ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND TEACHING COMPETENCE OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

This study examined the relationship between academic performance and teaching competence among pre-service teachers at Jose Rizal Memorial State University–Siocon Campus. In particular, these were aspects of teaching competency, namely: 1) planning and preparation, 2) classroom management and learning environment, 3) delivery of instruction, 4) assessment for learning, and 5) professionalism and reflective practice. The instrument used to assess teaching competence in this study was fully adopted from the pre-service teacher demonstration teaching evaluation tool developed and used by Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU). Academic performance was measured in terms of their General Weighted Average (GWA). It used a descriptive-correlational design with 67 pre-service teachers. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient with a less than 0.05 significant level. The results showed that pre-service teachers’ academic performance was "good," and they were found to be "outstanding" in all five aspects of teaching competence. Moreover, correlation analysis revealed a significant weak negative relationship between GWA and delivery of instruction (r = −0.328, p = 0.007) and between GWA and overall teaching competence (r = −0.260, p = 0.034). However, the relationships between GWA and the other four aspects were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Thus, the results show that pre-service teachers with strong academic performance were rated higher in the delivery of instruction and overall teaching competence than those with weak academic performance, although weakly. This study suggests that pre-service teachers should be evaluated in both academic performance and practical teaching competence.