Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices in teaching Social Science 11: Evidence from public senior high schools in the Philippines

Abstract

Social Science education plays a vital role in developing learners’ critical thinking, civic responsibility, and understanding of society through meaningful classroom experiences. However, limited localized evidence exists on how teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are reflected in their classroom practices, particularly among Senior High School Social Science teachers in Legislative District 5, Isabela. This study determined the pedagogical beliefs, classroom practices, and instructional challenges of Social Science 11 teachers. It employed a descriptive-normative research design involving 40 purposively selected teachers from public senior high schools. Data were gathered using a validated questionnaire, supported by unstructured interviews and documentary analysis, and were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and weighted mean. The findings revealed that teachers demonstrated very high pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices, indicating a strong alignment between their instructional beliefs and actual teaching. Nevertheless, they encountered serious challenges related to instructional resources, higher-order thinking integration, and classroom conditions. The study concludes that strengthening institutional support and continuous professional development can further improve the quality of Social Science instruction.