Revisiting the curriculum: Insights from pedagogical competence and academic performance of preservice teachers

Abstract The standard of education a country offers its population is a good indicator of its ability to compete on the global stage. The pedagogical proficiency of the teachers could be used to assess the quality of education. On this premise, this descriptive correlational study explored the relationship between academic achievement and the pedagogical competence of 65 randomly selected preservice teachers. A standardized rating scale was used to gather pertinent data. This study concluded that preservice teachers had exceptional pedagogical competence as rated by their cooperating teachers and professors, irrespective of their gender, discipline, or cooperating school of deployment. Apart from teachers’ personalities and classroom management, all other dimensions of pedagogical competence exhibited significantly positive associations among them. Additionally, the profile characteristics of preservice teachers are not strongly linked with their pedagogical competence. On the other hand, the preservice teachers had extremely excellent academic performance, which varies greatly with specialization and cooperating schools. The preservice teachers’ academic performances did not considerably differ and are not influenced by gender. However, there was a markedly unfavorable link between the preservice teachers’ academic performance and their specialization and cooperating schools. Finally, there was a marginally significant association between the preservice teachers’ academic achievement and their pedagogical competence. In order to further strengthen their pedagogical competence in accordance with ASEAN recommendations for K–12 education, preservice teachers may be required to take additional electives in each specialization.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Discover the critical link between teacher training and the quality of education in our research article, "Revisiting the Curriculum: Insights from Pedagogical Competence and Academic Performance of Preservice Teachers."As parents, students, and communities invest in education, our findings offer vital insights.
We examined the competence of preservice teachers during their training and how it relates to their academic performance.This research provides valuable information for concerned parents, educators, and policymakers alike.
By shedding light on the strengths and weaknesses of teacher education programs, our article sparks essential discussions about the future of education.It impacts the quality of education for all students, making it relevant to everyone.

Introduction
Investing in high-quality education is the key to improving a nation's economy and standard of living.Its significance was recognized by the United Nations, which incorporated it into its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The SDGs 17 global goals serve as a guide for futureproofing peaceful balance between humans and the natural world and all member countries have adopted these goals.With the provision of equitable and inclusive high-quality education, the fourth SDG aims to enhance opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone.As a result, one way to support the 2030 Agenda, which is implemented in large part by higher education institutions, is to foster sustainable capabilities at the university level (HEIs) (Afalla & Fabelico, 2020;Albareda-Tiana et al., 2018;Sawey-Ognayon & Afalla, 2022).
In the Philippines, providing affordable, top-notch education is mandated by law.This is in accordance with Article XIV Section 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which articulates that "the State shall establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education.'This is underscored in the Batas Pambansa 232 (Education Act of 1982) and Republic Act (RA) 7722 (Higher Education Act of 1994), which assert that 'the State shall protect, foster, and promote the right of all citizens to affordable quality education at all levels."One of the goals of Education for All (EFA) is the fulfillment of major streamlining in formal development, one that has ensued in the need for qualified teachers (Gumilet et al., 2021;Sáez-López et al., 2020).Thus, all higher education institutions (HEIs) were directed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to expand the quality of Filipino education by offering excellent experiences to aspiring teachers.Additionally, CHED has given all Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) permission to improve their educational systems by setting high standards for determining the purpose, guidelines, and organizational structures of their courses and by giving preservice teachers experiences that are abundantly noticeable, objective-focused, and context-dependent (CMO #30, s. 2004).
The major component of the New Teacher Education Curriculum (NTEC) is the Experiential Learning Courses (ELCs) which are ready-made initiatives that emphasize the significance of grasping the complexity of education.They give preservice teachers accessibility to the workplace so they can put their newly gained competencies into action (DepEd Order #3, s. 2007).The National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) of the Department of Education (DepEd) is a high standard that applies to all areas of the ELCs' operations.These include preparation, assessment, and reporting; support networks; self-improvement and professional development; the educational environment; learners' characteristics; and social respect for learning.Setting up standards for successful teaching is a move in the right direction to advance the teaching profession (Biong, 2013;Caceres, 2015).
Since teacher quality is linked tightly to all dimensions of student learning, the quality of training programs for teachers is essential.There is a greater realization that a well-trained, considerate, and competent teacher can impact the educational foundation of a learner.Towering over the foundation for pre-service teachers is balancing numerous duties, including teaching, evaluation, and maintaining various levels of accountability for all children (Berry, 2010;Cooper et al., 2008).Although studies have shown a link between high-quality teacher preparation programs and student achievement, several areas, like working with families, teaching social skills, and professional teamwork, are not fully covered.When analyzing competencies concerning the instructional behaviors required for teachers to function effectively, these parts of teacher responsibilities assume even greater significance (Brownell et al., 2005;Greenwood & Abbott, 2001;Pavri, 2004).The presentation and evaluation of knowledge, the provision of examples of differentiated instruction, the promotion of appropriate individual adaption techniques, and the provision of practice opportunities are all requirements for teacher preparation programs (Shade & Steward, 2001;Peterson-Ahmad et al., 2018).
Student teaching is the ultimate goal of all teacher preparation programs.It involves fully integrating the preservice teacher into what it means to be a teacher in practice.A preservice teacher experiences the principles of teaching during the exposure stage in a steady preparation phase, during real teaching, and during the appraisal of learning.A cooperating teacher serves as a preservice teacher's mentor across the full teaching-learning process.In this way, the preservice teacher puts into effect the subject-specific and fundamental lessons, teaching methods, and even the pedagogical content knowledge experience earned through rigorous training prior to student teaching (Afalla et al., 2019;Brandt et al., 2021;Darling-Hammond, 2017).
As they become more entrenched in student teaching, preservice teachers go through a range of emotions, including excitement, worry, and uncertainty (Alegado, 2018).It has been clearly explained that teacher preparation is a work in education that necessitates a preservice teacher putting his ideas into action based on practical experience in a regular classroom setting (Calapardo et al., 2016).Further, this gives potential teachers an opportunity to confront the obligations, difficulties, and motives connected with their chosen field of study.They may periodically be challenged to put the educational values and ideas they learned in school into action when teaching.It offers a chance for them to learn about the realities of teaching and the difficulties they can encounter in the teaching profession.At this stage, they will be urged to develop deeper self-awareness, understand the purpose of their profession, and master the fundamental teaching techniques required to critically analyze the numerous topics pertinent to teaching.This highlighted the exhilarating and difficult nature of good teaching (Barnes et al., 2018;Salcedo, 2018;Ulla, 2016).
In essence, student teaching helps preservice teachers understand how the world works and helps them become aware of the challenges and constraints they will face in the classroom.The responsibilities and standards of teacher training, however, may be too onerous for certain people, leaving them feeling discouraged and denigrated.Preservice teachers frequently face difficulties that may, in some way, restrict their capacity to effectively portray themselves as teachers due to student teaching's great novelty.In order to better comprehend the difficulties preservice teachers face in their academic endeavors, which may also lead them to have a contemptuous attitude toward the teaching profession, educators, institutions, and organizations should take into account their points of view (Greathouse et al., 2019;Skinner & Abbott, 2013).

Conceptual framework
It has emerged as a significant concern across many nations to produce skilled, competent, and passionate teachers who are outfitted with all the essential content and pedagogical competence.With this, student teaching is frequently seen as a fundamental element in teacher education programs.When commencing their teaching practice in various schools with actual learners, preservice teachers encounter a variety of issues.Consequently, the process of evaluating and improving teacher preparation programs should be improved by being cognizant of the preservice teachers' pedagogical competence (Abdullah et al., 2015;Ismail & Jarrah, 2019).
One of the cornerstones of the quality of education is teachers' pedagogical competence, which is developed through personal and professional growth processes during both coursework and professional opportunities.Of the most potent signs that education needs to alter in today's culture is the dilemma of the pervasive teachers' knowledge inflation.Adjustments at school must originate with the encouragement of the teachers, who actively pursue self-education themselves and set as inspiring role models for their learners.Without a connection between ongoing personal, societal, and career development and knowledge, commitment, and competence, no teacher will be able to succeed in the dynamic environment of the future (Greathouse et al., 2019;Mohamed et al., 2016).A teacher's pedagogical competence is understood to be a combination of expertise, ideals, and dispositions as well as a capability that guarantees the ability to respond in real-world circumstances.When viewed in this context, the concept of competence displays pedagogical and procedural elements that draw on a fundamentally straightforward structure such as understanding, capacities, training, perspectives, and beliefs.The characterization of learning as well as the conceptual and practical usefulness to make it happen are made possible by the framework of competence.The ability of an individual to adapt to a constantly changing environment as well as to alter the future via the use of conscientious awareness, skill, and efficient self-realization is what is meant by competence as a driving aspect of social advancement and stability (Kamerilova et al., 2018;Samusevıča & Strıguna, 2017).
Aspiring teachers must have sustainable pedagogical competence since their impact expands far beyond school and thus can assist in establishing a more stable society.Preservice teachers must not only be informed and persuasive when delivering ideas, but their actions must also be commensurate with what is presented in the classroom (Garcia et al., 2017).
Although CHED and DepEd concurred that the achievement of high-quality education in the Philippines depends on good preservice teacher preparation, their cooperation was formalized in a Joint Memorandum Order where they set precise guidelines for the placement of preservice teachers.The regulations encompassed preservice teachers' requirements, cooperating teachers' classification, their rights and obligations, and the duties of school division superintendents and teacher education institutions with regard to preservice teachers' teaching practices (DO #39, s. 2005).Given that the university is now on its path to sustainability, the College of Teacher Education (CTE) at Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU) needs to evaluate its functional processes in terms of the Student Internship Program (SIP) in order to maximize its programs.

Objectives of the study
This study was conducted to investigate the connection between the pedagogical competence and academic performance of preservice teachers.
Specifically, this paper sought to: 1. describe the level of pedagogical competence of preservice teachers.
2. describe the level of academic performance of preservice teachers.
3. determine the relationship between and among the dimensions of pedagogical competence.

determine the relationship between the preservice teachers' level of academic performance
and their profile variables 5. determine the relationship between the preservice teachers' pedagogical competence and their academic performance.

Methodology
This investigation utilized the descriptive correlation design.In particular, while the descriptive research method described the pedagogical competence and academic performance of preservice teachers, the correlation technique was used to ascertain the link between the variables.
Individuals who choose to teach at the secondary level are catered to by the Bachelor of Secondary Education.This curricular program routinely generates around 100 graduates a year with an average enrollment of 325 students per semester.Hence, 65 preservice teachers were randomly selected using Slovin formula with a 5% margin of error.The fishbowl technique was performed to ensure that all preservice teachers have an equal chance to be chosen as survey respondents.
The research instrument used was the Standard Operating Instruction (SOI) Quality Form for rating the pedagogical competence of the preservice teachers in terms of the teacher's personality, lesson planning, content, teaching methods, classroom management, and questioning skills.The said instrument was used by the cooperating teachers (critic teacher, department head, and school head of the cooperating school) and university professors (supervising instructors, program chair, and college dean).To evaluate the academic performance of the samples, the general point average (GPA) of the preservice teachers was utilized as secondary data.The authors strictly followed the research ethics and protocols by securing approvals, consents, and permits to conduct from the authorities of the Department of Education and the University.
To analyze the results of this study, the following statistical tools were employed: frequency, mean, t-test, F-test, and correlation procedures.To determine the degree of relationship between the academic performance and the pedagogical competence of the preservice teachers, the rating scale was used: ±1.0 (perfect); ± .70-.99 (strong/high); ± .40-.69 (moderate); ± .10-.39 (slight/low); 0 (no correlation) (Paguio et al., 2012).All statistical tests were set at a .05level of significance.

Level of pedagogical competence of the preservice teachers
Table 1 presents the level of pedagogical competence of the preservice teachers along with the different dimensions as evaluated by their cooperating teachers and university professors.
Table 1 disclosed that, generally, the preservice teachers had outstanding pedagogical competence as evaluated by their cooperating teachers and professors.Moreover, the preservice teachers had an outstanding level of pedagogical competence along with the teacher's personality, lesson planning, content, teaching methods, and classroom management.Furthermore, these preservice teachers had very satisfactory questioning skills.These findings support Vecaldo et al. (2017) conclusion that preservice teachers are highly competent.The findings suggest that the preservice

Level of academic performance of the preservice teachers
The level of pre-service teachers' academic performance is displayed in Table 2.
The findings demonstrated that the preservice teachers' academic performance is quite excellent.The findings suggest that these aspiring teachers were able to establish effective study techniques in order to prepare for the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), as well as for their college requirements.The college's meticulous adherence to the university's admission and retention regulations as well as the demands of the policies, standards, and guidelines for teacher education programs may be significant for the preservice teachers' highly satisfactory academic performance.

Relationships between and among the dimension of pedagogical competence
The relationship between and among the dimensions of pedagogical competence of preservice teachers is reflected in Table 3.
Results indicate that classroom management was not significantly correlated with teacher's personality and questioning skills.However, all other dimensions such as teacher's personality, lesson planning, content, teaching method and questioning skills manifested significant interconnections between and among them.The findings also show that the preservice teachers' pedagogical competence is interdependent, i.e., in order for a teacher to have outstanding pedagogical competence, he or she must also have outstanding pedagogical competence in other areas, such as teacher personality, lesson planning, content, teaching method, and questioning abilities.Results suggest that the dimensions of pedagogical competence are interrelated with the other dimensions.That is to say, how the pre-service teacher applies his pedagogical content knowledge may be influenced by his content and technology knowledge.Thus, teaching, and pedagogical skills, as well as integrated personal and professional experiences, teaching methods, curriculum, and knowledge about oneself; and teaching and pedagogical skills are all components of pedagogical competence (Mirzagitova & Akhmetov, 2015).
Turner-Bisset ( 2001) concluded that a teacher's proficiency in the content area includes an understanding of the students, instructional methods, curriculum, classroom environment, general pedagogical content, pedagogical practices to the subject matter, and personality.Likewise, Liakopoulou (2011) explained that a teacher's pedagogical competence entails the acquisition of numerous credentials in terms of breadth and depth.A teacher's competence can be divided into four types based on magnitude: personality features, instructional and pedagogical skills, a specific body of information, dispositions, and perspectives.Moreover, Sahana and Vijila (2015) expressed that to be a teacher is to possess all aspects of pedagogical competence.Content knowledge, learner knowledge, context knowledge, subject knowledge, interpersonal skills, teaching skills, technical skills, class management skills, and communication skills are all examples of pedagogical competence.
According to recent studies on teacher education, practice materials and having teachers concentrate on particular ideas while using those resources might be particularly effective learning methods.Thus, it is realized that pre-service teachers require the aforementioned to develop the universal applicability and complexity of knowledge necessary for implementing such precepts: a) Application practice across contexts and time; b) Genuine, fixated, frequent, competent, and insightful comments about their training; and c) Enough practice of their career progression so that their expertise and abilities are adequate to convey to a different context.To modify their practice in a well-grounded way, innovate, and improvise to suit the various classroom circumstances they later experience, aspiring teachers must acquire the fine-grained material of practice with practical theories (Darling-Hammond, 2014;Epanchin & Colucci, 2002).

Relationship between the academic performance and the profile variables of the preservice teachers
Table 4 presents the relationship between academic performance and the profile variables of preservice teachers.
Results reveal that there is no discernible significant relationship between gender and the academic standing of preservice teachers.However, there was a substantial negative association between the preservice teachers' academic performance and their specialization.This result indicates that there is a strong correlation between academic success and area of specialization.This shows that students' academic performance will be higher when there are fewer preservice teachers in each specialization and poorer when there are more preservice teachers in each specialization.
Additionally, there was a substantial negative association between the preservice teachers' academic performance and their cooperating schools of deployment.Similarly, students' academic performance increases with fewer preservice teachers deployed in each cooperating school and decreases with more preservice teachers deployed in each cooperating school.Pagaduan (2009) emphasized the strong correlation between academic achievement and off-campus teaching proficiency.This suggests that the learning environment in which preservice teachers are engaged may have an impact on their academic achievement.The preservice teachers' academic performance as they get ready to become teachers may be impacted by the culture they picked up from their cooperating school Results further reveal that in order to enhance the preservice students' academic performance, there should be a controllable number of students in each specialization.Additionally, it is important to consider how many preservice teachers are currently working in cooperating schools.According to Nye et al. (2000), all types of students in all types of schools seem to benefit from small class sizes.Group teaching should be situated in the social and cultural context of a school for a prolonged period of time because collaborative resonance offers students rich chances to learn how to teach and social competence is the primary predictor of teacher performance (Guise et al., 2017;Taniredja & Abduh, 2016).Additionally, it is important to consider the preservice teachers' group size in order to foster mutual engagement and effective partnership between cooperating teachers and preservice teachers as well as between student teacher supervisors and preservice teachers.In this approach, social interactions and post-conference counseling and mentorship are in line with symbolic interactionism (Supkhonovna, 2021).By putting students in groups of three or four, Stamovlasis et al. (2006) noted that cooperative learning has some characteristics that could be used to describe it as a nonlinear dynamical process.Members of such systems interact discontinuously in moments by transmitting expressions of some sort of relevant data, which is why cooperative learning can be described as such.As a result, it is mentioned that there be no more than four preservice teachers engaged in each specialization course and no more than four preservice teachers assigned to cooperating schools.

Relationship between pedagogical competence and academic performance
As shown in Table 5, the findings demonstrated a marginally significant positive association between preservice teachers' pedagogical competence and their academic achievement.
The findings suggest that a significant relationship is manifested between preservice teachers' pedagogical competence and their academic achievement.It follows that if a preservice teacher performs exceptionally well academically, they will also demonstrate exceptional pedagogical skills.Cebrián and Junyent (2015) clarified that while pedagogical strategies assist in the development of competencies, the strategies adopted must be interwoven.They can't merely be used for information dissemination.Further, in order to get the learners' active engagement, they must involve them in practical exercises (Vecaldo et al., 2017).Furthermore, teachers' pedagogical competence parameters such as content knowledge, school culture, and students' educational achievement have a substantial link (Olorunsola, 2019).

Conclusions
Based from the above findings, the following conclusions were drawn: 1.In the study site, the preservice teachers demonstrated exemplary pedagogical competence in terms of teacher's personality, lesson planning, content, instructional strategies, and classroom management.
3. The preservice teachers had exceptional pedagogical competence as evaluated by their cooperating teachers and professors, regardless of gender, specialization, or cooperating school of deployment.
4. Every aspect of pedagogical competence, with the exception of the teacher's personality and classroom management, displayed notably positive connections with one another.Additionally, the preservice teachers, on the other hand, performed extremely well academically, which differs significantly from specialization and cooperating schools.
5. The preservice teachers' academic outcomes do not considerably differ and are not strongly impacted by gender.However, there was a markedly unfavorable link between the preservice teachers' academic performance and their specialization and cooperating schools of deployment.Finally, the preservice teachers perform better academically when they have excellent pedagogical ability.

Educational implications
Curriculum.The curriculum may be updated and modified in accordance with ASEAN recommendations for K-12 education, and it may also be outcomes-based and culturally considerate.There may be extra professional subjects in the required CHED curriculum as well as elective subjects in each specialization to further enrich the pedagogical and technical abilities of preservice teachers.
All professional courses are subject to adopting a complete daily learning journal (DepEd template), which is necessary for microteaching.The number of students enrolled in each specialization subject as well as the number of students who will be sent out for fieldwork and student teaching may be considered.
Instruction.Specialization and professional subject teaching may be culturally sensitive, i.e., it may be based on the learners' past cultural knowledge and experiences.Experienced instructors with extensive training and expertise may teach specialized and professional subjects.
Assessment.The evaluation of learning may be genuine and pertinent to the life of the students.Assessment may involve performance-based and practical examinations, such as lesson planning and actual classroom demonstrations in a realistic setting, in addition to traditional paper and pencil tests (actual class scenario).
Future Research.It is necessary to corroborate these findings by examining the impact of academic achievement and grit resilience on preservice teachers' innovative pedagogical competence.
leveraged their knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technology in their teaching.Because these student teachers lack the tools for digesting student responses and employing the art of questioning to guide the students toward a grasp of the subject, their questioning abilities are assessed as very good.

Table 4 . Relationship between academic performance and the profile variables of the pre- service teachers Variables correlated Correlation coefficient p-values
**p<.01; *p<.05

Table 5 . Relationship between pedagogical competence and academic performance of pre- service teachers Variables correlated Correlation coefficient Coefficient of determination p-values Degree of relationship
*p<.05