Tracer Study of Education Graduates Employed in Ozamiz City Division

Calixta T. Colarte
College of Education

Abstract

The study assessed the training, employability and accomplishments of 302 ICC/ ICC-La Salle / La Salle University Education graduates
employed in the Division of Ozamiz City in School Year 2008-2009. The findings revealed that LSU graduates are occupying more than half (53.74%)
of the elementary teaching force in the Division of Ozamiz City. Sixty eight percent of the respondents had teaching as their first job and fifty nine
percent of them were employed in less than a year period from graduation. The respondents expressed satisfaction on the training they received from
their Alma Mater in the overall performance of their career. Further, the respondents find the teaching and competency skills developed in them
highly. Although only 21 have finished their graduate studies, many have started with 9 to more than 45 units but have not completed the
requirements and about 45 have completed the academic requirements but have not written or finished their thesis. Only a very few of the
respondents have received regional and national awards but a big number of them are holding administrative positions with six division supervisors
and the head of the division, the Division Superintendent herself is an alumna of LSU. These findings are important in planning programs to improve
the Teacher Education Program at the same time give direction on what more can be done to prepare our education students to meet the demands of
teaching.

1. Introduction

The primary goal of teacher education programs is to produce good teachers who are qualified to teach in the elementary and secondary
schools. Feiman-Nemser, 2003 in Casey and Childs (2007) noted that students enrolled in a teacher education program can acquire subject matter
knowledge, study the learning process, and grasp the rudiments of approaches to planning, instruction and assessment. Graduates in teacher
education program are expected to have acquired teaching and competency skills during their pre-service training to be better prepared for the
teaching profession. These skills include: lesson planning, preparation of instructional materials, use of a variety of methods, good communication
skills, skills in the use of information technology, problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, human relations skills and research skills.

There is therefore a need to make a follow-up study of the education graduates not only to locate them but more importantly to find out how
adequate is the training provided by Immaculate Conception College now La Salle University in the overall performance of their career life, the extent
by which the teaching and competency skills were developed, the employment status of the graduates as well as their achievements in the field.
Hopefully the results will be used to document outcomes related to becoming a center of development in teacher education, to address the needs of
the graduates to be able to meet the demands of teaching, to continually improve program quality, and to serve as baseline data for planning
activities.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to assess the training, employability and accomplishments of ICC/ ICC-La Salle / La Salle University Education graduates
employed in the Division of Ozamiz City. More specifically it seeks to answer the following questions:

 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of :

o 1 .1 area of specialization

o 1. 2 years of teaching experience

o 1. 3 first job after graduation / length of time it took them to get it

o 1. 4 position titles heldd

o 1. 5 graduate studies pursued

o 1. 6 awards received

 2. To what extent did ICC/ ICC-La Salle / La Salle University develop in the respondents the following teaching and competency skills:
o 2.1 Lesson Planning
 o 2..2 Preparation of Instructional Materials

o 2..3 Use of Variety of Methods

o 2..4 Communication Skills

o 2.5 Information Technology Skillsd

o 2.6 Problem-solving Skillsd

o 2.7 Critical Thinking Skills

o 2.8 Human Relations Skills

o 2.9 Research Skills

 3. How do the respondents rate the training they received from ICC/ ICC-La Salle / La Salle University in the overall performance of their
career life?
  4. What programs may be proposed to help our education graduates meet the demands of teaching?

Methodology

The respondents of the study were the 302 graduates from La Salle University. They comprise 53.74 percent of the total teaching force of 562
teachers who are actively teaching in the elementary level of the four districts of Ozamiz City Division in School Year 2008- 2009. Of the total
respondents, 278 or 92.05 percent are female and 24 or 7.95 percent are male. Majority, 251 or 83.11 percent are married and 51 or 16.89 percent
are single.

The descriptive method of research was used to uncover the profile of the graduates as to their area of specialization, years of teaching
experience, first job after graduation and the length of time it took them to get their first job, position titles held, graduate studies pursued and
awards received. Likewise, the study tried to determine the extent by which LSU developed the teaching and competency skills of the graduates and
the respondents' ratings on the usefulness of the trainings received in the overall performance of their career life.

Mean, frequency and percentage distribution was used to come up with the profile of the respondents. Weighted mean was used to determine
the extent by which the teaching and competency skills of the graduates were developed and the ratings they gave on the trainings received in the
overall performance of their career life using a five point scale. To determine the extent by which the teaching and competency skills of the graduates
were developed, the following range and interpretation are used:

Range Interpretation
4.21 – 5.00 Very Highly Developed
3.41 – 4.20 Highly Developed
2.61 – 3.40 Moderately Developed
1.61 – 2.60 Fairly Developed
1.00 – 1.80 Poorly Developed

To determine the usefulness of the trainings received in the overall performance of their career life, the following equivalents are used:

Range Interpretation
4.21 – 5.00 Extremely Useful
3.41 – 4.20 Very useful
2.61 – 3.40 Useful
1.61 – 2.60 Somewhat Useful
1.00 – 1.80 Not Useful

Results and Discussion

Area of Specialization

The academic preparations of the respondents include the bachelor's degree earned and their major or area of specialization. Since the focus of
the study are the elementary teachers of Ozamiz City Division, almost all, 300 ( 99.34% ) are Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEED) graduates
except for 2 ( .66% ) who are Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor in Secondary Education with units in Elementary Education. The major or area of
specialization of the respondents is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Respondents' Major Area of Specialization

District
2. Major District 1 District 2 District 4 Total Percent
3

English 23 15 13 11 62 20.53

Filipino 19 23 14 20 76 25.17

Math 13 9 9 5 36 11.92

Science 2 0 2 2 6 1.99

Social Studies 11 9 5 4 29 9.60

MAPE/PEHM 3 3 6 2 14 4.63

HELE/THE 9 12 10 9 40 13.25

Library
0 0 1 0 1 0.33
Science

General 14 18 2 4 38 12.58

94 89 62 57 302 100

The data revealed that majority (45.70%) are Filipino and English majors, a few (11.92%) are Mathematics majors and only very few (6.62%)
are Science and MAPE majors. This means that Science which is one of the core subjects is handled by teachers who are not majors in these learning
areas. Monk, (1994 in Casey and Childs (2007) found out that the high school students of teachers who had taken more university courses in
mathematics but were not mathematics majors performed better on tests of mathematics than students whose teachers had less mathematics
content knowledge. Similarly, students had higher science achievement if their teachers had taken more science courses.

The practice of allowing teachers to teach outside of their area of specialization is a reality in the public schools which is being addressed by
CHED and DepEd through the revision of the Teacher Education curriculum effective SY 2005-2006. The BEED program is now a generalist with
additional content courses in English, Science and Mathematics. This is so because the BEED graduates although have their area of specialization are
made to teach all the subjects in the elementary levels especially in self-contained classes. Only teachers in the higher grades and in big schools may
be able to teach their area of specialization when there is departmentalization.
 Table 1 further presents the teaching force in the four districts of the Division of Ozamiz. Coming from La Salle University. District 1 which
comprises the Ozamiz City Central School, Ozamiz City Central School –SPED Center, Baybay Elementary School, Misamis Annex Elementary School
and San Roque Primary School which are all found in the heart of the city has the most number of LSU graduates. The total LSU graduates in the
elementary level of Ozamiz City Division is 53.74% while other schools which contribute to the 46.26 % of the teaching force are Misamis University,
State Colleges and Universities and teachers from other private schools in the country.

Years of Teaching Experience

The years of teaching experience of the graduates refer to the number of years they have been engaged in teaching including their substitution
years, teaching in the private schools and teaching related work like tutorial and being a catechist. The years of teaching experience of the
respondents are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Years of Teaching Experience of the Respondents

District
Years in Service District 1 District 2 District 4 Total Percent
3

less than a year 1 0 2 16 19 6.29

1-5 years 18 17 13 13 16 20.2

6-10 years 22 17 9 9 57 18.87

11-15 years 19 20 15 9 63 20.86

16-20 year 14 21 11 6 52 17.22

21 years and
20 14 12 4 50 16.56
above

Total 94 89 62 57 302 100

Looking at the years of teaching experience of the respondents, we can say that a big number 80 ( 26.49 %) of these teachers coming from
LSU are young and have been in the service for five years and below, 50 (16.56%) have been in the service for more than twenty years while the
majority, 172 ( 56.95%) have been teaching for more five to twenty years. This means that LSU is the main provider of elementary teachers in
Ozamiz City Division especially in district 1 which comprise the Ozamiz City Central School, Ozamiz City Central School –SPED Center, Baybay
Elementary School, Misamis Annex Elementary School and San Roque Primary School which are all found in the heart of the city. Other schools which
contribute to the 46.26 % of the teaching force are Misamis University, State Colleges and Universities and teachers from other private schools.

First Job after Graduation and the Length of Time it Took Them to Get it.
 Employability of the graduates is determined by the alignment of the degree and type of job they take after graduation and the length of time
it took them to land on their first job. Table 3a presents the type of job the respondents first had while Table 3b presents the length of time it took the
respondents to get their first job after graduation.

District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 Total Percent

Teaching 64 59 43 38 204 67.55

Non-Teaching 18 25 9 10 62 20.53

cashier/teller 1 3 1 1 6

Med-Rep 3 4 0 1 8

Secretary 1 2 1 1 5

Sales
5 8 2 3 18
Rep/Lady

Clerk 1 3 2 2 8

Promodizer 3 2 1 1 7

Nutritionist 2 0 1 0 3

Own Business 2 3 2 1 8

Not Indicated 12 5 10 9 36 11.92

Total 94 89 62 57 302 100

The data reflect that more than two-thirds or 67.55 percent of the respondents had teaching as their first job and only 20.53 percent had non-
teaching jobs. Based on my experiences as supervisor of BEED student teachers then Dean, College of Education, I usually get request of teachers
from private schools not only in Ozamiz City but also in the nearby provinces of Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Sur. In
addition, La Salle University is alkso the supplier of Teachers for the Archdiocesan Commission on Education (ACE) schools and Lasallian School
Supervision Office (LASSO). This is so because private schools accept fresh graduates or non-board passers who passed the written examination,
interview and teaching demonstration to replace their teachers who left for greener pasture. A few of the graduates confirmed that their first job was
teaching related since they did tutorial services or served as catechist with minimal fee. Of the non-teaching job, being a sales lady or representative
has the highest number because Ozamiz City has enough shopping malls which can accommodate a few of our fresh education graduates.

Table 3b presents the length of time it took the respondents to land on their first job after graduation.

Table 3b Length of Time to Get their First Job after Graduation

 District
District 1 District 2 District 3 Total Percent
4

a. Less than a month 18 15 20 11 64 21.19

b. 1- 6 months 26 18 21 12 77 25.50

c. 7-11 months 13 12 5 8 38 12.58

d. 1 year to less than 2 years 16 23 8 15 62 20.53

e. 2 years to less than 3 years 12 12 6 8 38 12.58

f. 3 years to less than 4 years 9 9 2 3 23 7.62

Total 94 89 62 57 302 100

Table 3b shows that more than one-half, 179 ( 59.27%) were employed in less than a year period from graduation. This means that the
employability of our education graduates is high and that our tenacity education graduates have apply for a job after graduation. In the unstructured
interview with some of the respondents and their administrators, they mentioned that the confidence and competence shown by the graduates during
their teaching demonstrations and interview paved the way towards their employment. The respondents' commitment to service and the enjoyment in
their work with children made them stick to their teaching profession.

In addition, the graduates are very eager to get a job after graduation so that they can help their family or support the schooling of another
member in the family. It can be noted that a number of these graduates were able to finish their degree through hard work as a working scholar of
the university or by some families.

Position Titles Held by the Respondents

In the Department of Education (DepEd), a newly hired teacher is usually given the rank of Teacher 1. With units or completion in graduate
studies they can be promoted to administrative position or to a master teacher rank to try new and effective strategies to improve the performance of
the learners and to share this to fellow educators. Table 4 presents the position titles held by the respondents in the Department of Education, Ozamiz
City Division.

Table 4 Position Titles Held by the Respondents

District District
Position Titles District 2 District 3 Tot al Perce nt
1 4

1. Teaching

Teacher 1 43 0 34 34 111 36.76

Teacher 2 18 17 8 3 46 15.23

Teacher 3 20 17 12 8 57 18.88

Master Teacher 1 6 4 3 3 16 5.3

Master Teacher 2 3 2 0 1 6 1.99

Master Teacher 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 90 40 57 49 236 78.15

2. Administrative

Elem. School Head Teacher 1 0 20 1 1 22 7.28

Elem. School Head Teacher 2 0 20 1 1 22 7.28

Elem. School Head Teacher 3 0 5 1 4 10 3.31

Elem. School Principal 1 2 3 0 3 8 2.65

Elem. School Principal 2 1 0 2 0 3 0.99

Elem. School Principal 3 1 0 0 0 1 0.33

Total 4 49 5 8 66 21.85

Grand Total 94 89 62 57 302 100

As shown in Table 4 majority 214 (70.86%) are in the Teacher 1 to 3 levels, with salary range from P 14,000.00 - 16,000.00, 22 ( 7. 28%) are
Master Teachers 1 or 2 with salary range from P 19,00.00 - P 20,00.00 and a big number , 66 (21.85%) are holding administrative position as head
teacher or principal in the elementary level of the Division of Ozamiz with salary range from P 17,000.00 - P 24,000.00. The data also reveal that our
graduates have shown administrative or leadership skills to have been given the responsibility as Master Teacher or Demonstration Teacher and Head
Teacher to District Supervisor. In addition, it is worthy to note that the Ozamiz City Division has six supervisors for Elementary Mathematics,
Elementary English, Social Studies, Physical Education, Health and Music, Secondary Science, Secondary English coming from LSU and most of all the
Division Superintendent of Schools in the division is an alumna and once a critic teacher in the Laboratory School of Immaculate Conception College
now La Salle University.

Graduate Studies Pursued by the Respondents

Education is an on-going process. Change is the only permanent thing in education and thus the need for further studies is a must in order to
keep track with the changing needs of the time. A further study is a gateway for raising the rank or promotions in the service. The graduate studies
pursued by the respondents are presented in Table 5.
 Table 5 Graduate Studies Pursued by the Respondents

Post Grad/CAR/ District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 Total Percent

units earned

None 15 23 13 11 62 20.53

9 units and below 12 8 3 8 31 10.26

10-18 units 6 4 8 7 25 8.28

19-27 units 10 9 2 2 23 7.62

28-36 units 8 6 11 6 31 10.26

37 - 45 units 17 14 8 11 50 16.56

more than 45 units 6 4 0 4 14 4.64

CAR 11 16 13 5 45 14.9

MAEd/MT 2 3 2 1 8 2.65

MA in Educ 7 2 2 2 13 4.3

Total 94 89 62 57 302 100

The data discloses that a big number, 174 (57.62%) have gained 9 to more than 45 units in their graduate studies but have not completed
with the academic requirements. This is a big challenge to the Graduate School of Education and Continuing Program to assist these graduates to
finish their graduate degrees including the 45 (14.90%) who have completed their academic requirements but have not written or defended their
thesis. In the unstructured interview with the respondents, they give financial reason, attending to their kids or giving priority to help other members
of the family to be educated as hindrance in finishing their graduate studies. Others mentioned their difficulty in writing their thesis or their inability to
do scientific research. This shows the lack of skill in doing research. A seminar on research writing can be planned for this group of graduates. In
addition, research skill must be strongly integrated in the undergraduate program for our graduates to be used to doing it.

Since there are still a number of graduates, 62 (20.53%) who have not started their graduate studies they should be contacted and
encouraged to start their graduate studies in our school. It is alarming to find out that about two-thirds of the graduates pursued their graduate at
Medina College or Misamis University Graduate School instead of enrolling in our own Graduate Programs. Based on my unstructured interview, I
found out that they find it convenient and economical to enroll in these schools because the fees are affordable and there is lack of pressure on their
part. Raising the tuition discounts of alumni may be a big help to address the problem.

Awards Received and Award-Giving Body

 The accomplishments of the graduates are a plus factor of the alma mater where they come from. It is important therefore that the awards
received by our alumni are noted for documentation purposes. The awards received by the respondents are presented in Table 6.

Table 6 Awards Received by the Respondents

Awards District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 Total Percent

Regiona
17 10 10 13 50 72.46
l

Nationa 7 3 5 4 19 27.54

Total 24 13 15 17 69 100

The Table shows that of the 302 respondents only 50(16.56%) have received regional awards and 19 (6.29%) for national awards. Most of the
regional and national awardees, 24 (34.78%) are teachers of district 1. These awards were related to their being coaches and trainers of various
regional winners in academic, cultural and sports competition like; 1st place in various categories in Journalism, Science Olympics, Science Quiz Bee,
Spelling Bee, Science-Art competition, School Paper contests, Flower arrangement and 1st place in Archery. In addition, the national awards were
related to their being coaches/trainers of winners in academic, cultural and sports competition in the national level. This further reveal that our
graduates have the potentials of being award-winning coaches, only other graduates need to be encouraged and pushed to show off their potentials
and they must be given opportunities/chances to coach or train their students for regional, national or even international awards.

Extent in Developing Teaching and Competency Skills

The respondents were made to rate the extent by which their teaching and competency skills in lesson planning, preparation of instructional
materials, use of variety of methods, communication skills, information technology skills, problem – solving skills, critical thinking skills, human
relation skills and research skills were developed during their pre-service training in the university. Results are presented in Table 7.

Table 7 Extent in developing teaching and competency skills

Mean Interpretation

1.Lesson Planning 4.36 Very Highly Developed

2.Human Relation Skills 4.29 Very Highly Developed

3..Prep of Instructional
4.28 Very Highly Developed
Materials

4.Communication Skills 4.25 Very Highly Developed

5.Use of Variety of .Methods 4.24

6.Critical Thinking Skills 4.13 Highly Developed

7.Prob-Solving Skills 4.11 Highly Developed

8.Research Skills 3.98 Highly Developed

9.Information Technology Skills 3.90 Highly Developed

Grand Mean 4.17 Highly Developed

The data shows that the respondents rated the development of teaching and competency skills from highly to very highly develop. The grand
mean of 4.17 means highly developed teaching and competency skills of the respondents. Of the teaching and competency skills with very highly
developed rating, lesson planning got the highest weighted mean of (4.36) while research and information technology skills got the lowest mean of
(3.98 and 3.90 ) respectively. The competency in lesson planning can be attributed to the three teaching strategies required in the BEED program
before where students will do actual lesson planning of the subject matter provided specifying the grade levels they are supposed to teach them.
Research which was required before as a required subject in the fourth year level may have helped the respondents but not very much compared to
the other skills. There is a need therefore to integrate research in all English and Professional Education classes of the undergraduate program so that
the graduates will get used to it and will find research a part of their responsibility as future educators who must continue to search for new ways to
improve teaching and learning process. In addition, enough research background will prepare them for research work in the graduate program.

Respondents Ratings on the Trainings Received

The respondents were made to rate the usefulness of the training they received from ICC/ ICC-La Salle / La Salle University in the overall
performance of their career life. The results are presented in Table 8.

Table 8 Respondents Ratings on the Trainings Received

Extremely Useful Useful

School District Very Useful (4) Somewhat Useful (2) Not Useful ( 1) Total Mean Interpretation
( 5) (3)

D3 145 120 9 0 0 27 4 4.42 Extreme ly Useful

D1 225 164 15 6 0 41 0 4.36 Extreme ly Useful

D4 90 136 15 0 0 24 1 4.23 Extreme ly Useful

D2 165 168 27 0 0 37 0 4.16 Very useful

Grand Mean 4.29 Extreme ly Useful

Table 8 reflects the satisfaction of the respondents on the training they received from La Salle University as shown in the grand mean which is
extremely useful. This means that the training they received was very adequate and has helped them in their teaching career. Only respondents from
district 2 rated the training very useful. This suggests the need to continue the trainings that have been given to the education students and to plan
other ways to better prepare them in their tasks.

Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations

Findings

 1. Forty six percent of the respondents are Filipino and English majors, yet they are made to handle all learning areas including Mathematics
and Science.

 2. Eighty percent of the respondents are young and have been in the service for five years and below.

 3. Sixty eight percent of the respondents had teaching as their first job and fifty nine percent of them were employed in less than a year
period from graduation.

 4. Seventy one percent of the respondents are in the Teacher 1 to 3 levels, seven percent are Master Teachers 1 or 2 and a big number, and
twenty percent are holding administrative position as head teacher or principal. Six division supervisors and the Division Superintendent
herself is an alumna of LSU.

 5. Fifty eight percent of the respondents have gained 9 to more than 45 units in their graduate studies but have not completed with the
academic requirements. Fifteen percent have completed their academic requirements but have not written or defended their thesis and
twenty one percent who have not started their graduate studies.

 6. Only seventeen percent of the respondents have received regional awards and six percent for national awards.
  7. The respondents rated very highly the following teaching and competency skills; lesson planning, human relation skills, preparation of
instructional materials, communication skills and use of variety of methods. However, research and information technology skills were only
rated highly.

 8. The respondents find the training they received from La Salle University extremely useful.

Conclusion

The findings reveal that the respondents were satisfied with the Teacher Education Program of La Salle University and affirmed that the
training they received were extremely useful in their field of work. That such training had built their confidence and competence which made them
employable in the field at the same time rise to administrative positions. However, research and information and technology skills have to be further
developed and graduate studies must be pursued by graduates so that they will be updated and continue learning.

Recommendations

 1. The administration and faculty of the College of Education should take the challenge of maintaining a very high degree of graduate
satisfaction while keeping pace with changing professional requirements. It must continue to develop graduates' employability and enhance
the attributes that make them employable.

 2. The graduating students must be advised to continue their professional development and lifelong learning

 3. Graduate School and Continuing Education should be made accessible and affordable for our graduates. Graduates should be guided to be
able to finish their graduate program.

 4. Research work should be required in all English and Professional Education classes.
  5. Seminars on the use of Information and Technology in the classroom should be made available for our graduates during weekends or
summer time.

 6. Graduates must be reached and regularly informed on annual homecoming to be updated on what's going on in the University. At the same
time annual gatherings should be well-planned to encourage the alumni to return.

 7. Continue to develop excellent communication skills in our students.

 8. A similar follow-up study should be conducted by all colleges to locate its graduates, to find out whether the training they received have
helped them in their field of work and to find out what else can be done to prepare our graduates in their respective fields.

References

Catherine E.Casey and Ruth A.Childs (2007). TeacherEducation Program Admission Criteria and What Beginning Teachers Need to Know to be
Successful Teachers. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, issue #67, January 14, 2007.Teacher Education Council.

Experiential Learning Courses Handbook 2007