can be employed to strengthen the respondents' stress-coping styles. As there is a significant relationship between stress coping styles and work performance, the findings do pertain to healthy stress coping styles, which can positively affect one's work performance. Thus, it is necessary to continuously nurture healthy stress-coping habits.