Graduate Programs and Career Growth of Math Educators: A Tracer Study

In developing countries, graduate programs contribute significantly to social, economic, and innovative progress, aligning closely with SDG 4 and SDG 8 of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. Tracer studies generate valuable data for assessing the contribution of graduate programs to these development goals. In line with these standards, this study aims to determine the contribution and relevance of the Master of Arts in Teaching- Mathematics graduate program offered by a higher education institution (HEI) in the Philippines’ National Capital Region (NCR), to maintain the program’s availability while also enhancing its quality and relevance. Specifically, it determined the graduates’ demographic profile, graduates’ employment characteristics, the program's contribution to their personal and professional growth, and their overall evaluation of the program. Results showed that the majority of the graduates are young adults, male educators, married, and had obtained teaching eligibility, in the public sector. 100% are employed full-time and are regular and permanent employees. Overall, they generally regarded that the program had made a significant contribution to their professional and personal development, verified by an overall mean and standard deviation, ▁ (X)=3.83; Sd=0.40 which can be traced to graduates’ current position, security of tenure ship, and income. Additionally, the program’s overall evaluation by its graduates is strongly relevant to different areas verified by an overall mean and standard deviation, ▁(X)=3.80; Sd=0.40. One of the key recommendations is the provision of an official LMS, offering required courses at flexible times for academic completion and reassessing the average class size for major subjects, and many participants reported being satisfied with the program’s curriculum.