Teachers’ Teaching Skills and the Research Proficiency of Grade 12 Students at a Private Catholic School in Davao City

This study investigates the relationship between teachers’ perceived teaching skills and the research proficiency of Grade 12 students at St. Peter’s College of Toril, Inc. Using a quantitative descriptive-correlational design and complete sampling, 94 students were surveyed with a validated instrument. Findings show that students generally rate their teachers’ skills positively (M = 4.13), with teaching methodologies (M = 4.16) and organization (M = 4.15) scoring highest, while subject mastery (M = 4.07) rated slightly lower. Students also exhibit strong research proficiency (M = 3.85), excelling in problem identification (M = 3.90) and research planning (M = 3.87) but struggling with data collection (M = 3.67). Correlation and regression analyses reveal a strong positive relationship between teaching skills and research proficiency (Multiple R = 0.909, R² = 0.827, B = 1.042, p < 0.05), indicating that 82.7% of the variance in research proficiency is linked to teaching quality. These findings highlight the critical role of teacher competencies in research skill development. The study recommends continuous teacher training in instructional strategies for research and targeted student workshops to address research challenges, particularly in data collection, fostering a research-intensive learning environment.