Persistence of Non-Teaching Tasks Among Public Elementary School Teachers: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examined why non-teaching tasks persist among public elementary school teachers in the Placer West District, Division of Masbate Province, despite policy directives intended to remove administrative duties from teachers. The quantitative component used a descriptive approach with 238 teacher-respondents selected through complete enumeration, while the qualitative component used a phenomenological approach with 16 purposively selected teachers who had at least ten years of service and were assigned to schools without an administrative officer. Data were gathered through a researcher-made survey questionnaire based on DepEd Order No. 2, s. 2024 and a validated semi-structured interview guide. Frequency counts and percentages were used for the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used for interview responses. The findings showed that teachers continued to perform several non-teaching functions, particularly Brigada Eskwela coordination, records management, general administrative support, and school disaster risk reduction and management. Four themes explained the persistence of these duties: shortage of non-teaching personnel, compliance with departmental requirements, culture of teacher multitasking, and limited budget and resources. Based on these findings, the study developed the Teacher Workload Optimization and Support System (TWOSS), a school-based framework for workload auditing, task redistribution, stakeholder participation, records management improvement, personnel support advocacy, and continuous monitoring. The study concludes that policy directives alone are insufficient when staffing, resource, compliance, and organizational conditions continue to require teachers to absorb administrative work. The findings support stronger school-level workload rationalization so teachers can devote greater attention to their core instructional responsibilities.