THROUGH THE LENS OF PRACTICE TEACHERS: EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS AND TEACHING PERFORMANCES

Joseph AgbuyaVillarama 1 , Lovely Shayne BeloyDela Cruz 2 and Mary Ann BenavidezOjas 3 . 1. Instructor I, University Science High School, College of Education, Central Luzon State University, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. 2. Senior Student, Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English, College of Education, Central Luzon State University, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. 3. Senior Student, Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English, College of Education, Central Luzon State University, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History


Introduction:-
Practice Teaching creates a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, and apprehension in the practice teachers as they commence their practice teaching (Manion, Keith, Morrison & Cohen, 2003). It is a vital aspect of the teacher education curriculum in teacher education training institutions such the College of Education, Central Luzon State University, Philippines. As defined by Adesina, et al. (1989), Practice Teaching is a teacher education activity which involves the practice teacher putting into practice his acquired theory under the genuine experience of the typical classroom set. Further, according to Ogonor and Badmus (2006), it is an opportunity for student teachers to face the realities of their chosen career in terms of its demands, challenges, and excitements. It can also be periods when practice teachers are aided to put into practice the theories and principles of education which they have learned in the classroom as they teach.
It serves as an opportunity for them to be exposed to the realities of teaching and the problems that they might encounter in the field of Education. It is in Practice Teaching where they will be challenged in knowing themselves better, in understanding the nature of their profession, and in acquiring the basic teaching skills in making a critical analysis of the various problems related to teaching. The experiences that the students will have during the internship will help develop their competencies in teaching. According to Perry (2004), teaching practice is exciting but challenging. It is against this backdrop that this study tries to examine the challenges faced by practice teachers during the practice teaching.
According to Harian (2012) the teaching profession occupies the fourth place in the list of stressful professions (As cited in Jusoh, 2012). Therefore, this profession, especially in the first years, needs more efforts from the teacher to avoid any frustrating experience and to create awareness of school environment. Through this, the researchers wanted to investigate if the stress which causes unhelpful emotions affects the teaching performance of practice teachers. Several factors may affect their teaching performance and the researchers desire to discern if emotional challenges are one of those.
A recent nationwide evaluation study of practice teaching in the Malaysian teacher education program seriously suggests that it is very important and beneficial to identify and examine the challenges that the pre-service teachers face during their practice teaching (IPT et al. 2005). Further, Pomeranntz and Pierce (2004) contributed to this by exposing the challenges experienced by student teachers in the "real world", and to what degree the "courses prepared them for those challenges".
Several studies have been conducted on Practice Teaching. In these studies, a wide variety of aspects has received attention such as problems, stress, burnout, frustrations, adjustment, adaptation, needs, strengths, job satisfaction, attitudes, environmental factors, and support provided (Murphy, 2003).
Indeed, Practice Teaching helps practice teachers to understand the real world of teaching and let them know about problems and difficulties of teaching that they may face in the future. However, the demands and expectations of the practice teaching may be too challenging for some, resulting in a sense of despair and the feeling of discouragement among them.
Despite the enriching experiences during the practice teaching, practice teachers also experience challenges which in a way can hinder their ability to present effectively as a teacher. An understanding of the pracrice teachers' experiences may be able to facilitate the teacher training faculty, schools, and colleges of their awareness of the challenges faced during the school experience which could induce a negative attitude on the part of the practice teachers towards the profession. Practice teachers are affected my external and internal problems that disturb their teaching performance.
According to Goodings (1983) by exposing teachers in training to the realities of their future carriers in a controlled situation, enable them to eliminate a variety of weakness characterized beginning teachers. Not only are they better prepared to teach but possess a high level of confidence in their own abilities. This research mainly focuses about the emotional problems and teaching performance of practice teachers. The researchers hope to analyze the relationship of emotional problems and teaching performance of the practice teachers. This research is highly beneficial to the future practice teachers.
134 Statement Of The Problem:-Primarily, this study is focused to investigate the various emotional problems faced by practice teachers during their Practice Teaching program A.Y. 2016-2017 at the San Jose City National High School, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: How may the socio-demographic profile of the practice teachers be described in terms of age, sex, specialization, address while teaching; their teaching performance in terms of instruction, classroom management, motivation, and ability; and their emotional problems in terms of anxiety, fear, frustration, temper, sadness, mood, and lack of selfconfidence?
Are there significant differences on the socio-demographic profile of practice teachers and their teaching performance; and emotional problems and teaching performance of practice teachers?
Methodology:-This chapter discusses the research design, participants, instruments, data gathering procedures, and data analysis.
Research Design:-This study used quantitative descriptive and correlational design in identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the relationships between emotional problems and teaching performance of practice teachers in San Jose City National High School, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
To address the research question, the quantitative correlation study formulated insightful information about the emotional problems and teaching performance of practice teachers. Descriptive and quantitative correlation study was applied to understand the unexpected occurrences that may appear in the analysis of data. The researchers' questionnaires, which entail quantitative and categorical information allow the analysis of emotional problems related to teaching performance of the practice teachers.
Participants:-Sample procedures of this research study are the practice teachers of San Jose City National High School. All the practice teachers in the said school were included. There was no selection of respondents because this research was done using total sampling. Specifically, total sampling is a type of purposive sampling technique that involves examining the entire population (i.e., the total population) that have a set of characteristics (i.e., specific attributes/traits, experience, knowledge, skill, exposure to an event, etc.).
Included in this study were around 60 practice teachers of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) who were deployed in San Jose City National High School (SJCNHS), San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The purpose of utilizing total sampling constituted the following: to determine the similarities and differences that would expose their state of teaching performance and emotional problems, and total sampling was used to get a more reliable and valid result from the survey.

Instruments:-
In gathering the data, the researchers had formulated a questionnaire for evaluating the Emotional Problems and Teaching Performance of the CLSU practice teachers in SJCNHS. The questionnaire had been designed in three different segments: Part I was designed to determine the Socio-Demographic Profile of the respondents; Part II was formulated to assess the level of anxiety and emotional problems encountered by the SJCNHS practice teachers inside and outside the classroom which cover behavioral, psychological, and emotional aspects and; Part III would evaluate the teaching performance of the respondents in relation to their teaching skills and how these could be applied to planning and preparation, classroom environment, and professional responsibilities.
In the Preliminary part, the first segment comprised the Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents including their personal profile and area of specialization. This was in the form of completion/ fill-up. Second segment includes questions on emotional problems related to behavioral, psychological, and emotional characteristics. Third and final segment represents the domains of the pedagogical competencies such as planning and presenting, classroom environment, and professional responsibilities. Both the second and third segments have utilized the Likert Scale in the form of numerical scale.

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Specifically, a 4-point numerical value was used to illustrate their respective answers in the questionnaire. This was presented in two similar formats: the numerical value with the corresponding descriptive rating will be utilized to measure their level of emotional problem and teaching performance such as: Always (4), Often (3), Seldom (2), and Never (1).
The instrument was tested for reliability and validity. The reported reliability and validity coefficients were 0.82 and 0.31, respectively.

Data Gathering Procedures:-
The survey questionnaire was administered to around 60 CLSU practice teachers of CLSU in San Jose City National High School. A survey instrument with a letter of request was sent to the principal to permit the researchers to conduct the surveys inside the school premises.
After the survey has completed, all data for each set of questions was organized and tabulated through mean, percentage, frequency and standard deviation.

Methods of Data Analysis:-
In this study, the analysis included descriptive statistics in presenting the explanation of the respondents' sociodemographic data, emotional problem, and teaching performance. Descriptive statistics included frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used to illustrate the description of the respondents in terms of demographic data, emotional problems, and teaching performance.
Spearman Rho Correlation was used to illustrate the relationship of emotional problems and teaching performance. Percentage and frequency were used to determine the profile of the students. Weighted mean and standard deviation were used to interpret the responses of the respondents in terms of the emotional problem and teaching performance.
To determine the relationship of practice teachers' emotional problem and teaching performance, this study used Spearman Rho Correlation Coefficients. Table 1 below presents the Socio-Demographic Profile of the practice teachers of SJCNHS which include their age, gender, and field of specialization (major).

Results and Discussion:-
Age:-As shown in Table I, there are 11 (22 %) respondents who are in the age group of 19; 28 (56%) are aged 20; 5 (10 %) are aged 21, only 1 (2%) in the aged of 22; 2 (4%) in the age group of 23 and 3 (6%) is in the age bracket of 24 years old. The data revealed that majority of the respondents is in age bracket of 24 yrs. old.

Gender:-
The finding shows that there are 10 (20.0%) male students and 40 (80.0%) female students. This implies that there are more female students.

Major:-
The data presented that there are 30 (60.0%) respondents in the Academic Subject and 20 (40.0%) respondents in the Non-Academic Subject. This implies that there are more respondents in the Academic Subject.
136 Table I:-Socio-Demographic profile of the Respondents

Description of Respondents' Emotional Problems:-
As reported, the respondents' emotional problems in terms of anxiety, lack of confidence, and sensitivity, table II shows the characteristics of respondents' emotional problem based on their individual perceptions. The data revealed an overall rating mean of x=2.14 (SD = 0.43) which can be described as Seldom.
Based on the table shown, respondents' emotional problems with three (3) areas, the highest level of the practice teachers' emotional problem is when their students obtain low scores x=3.04 (SD = .69) which can be described as Often. Next level is when the students are not paying attention x=2.46 (SD = .78) received a description of Seldom which is close when they give task to their students outside the classroom x=2.38 (SD= .98) which is also Seldom.
Being in the top three (3) level of the respondents' emotional problems, they received a descriptive rating of Seldom. It was followed by their anxiety when they go to class unprepared and if they do not know the lesson, both emotional problem receives x=2.34 (SD=.86) they get a descriptive rating of Seldom. Next is their sensitivity when the students are not listening and they are too noisy x=2.12 (SD=.89) which has a descriptive rating of Seldom.
Moreover, their anxiety when their brilliant students question their instruction x=1.98 (SD=.68) which also has a descriptive rating of Seldom. It is very close to the lack of confidence when they commit errors/mistakes during the discussion. x=1.96 (SD=.60) which has a descriptive rating of Seldom. The practice teachers' emotional problems about being sensitive when they are degraded by the students x=1.86 (SD=.43) got a descriptive rating of Seldom. The practice teachers lose their self-confidence when their students ask questions and they cannot provide answers x =1.66 (SD=.68) was recorded as the lowest emotional problem which can be described as Never.
137  Table III. This illustrates the specific strategies/methods a teacher teaches his/her students. The respondents described how they taught their students while they were in the practice teaching program. The data presented an overall rating mean of x = 3.57 (SD = 0.526) which is equivalent to the descriptive rating of "Always".
Based on the table displayed which are the respondents' teaching performance, occupying three (3) areas, the characteristic possessing the highest rating is the item no. 8, "I motivate students to study better".
This highest level contains a mean of x = 3.76 (SD = 0.550) and described as "Always". Next highest rating is the item no. 9 which is "I am open for corrections about the lesson" having a mean of x = 3.72 (SD = 0.601) and described as "Always". The 3 rd item holding the highest rating are both the items no. 4 and 10, with a mean of x = 3.68 (SD4= 0.614, SD10 = 0.676) with the same descriptive mark as "Always". These 4 highest garnering items in the teaching performance of the respondents received a descriptive rating of "Always".
The teaching performance item no. 7 gathered a total mean of x = 3.6 (SD = 0.663) and considered with the rating of "Always". Another tie in this table are the items no. 3 and 5, having x = 3.58 as its mean (SD3 = 0.635, SD5 = 0.666) both received a rating of "Always". The teaching performance "I am capable of teaching the lesson effectively" got a mean of x = 3.52 (SD = 0.608). Second to the lowest rating is the item no. 2 which do have a mean of x = 3.46 (SD = 0.670) and a descriptive rating of "Always". The lowest and the only item in the teaching performance which possesses a rating of "Often" and a mean of x = 3.16 (SD = 0.758) is the item no. 6, "I have a control over my misbehaving students".  Many researchers argue about why the differences exist, but they agree that men and women are distinct creatures when it comes to emotion. The number of female respondents outnumbered the male. Global study of 55 cultures found that women tend to be more emotional, agreeable, extroverted, and conscientious than men. Women display greater sadness or anxiety than men, while men show an increase in blood pressure and a tendency toward alcohol craving.

PARAMETERS
Therefore, there is a relationship between sex and emotional problem because of the emotional expression of the female who outnumbered the male. Table IV is the relationship between emotional problem and teaching performance of the CLSU practice teachers. Emotional problem and teaching performance found to have a moderate negative correlation.

Presented in the
The result shows that emotional problems and teaching performance are moderately correlated (r=.322, P<.05). This means that the lower the emotional problem the higher the teaching performance of the practice teachers; meaning the emotional problems of the practice teachers have significant effect on their teaching performance. This confirms the research of Akinwumi, Femi Sunday entitled Anxiety and Student-Teacher Performance in Teaching Practice in the Federal Colleges of Education in Southwest Nigeria which reveals that anxiety experienced by practice teachers during internship is a major factor affecting negatively their teaching practices. The summary, conclusion, and recommendations of this study were discussed, and explained in this part.

Summary:-
The Socio-Demographic of the respondents tell that majority of the respondents are in the age of 20 years old which is 56% of the population. It also implies that 80% of the respondents are females and the remaining 20% are males.
The findings also reveal that there is no relationship between age, gender, and specialization to the teaching performance of the practice teachers.
However, the results show that there is a significant relationship between the emotional problem and teaching performance of the practice teachers, which means that the more the emotional problems of the practice teachers the lower the efficiency of their teaching performance.

Conclusion:-
Based on the findings, the practice teachers age ranges from 19 to 24. Majority came from the age bracket of 24 which has 56% of the total population of 50 respondents.
With 50 respondents, 80% are females and the remaining 20% are males. Moreover, 60% of the respondents belong to academic field of specialization (major) which are the English, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Filipino, while 40% of the respondents belong to non-academic field of specialization (major) which are Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH), Technology Livelihood Education (TLE), and Values Education.
The results determined the emotional problems of the practice teachers in terms of anxiety, lack of confidence, and sensitivity. The highest parameter, "I feel sad when my students obtain low scores", is under the category of Sensitivity with the mean of 3.04, while the lowest parameter, "I lose my confidence when my students ask questions and I cannot provide answers", is under the category of Lack of Confidence with the mean of 1.66.
The findings show that the teaching performance of practice teachers are defined in terms of instruction, classroom management, and professionalism. The highest components are under the instruction and professionalism which got the same mean of 3.68. The former, "I associate the subject matter to previous topic and to other related matters" while the latter, "I consider students' strengths and weaknesses". The lowest component is under the classroom management, "I have a control over my misbehaving students" with the mean of 3.16.
As observed from the findings of this study, age, sex, and major field of specialization of practice teachers in SJCNHS has no relationship with their teaching performance.

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The results show that there is a significant relationship between emotional problem and teaching performance of practice teachers in SJCNHS.

Recommendations:-
Little research has been done on the practice teachers' emotional problems and teaching performances within the Philippine context. It is hoped that this study will serve as a preliminary study for further research around the topic.
In view of this, the following issues are possible future research options: 1. For future researchers, explore the experience of practice teaching of a multi-cultural sample of practice teachers. 2. For curriculum experts, examine the effects of the host teacher role, specifically, on the experience of practice teaching. 3. For future practice teachers, emotional regulation is essential in the teaching process and should be given attention to perform and demonstrate effectively in their respective teaching practices.