Abstract

This study examined the influence of pedagogical strategies on teacher competence and their ability to teach permutation and combination concepts in Butuan City Division. The respondents were Grade 10 mathematics teachers whose insights and experiences provided valuable data for the analysis. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), the study evaluated direct and indirect effects among teaching strategies, instructional strategies, instructional resources, teacher competence, and teacher ability. Results demonstrated that teaching strategies had a significant and positive influence on both teacher ability (β = 0.948, p = 0.003) and teacher competence (β = 0.894, p = 0.003). Conversely, instructional strategies and instructional resources did not significantly impact teacher competence, suggesting that pedagogical approaches may play a more pivotal role than materials or methods alone in shaping teacher effectiveness. Moreover, teacher competence significantly mediated the relationship between teaching strategies and teacher ability (β = 0.848, p = 0.001), while indirect paths involving instructional strategies and instructional resources were non-significant. These findings underscore the pivotal role of teaching strategies and teacher competence in improving instructional outcomes in mathematics education. The study concludes that effective teaching strategies and strong teacher competence are essential for successful mathematics instruction. Recommendations include developing professional development programs focused on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and evidence-based teaching strategies, which were shown to influence teacher competence and ability significantly. Although instructional strategies and resources did not demonstrate a significant direct impact in this study, providing targeted support in these areas may still be beneficial when aligned with effective pedagogical approaches or tailored to specific classroom contexts. Further research is recommended to explore the conditions under which instructional strategies and resources might contribute more meaningfully to teaching effectiveness.