Title: Teaching Challenges, Instructional Practices, and their Relationship to the Mathematics Performance of Grade 9 Students
Authors: Maria Lourdes M. Ca?ete Rosemarie D. Pace?o, PhD
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
Pages: 144-148
Publication Date: 2026/02/28
Abstract:
This study aimed to examine the relationship between teachers' encountered challenges, instructional practices, and the mathematics performance of Grade 9 students in selected public secondary schools in the West District, Division of Butuan City. Specifically, it sought to determine how technical, pedagogical, personal/motivational, and institutional challenges relate to teachers' practices in designing lessons, monitoring and evaluating learners' progress, and giving feedback, as well as how these practices are associated with students' mathematics performance across cognitive, affective, engagement, and behavioral domains. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed. The respondents consisted of 5 Grade 9 Mathematics teachers and 238 Grade 9 students, with a total sample of 243 selected using proportional quota sampling. Data were gathered through researcher-made questionnaires that underwent expert validation and pilot testing. Statistical treatment used was Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation to determine the strength and significance of relationships among variables. Findings revealed a strong and consistent inverse relationship between teachers' challenges and their instructional practices, particularly in monitoring and evaluating learners' progress, which showed near-perfect negative correlations with technical, institutional, and pedagogical challenges. Personal or motivational challenges did not significantly affect monitoring practices, indicating that limitations in capacity rather than willingness hinder effective assessment. Lesson design exhibited a significant negative relationship with students' cognitive skills, suggesting possible pedagogical rigidity, while monitoring and evaluation showed a significant positive relationship with student engagement. Feedback practices, although frequently reported, demonstrated no significant relationship with student performance, pointing to a quality gap in feedback delivery. These results highlight the critical influence of systemic and instructional factors on mathematics learning outcomes.