The Mediating Effect of Out-of-field Teaching on the Relationship between Teacher Competence and Academic Performance among College Students

Abstract

This study examined the mediating effect of out-of-field teaching on the relationship between teacher competence and academic performance of college students. This study used a stratified random sampling technique and mediation analysis with 197 college students within Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte who were enrolled in the second semester of the Academic Year (A.Y) 2024-2025. The statistical tools utilized in this study were Mean, Pearson r, and Path Analysis. The information was accumulated from the respondents using modified adapted survey questionnaires which were subjected to teacher competence, out-of-field teaching, and grades from specific subjects. The findings revealed that out-of-field teaching had an overall mean of 3.46, and teacher competence had a mean of 3.49 while academic performance had a mean of 87.49 which meant that out-of-field teaching and teacher competence both had a descriptive level of high while the students’ academic performance was satisfactory. Furthermore, the interrelationship between teacher competence and academic performance showed a positive and medium correlation. Teacher competence and out-of-field teaching showed a positive and very strong correlation while out-of-field teaching and academic performance had a positive but weak correlation. Additionally, the mediation analysis revealed that out-of-field teaching had no significant mediation effect. The result indicated that while out-of-field teaching is associated with both variables, it does not significantly mediate the effect of teacher competence on student outcomes. This highlights the direct importance of enhancing teacher competence to improve academic performance, regardless of field alignment.