PROFESSIONAL ATTRIBUTES: IMPLICATIONS TO REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF TEACHERS

Abstract

This study focused on the professional attributes and reflective practices of teachers in 11 elementary schools in a Butuan City District. The professional attributes of the teachers included teaching experience, educational qualification, and trainings attended. The reflective practices were categorized into reflections gathered from self-reflection and feedback from colleagues. A descriptive research design was used in the conduct of the study. The data revealed that less than half the number of teachers in the district has pursued post-baccalaureate studies. Many of these teachers have been in the service for more than seven years. However, the majority of them have not been sent to trainings other than a few in-service trainings in the District. The data also disclosed that despite the considerable length of teaching experience, the teachers seldom made use of self-reflections and feedbacks in their teaching from colleagues save for some of them who had been sent to trainings. Professional growth via the graduate studies did not effect a significant difference in the use of reflective practices for effective teaching. These findings clearly indicate that the teachers have not realized for themselves the benefits of reflective practices, both from self-reflection and from feedbacks from colleagues. This could also be due to the fact that the majority of these teachers were not exposed to trainings on reflective practices and other forms of professional development. Such trainings need not only retool the teachers in the different teaching strategies but also on how to make maximum use of reflections as basis for making more sound instructional decisions.