Out-of-field teaching occurs when teachers are assigned to teach subjects for which they lack formal education or training. This is a common challenge in resource-limited school systems, such as the Philippines. Despite policies aimed at matching teachers to their subject-area qualifications, ongoing shortages often compel English teachers to teach subjects outside their expertise.

Rising student enrollment, new curricula, and digital technologies are increasing global demand for qualified teachers. Persistent shortages push teachers to work beyond their expertise. Out-of-field teaching reduces instructional quality and equity, especially for low-income, rural, and special education students (Van Overschelde & Piatt, 2020). This deepens educational inequalities.

Specialization-based hiring policies exist, yet out-of-field teaching remains common in Philippine schools. This harms teacher confidence and student outcomes. Digital learning trends make adaptation more difficult, especially without sufficient training.

Contemporary teachers must demonstrate flexibility in pedagogy—the methods and practices of teaching—and proficiency in technology to address diverse student needs. Competency-based professional development is regarded as essential for adequate support (Olvido et al., 2024). The TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework integrates subject content knowledge, pedagogical strategies, and technological skills to enable teachers to deliver adaptive and engaging instruction (Jibril & Adedokun-Shittu, 2024).

This study aims to develop a TPACK-based professional development program for English teachers teaching out of field. The model will identify knowledge gaps, implement targeted interventions, and assess effectiveness. Collaborative strategies, such as peer mentoring and TPACK-based lesson study, have been proposed to ease teachers' out-of-field teaching (Gómez-Arizaga et al., 2023). This work seeks to advance teacher development, policy reform, and equitable education.

This study is informed by Lewin’s (1936) Person-Environment Fit Theory. The theory says optimal outcomes occur when individuals’ abilities, values, and preferences align with the demands of their work environment. This framework is particularly relevant to English teachers assigned to teach out-of-field subjects such as MAPEH, Araling Panlipunan, or TLE. These teachers often face a gap between their training and the specialized content of their new assignments.

Kristof-Brown and Billsberry (2013) define “fit” as a match between personal and environmental attributes. Here, “fit” means how well a person’s traits align with their work setting. Edwards et al. (1998) summarized key concepts: (a) There is a two-way interaction between individual abilities and the environment—each influences the other; (b) The alignment between person (P) and environment (E) can be objective or subjective. Objective fit refers to PE traits from external sources. Subjective fit is about PE attributes perceived by the employee (van Vianen, 2018); and (c) Proper fit requires matching expectations with abilities and requirements with supplies. According to Kristof (1996), people fit when they have the needed abilities for their work. Fit also means the environment matches the employee’s preferences. Additionally, Bowman and Denson (2014) likewise argued that people perform better and feel more satisfied when their traits align with the environment. When interests match work, outcomes improve.  

As a result, out-of-field teachers lack confidence in teaching their assigned subjects. Castro et al. (2023) found that teachers felt uncertain about teaching these subjects. This uncertainty reduced motivation. Teachers spent extra time studying lesson content. Bandura’s (1995) Self-Efficacy theory suggests that confidence grows with successful task completion. Lacking subject mastery lowers motivation.

This study also draws on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the TPACK model. TAM explains how users adopt new technologies. This supports an understanding of educational adaptation. Integrating these theories may help out-of-field teachers broaden skills and improve educational quality. The TPACK framework may serve as a guide for out-of-field teachers in delivering instruction in unfamiliar subjects, thereby potentially enhancing job satisfaction and retention.

This study employed descriptive phenomenology, which focuses on phenomena as perceived by the individual (Neubauer et al., 2019). Teachers teaching outside their field have both collective and individual experiences shaped by life circumstances, including living situation, employment, education, and prior teaching experience. Personality, coping skills, culture, family of origin, place of residence, and societal politics also influence each teacher's experience. The objectiveness of the phenomenon is linked to the teacher's subjective experiences. Descriptive phenomenological inquiry should be free from assumptions and theories to allow for phenomenological reduction, or intuiting (Dowling, 2007). Phenomenological reduction is the act of putting aside all judgments and beliefs about the external world and taking nothing for granted (Merleau-Ponty et al., 2011). This gave rise to "bracketing"—the method of identifying the researcher’s preconceptions, assumptions, experiences, and prior knowledge. Bracketing is the researcher’s attempt to engage with the phenomenon impartially and without prejudice, thereby enabling precise description and understanding (Dowling, 2007). There is limited guidance on bracketing, so the researchers document the process in detail to ensure transparency. Bracketing begins with reflection, like researchers assessing their education, family background, religion, politics, and the topic’s relevance to their work. They also examine previous experience with the phenomenon and their responses. Other considerations include circumstances influencing those responses, prior knowledge or readings about the phenomenon, beliefs and attitudes about the topic, and the assumptions that inform them. These factors were addressed throughout the research process, from conception and design to data collection, analysis, and reporting. The study involved seven participants in in-depth interviews and seven in focus group discussions. Teachers were selected based on these criteria: being an English major teaching non-English subjects, having at least one year of teaching experience, working in public or private schools, and having two to three years of experience teaching non-English subjects. These requirements ensured participants had diverse teaching experiences and could share useful insights into challenges and strategies. A content-validated semi-structured interview guide was used to gather detailed narratives of teachers' lived experiences and coping strategies. The guide included three main questions, each with five follow-up questions to elicit comprehensive responses. Interviews took place individually and in focus groups, capturing a wide range of perspectives. Braun and Clarke’s (2024) six-phase framework was used to analyze the data: familiarization, coding, theme identification, review, definition, and report writing. Each phase systematically develops insight and keeps the researchers engaged with the data (Christou, 2022).

Teachers who teach outside their field face challenges mastering the content, which reduces confidence and raises questions about their career suitability. They felt they needed specialized skills to succeed. To navigate the classroom, they rely on school or online resources but often lack institutional support. Despite these obstacles, some teachers have successfully navigated teaching outside their areas of expertise. They engaged in self-directed learning, sought peer mentoring, adapted instructional materials to improve teaching and learning, and advanced in their fields. They use a learner-centered approach that gives students autonomy. Building on these experiences, the proposed professional development program, grounded in the TPACK framework and using a collaborative, practice-based, and reflective approach, was designed for integration into the induction program for teachers assigned out of field. School leaders may incorporate the professional development program grounded in the TPACK framework into teacher induction initiatives. This program supports teachers in out-of-field roles, helping them integrate content knowledge, pedagogy, and digital tools for adaptive instruction. To further support effective teaching, school leaders should: (1) assign teachers to classes that match their qualifications and subject-matter expertise, and (2) enable teachers to remain in their areas of specialization over time. These steps help teachers deliver lessons confidently, promote student learning, and foster long-term career satisfaction and professional growth. In addition to institutional efforts, out-of-field English teachers should adopt proactive strategies for their assignments. They should take university crash courses to deepen content knowledge, conduct teaching demonstrations with subject-matter experts, make informed choices when selecting instructional resources, and seek support from colleagues familiar with the subject. Finally, future research should validate the proposed professional development model by assessing its effectiveness across diverse settings. Researchers are encouraged to develop specific lesson exemplars tailored to out-of-field English teachers, providing actionable guidance for institutions facing similar deployment challenges.

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