The Alignment of Professional Development Opportunities and Instructional Practices among Public Kindergarten Teachers

This study examined the alignment between professional development opportunities and instructional practices among public kindergarten teachers at West City Elementary School, Dumaguete City, during school year 2025–2026. Guided by the integrated Gibbs–ERA reflective framework, it employed a descriptive-correlational design and total enumeration of seven kindergarten teachers. Data were collected through an adapted structured questionnaire administered via Google Forms and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. Respondents rated trainings and seminars (reported composite mean = 3.29), coaching and mentoring (3.48), classroom management (3.88), and teaching strategies (3.89) positively. Teachers particularly endorsed collaborative coaching, effective use of classroom time, supportive student–teacher relationships, differentiation, and adjustment of teaching strategies. Professional development opportunities had a very strong positive association with reported instructional practices (Spearman’s ρ = .860, p = .013, n = 7). These self-reported findings suggest that professional learning and instructional practice are closely aligned in the school, although the single-school, small-sample design cannot establish causality or verify changes in pupil outcomes. The study recommends sustained, school-based training, peer coaching, mentoring, instructional observation, and structured reflection to support transfer of professional learning to everyday teaching.