ABSTRACT
Grounded on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) of Ajzen (1985& 2002) that explains individual decision-making processes, this study was conducted to primarily measure the teachers’ level of job satisfaction and professional competencies significantly their effects on financial literacy skills and practices. Respondents of the study, chosen through stratified random sampling, are the 103 nationally-funded teachers from the select five junior high schools covering the five districts of DepEd City of Malolos. A descriptive correlational type of research with a three-part questionnaire was used to capture the necessary variables adhering to the salient provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012. The data gathered were tabulated and analyzed using the MS Excel and the statistical treatment was processed using SPSS Version 20. The study revealed that: (1) teachers have high level of job satisfaction in the workplace; (2) teachers are consistently demonstrating professional competencies; (3) teachers have only moderate level of financial literacy skills and practices; (4) job satisfaction in the workplace has no significant impact on financial literacy skills and practices; (4) professional competencies have significant impact on financial literacy skills and practices; (5) there should be regular financial literacy programs based on their actual needs. The study recommends capacity-building programs that will enhance teachers to continuously improve themselves as financial managers of themselves and as active and responsible members of the organization.
Keywords — Job Satisfaction, Professional Competencies, Financial Literacy Skills and Practices, Financial Literacy Program
INTRODUCTION
A. Review of Related Literature and Studies
“This is what financial literacy is all about. It’s finding solutions to challenges that we face. It’s finding solutions to reaching the goals that you want to reach, what you want to be, and what you want to do with the rest of your lives.”
-- Sec. Liling Briones
Thus, reiterated by the Chief of the Department of Education (DepEd) in her keynote speech in the launching of the Financial Literacy Program for Schools in Mandaluyong City, June 03, 2018, together with the partner agencies Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Banco de Oro (BDO) Foundation. This partnership is cognizant to the call of Republic Act 10922, otherwise known as the Economic and Financial Literacy Act, mandating DepEd to ensure that economic and financial education becomes an integral part of formal learning, both for teachers and learners. In this premise, DepEd Memorandum No. 032, series 2019 entitled Financial Literacy Learning Resources was issued focusing simple ways to save and manage one’s expenses.
Alcober (2018) quoted the Secretary that the said initiative is not only a response to requirements of law, but to own professional capacitation and to own personal improvement of the people in the department. That it is always a good thing to learn to be aware. To know what the greatest developments in particular field are, because it produces great teachers, but at the same time, it is also a good thing to learn something which will help manage personal affairs.
Two years back, the Education Secretary noted that public school teachers generally earn more than their private counterparts, but are more highly indebted (Picazo, 2017). She cited a study stating that DepEd teachers are 50 percent more likely to be in debt than other civil employees with comparable salary levels, and this indebtedness may be attributed to the ease in borrowing, just sign the papers and the transaction is over. Teachers can even avail a personal loan, among others, which are usually have no collateral and do not entail any group pressure to pay, as in the case of some microfinance credit programs.
Sec. Briones shared that one teacher had borrowed from seven financial institutions, which shows that people in the department may simply lack financial literacy. As she added, many borrow to make ends meet, but an increasing number borrow for holiday travel, or to buy personal items such as jewelry, entertainment appliances, and the like, or to spend on family parties. The inadequate financial literacy, plus the ease of borrowing, promotes over-borrowing, ending up having a net monthly pay of only P5,000.
Data from DepEd (Reysio-Cruz, 2019) showed that public school teachers rest on a combined debt of at least P319 billion, a significant increase of P18 billion for only two years. The said debt figures include P157.4 billion from GSIS as of May 29, 2019 and P162 billion in outstanding loans to accredited private lenders as of June 06, 2019. These data are accounted only for loans paid thru automatic salary deductions from teachers’ salaries, and a possibility of much higher figure could be recorded if other personal debts will be included. Unluckily, teachers who retire without paying off their loans use their pension to settle the balance. Just like in 2016, DepEd said that 26,000 teachers did not receive any retirement benefits because they needed to settle their incurred loans.
Low monthly net income of teachers may be detrimental on their level of job satisfaction in the workplace. In an empirical study conducted by Bakan and Buyukbese (2013) on the relationship of employees’ income level and employee job satisfaction, findings showed that there is a significant relationship between employees’ income level and employees’ job satisfaction. It is important to keep employees with high job satisfaction because it positively correlates with job performance. (Yuen, et al., 2018).
Job satisfaction (Demirel, 2014) is a multi-dimensional concept. Job satisfaction includes such external factors as qualifications of the job, organization and government, salary, working conditions, workmates, professional development and supervision, cooperation mates; and such internal factors as individuals’ expectations of the work and their requests. Job satisfaction helps develop a positive attitude toward the job. As in many other jobs, a teacher should gain saturation from his/her job in order to be successful in his/her career. Life satisfaction includes all dimensions of an individual's entire life.
A high regard of individual job satisfaction significantly affects both job performance and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is also congruent with the mental health conditions in the workplace. Several studies show a relationship between unsecured debt and health (Thomas, et al., 2013). Demographic characteristics of employees (such as age, gender, tenure, income) have relevance to their level of job satisfaction according to some researchers (Bakan & Buyukbese, 2013).
With regards to teachers’ professional competencies, this study will utilize the core behavioral competencies of teachers in the Part II of DepEd’s Results-Based Performance Management (RPMS) Form (DepEd Order No. 2, series 2015). This area of the RPMS form indicates the level of competencies demonstrated by the teachers in each behavior indicator during the performance cycle as rated by their immediate superior. Though those scores are not included in the teachers’ actual performance rating, figures are equally important as it serve in monitoring how the teachers realize the necessary accomplishments within the rating period. These six competencies are as follows:
Self-Management. This behavior is manifested when a teacher sets personal goals and directions, needs and development, undertakes personal actions and behavior that are clear and purposive and takes into account personal goals and values congruent to that of the organization, displays emotional maturity and enthusiasm for and is challenged by higher goals, prioritizes work tasks and schedules (through Gantt chants, checklists, etc.) to achieve goals; and sets high quality, challenging, realistic goals for self and others.
Professionalism and Ethics. The second core behavioral competency is met when a teacher demonstrates the values and behavior enshrined in the Norms and Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713), practices ethical and professional behavior and conduct taking into account the impact of his/her actions and decisions; maintains a professional image - being trustworthy, regularity of attendance and punctuality, good grooming and communication, makes personal sacrifices to meet the organization’s needs; and lastly, acts with a sense of urgency and responsibility to meet the organization’s needs, improve system and help others improve their effectiveness.
Results-Focus. A teacher is said to manifest this behavior when he/she achieves results with optimal use of time and resources most of the time, avoids rework, mistakes and wastage through effective work methods by placing organizational needs before personal needs, delivers error-free outputs most of the time by conforming to standard operating procedures correctly and consistently. Able to produce very satisfactory quality work in terms of usefulness/acceptability and completeness with no supervision required, expresses a desire to do better and may express frustration at waste or inefficiency. May focus on new or more precise ways of meeting goals set; and makes specific changes in the system or in own work methods to improve performance. Examples may include doing something better, faster, at a lower cost, more efficiently, or improving quality, customer satisfaction, morale, without setting any specific goal.
Teamwork. Working as a team is very crucial in an organization. A teacher exemplifies this behavior if he/she willingly does his/her share of responsibility, promotes collaboration and removes barrier to teamwork and goal accomplishment across the organization, applies negotiation principles in arriving at win-win agreements, drives consensus and team ownership of decisions; and works constructively and collaboratively with others and across organizations to accomplish organization goals and objectives.
Service Orientation. This behavior is not new to all especially in the school setting. A teacher practices service orientation if he/she can explain and articulate organizational directions, issues and problems, takes personal responsibility for dealing with and/or correcting customer service issues and concern, initiates activities that promote advocacy for men and women empowerment, participates in updating office vision, mission, mandates and strategies based on DepEd strategies and directions; and (5) develops and adopts service improvement program through simplified procedures that will further enhance service delivery.
Innovation. Every teacher is challenged to innovate something in the performance of his/her duties and responsibilities. Innovation is manifested by teacher if he/she examines the root cause of problems and suggests effective solutions. Foster new ideas, processes and suggests better ways to do things (cost and/or operational efficiency), demonstrates an ability to think “beyond the box”. Continuously focuses on improving personal productivity to create higher value and results, promotes a creative climate and inspires co-workers to develop original ideas or solutions, translates creative thinking into tangible changes and solutions that improve the work unit and organization, uses ingenious methods to accomplish responsibilities; and demonstrates resourcefulness and the ability to succeed with minimal resources.
Subroto (2013) in his study on quality education at elementary school in Surabaya City, Indonesia revealed that teachers’ income positively influenced teachers’ performance, hence, the higher salary the teachers received, the higher their performance. This finding was negated by the study of Hasbay and Altindag (2018) entitled Factors that Affect the Performance of Teachers Working in Secondary-Level Education, stating that the wage factor did not show any effects that directly increase teacher performance.
Having debts among teachers is another issue in need of further scrutiny. Nghipondoka (2017) stated that teachers in Namibia who are highly indebted cannot concentrate in class and this affects school results. Educators are advised to live within their means, to settle their debts, and instead seek financial counselling from their respective banks. In the Philippine setting, Santiago (2018) posed commonly observed problems being faced by teachers due to personal financial problems, these include (1) getting angry easily to learners due to loosing of patience; (2) committing habitual absences or undertime in seeking possible off-school solutions to solve the problems; (3) non-participation in special school activities; (4) preferring to be alone most of the time; (5) having poor performance at work; and worse, (6) having unwanted collection in classes or selling anything just to sustain their daily needs at home.
With all these premises, it is about time to conduct this study to investigate the effect of teachers’ job satisfaction and professional competencies on their financial literacy skills and practices, and consequently, craft a school-initiated financial literacy program for the utmost benefits of the teachers.
B. Conceptual Framework
This study is theoretically grounded on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) of Ajzen (1985& 2002) which explains the individual decision-making processes. This theory is an evolution of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) of Fishbein & Ajzen (1975) which states that an individual’s intention to act depends on two variables: attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms. An attitude toward a behavior is the degree to which performance of the behavior is positively or negatively evaluated, and a subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to engage or not to engage in a behavior (Colman, 2015).
Meanwhile, intention is a manifestation of a person’s readiness to perform a specific behavior and considered as the immediate antecedent of behavior. Compared to the TRA, Ajzen (1985) characterized TPB as having a third important item affecting intention to behavior: perceived behavior control. This is people’s perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior. It is primarily concerned with the beliefs about the presence of control factors that may facilitate or hinder the behavior. In the recent study of Cucinelli, Gandolfi, and Soana (2016), they affirmed the premise that using Ajzen’s TPB, a well-established theoretical framework which has been validated over several years, yielded sound results in predicting behavior in different fields, including financial decision-making.
In this context, teachers’ data on their level of job satisfaction in the workplace and their assessed professional competencies for the last rating period were gathered through existing validated instruments. On the same way, their financial literacy skills and practices were measured using a standardized instrument to capture their decision-making prowess in terms of personal financial transactions. Innate to their responses on the financial literacy survey are their manifestations on how they balance intrinsic needs and motivations, and social pressures and expectations on each decision from ideal into practice in daily living. Data gathered on the teachers’ level of job satisfaction in the workplace and professional competencies were tested separately for a possible correlation on their level of level of financial literacy skills and practices.
Results of this study were utilized in crafting research-based inputs in enhancing the financial literacy program of DepEd people, starting from the school level, especially its teachers, who are considered the frontliners of the education system. This step could succor the department in addressing the urgent need to educate teachers to reflect upon the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required in making informed financial decisions, identify the outlook for financial literacy teaching and learning in the curriculum, and enact sophisticated pedagogical practice (Sawatzki & Sullivan, 2017).
The first inner frame consists of the teachers’ level of job satisfaction (IV) and teachers’ level of professional competencies (IV). The second inner frame is the teachers’ level of financial literacy skills and practices (DV) in terms of: (1) ideal financial practices; (2) satisfaction on current personal financial condition; (3) awareness of the amounts of monthly income and expenditure; and (4) availability of financial plan for future expenses. The arrow connecting the inner first and second frames is the hypothesized effect of teachers’ job satisfaction and professional competencies on their financial literacy skills.
The outer frame at the bottom is for the inputs gathered from the findings of the study which will serve as bases for a school-initiated financial literacy program for teachers. The line connecting the outer first and second frames represents the dependence of one another throughout the study.
C. Research Questions
Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions:
- What is the level of teachers’ job satisfaction in the workplace?
- What is the level of teachers’ professional competencies?
- What is the level of teachers’ financial literacy skills and practices in terms of:
- 1 Ideal financial practices;
- 2 Satisfaction on current personal financial condition;
- 3 Awareness of the amounts of monthly income and expenditure; and
- 4 Availability of financial plan for future expenses?
- Do teachers’ levels of job satisfaction in the workplace and professional competencies significantly affect their level of financial literacy skills and practices?
- What are the implications of the results of the study to the development of a school-initiated financial literacy programs for teachers?
D. Hypotheses
Premise 1
- Null Hypothesis (Ho): Teachers’ job satisfaction in the workplace does not significantly affect their financial literacy skills and practices.
- Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): Teachers’ job satisfaction in the workplace significantly affects their financial literacy skills and practices.
Premise 2
- Null Hypothesis (Ho): Teachers’ professional competencies do not significantly affect their financial literacy skills and practices.
- Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): Teachers’ professional competencies significantly affect their financial literacy skills and practices.
E. Significance of the Study
Teachers armed with strong financial literacy skills will likely lead to financial stability which consequently lead to stress-free life and positive attitude in life. As Kaufman (2014) noted in a study from the University of Southampton (UK), people who are in debt are three times more likely to have a mental health problem than those who aren’t. She also revealed that being financially responsible, people get to do more stuff, allowing to have more fun with friends and colleagues, thus having a positive avenue to unload pressures and stressors in the workplace.
In a humble effort to contribute inputs in the continuous refinement of DepEd’s financial literacy program for teachers, this study attempted to determine if teachers’ level of satisfaction in the workplace and their professional competencies have significant relationship on their level of financial literacy skills and practices.
Specifically, cited are the group of individuals who are expected to be benefited from this study.
DepEd Education Officials. The present module of the department on Financial Literacy can be possibly enhanced from the results of this study, thus, continuous validation of its contents can be done to appropriately address the prevailing needs of its internal stakeholders specially the teacher group.
School Heads. As the head of agency in the field, school heads can craft intervention programs to assist teachers in raising their decision-making skills on financial matters through various in-school activities such as, but not limited to, Learning Actions Cells (LACs) and In-Service Training for Teachers (InSeT).
Teachers. They will be given another good avenue to reflect on their views and practices on financial matters affecting their present conditions. New insights and perspectives can be viewed from this endeavor to guide them on how they can live ‘within their means’.
Learners. As teachers’ condition improves, they can devote much of their power and energy to deliver their lessons with quality each day, giving learners more opportunities to develop their full potentials in each learning area.
Education Researchers. Conducting parallel studies could possibly explore and discover other variables that might assist teachers in raising their financial literacy awareness for better living.
F. Scope and Limitations
This study focused on the nationally-funded teachers of the select five junior high schools covering the five districts of DepEd Schools Division of City of Malolos as respondents, namely: Bulihan National High School (District 4), City of Malolos High School - Canalate (District 10), Cong. Teodulo C. Natividad High School (District 8), Pamarawan High School (District 7), and Malolos City High School - Santisima Trinidad (District 5).
The study ran from August 2019 to March 2020 to determine if teachers’ levels of job satisfaction in the workplace and professional competencies have significant relationship with their financial literacy skills and practices. The results of this undertaking primarily yielded research-based foundations in crafting a school-initiated financial literacy program for teachers and somehow generated additional contribution to the vast literature regarding the research variables of the study.