Impact of Virtual Training on the Filipino Secondary School Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy in Student Engagement, Instructional Strategies, and Classroom Management

Abstract

This study examined the impact of virtual training on teachers’ sense of efficacy in key areas focusing on student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. It is mixed-methods embedded design research where teacher’s sense of efficacy was measured using the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and a structured interview exploring the experiences and struggles of fifty-nine (59) Filipino secondary school teachers in virtual training. Using Wilcoxon Signed-rank Test, it was found that there is a 0.000 asymptotic significance at the 0.05 level when self-esteem data during face-to-face training and virtual training were analyzed. Results revealed a low sense of efficacy after a virtual training (μ—3.50) in all three areas compared to self-efficacy after a face-to-face training (μ—4.28). The benefits of virtual training are its convenience, safety, personal technological development, flexibility, accessibility, creativity, and focus. Some of its costs affect learning instruction and assessment of learning. It also created technical concerns, lack of interaction, virtual learning distractions, and psychological and health concerns. This study recommends the implementation of an action plan or program that meets the needs of teachers undergoing virtual training in the Philippines.