Special Education Teachers’ Preparedness in Instructional Strategies in Relation to Academic Engagement of Learners’ with Special Needs

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among teachers’ preparedness, instructional strategy implementation, and the academic engagement of learners with special needs in the Misamis Occidental Division during SY 2025–2026 using a descriptive-correlational design. A total of 120 purposively selected SPED teachers participated, and data were gathered using validated, researcher-made questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and Multiple Regression Analysis. Findings showed that teachers’ preparedness and instructional strategy implementation were both very high, while learners’ academic engagement was generally high. Results revealed no significant relationships between teachers’ preparedness and learners’ engagement, except for a weakly significant link between competence and emotional engagement. Likewise, instructional strategies showed no significant relationships with engagement, except for a weak significant link between inclusive teaching methods and task completion. The study concludes that although SPED teachers are highly prepared and consistently implement instructional strategies, these do not strongly translate into learners’ academic engagement. It is recommended that SPED teachers and curriculum implementers sustain current strengths while strengthening the alignment of teacher competence and inclusive teaching methods with learner engagement outcomes. Future studies are encouraged to include broader variables and contexts to further explain learner engagement in special education settings.