STATUS, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF FIELD TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AMONG SECONDARY TEACHERS IN A DepEd SCHOOL DIVISION

Technical assistance was one of the key professional activities provided by the DepEd Regional Office to the Schools Divisions, and by the Division Office to the schools, geared toward giving them support and guidance in identifying problems and finding the right solutions for a more effective organization. This study utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess the current status, issues and challenges of the field technical assistance provided to secondary teachers in a DepEd School Division. The researcher used survey questionnaire for the quantitative part and an interview protocol for the qualitative part of the study with 10 questions that revealed the status, issues and challenges of the field technical assistance provided to secondary teachers in the four districts of a DepEd School Division. The study was conducted in selected secondary high schools, specifically those secondary schools from each district that received technical assistance. Results of the study showed the status of the technical assistance program in a certain province. The respondents claimed the existence of an appointed SBM coordinator which included the cluster/coordinating school heads and formation of the school-based management task force, school heads and teachers were given training to utilize data gathered for action research and attended seminars/training/workshops on different methods, strategies and approaches in teaching. The results further showed that there were issues and concerns regarding management expectations, motivation and incentive factors, capacity, resources, policy and environment support. The output of the study would be a proposed action program for greater accessibility of a Technical Assistance Program in a certain DepEd School Division.