Teachers' Work Values and Their Influence on Professional Growth: Basis for Professional Development Program

Teachers’ work values—dedication, responsibility, integrity, and continuous learning—are widely recognized as vital to professional growth. These values shape teachers’ attitudes and behaviors, influence career advancement, and contribute to quality education. This study aimed to explore the relationship between teachers’ work values and their professional growth. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed, utilizing a researcher-made questionnaire. The study involved teachers from Clarin North District, Misamis Occidental. Statistical tools used included Frequency Count, Arithmetic Mean, Spearman’s Rank-Order Correlation, and Kruskal-Wallis Test. Findings revealed that teachers generally exhibited high levels of work values (M=4.203), particularly in integrity and continuous learning. Their professional growth was rated very high (M=4.356), with strong indicators in career advancement and skill development. However, no significant relationship was found between work values and professional growth (r=0.026, p=0.785). Additionally, there were no significant differences in work values based on educational attainment or years of teaching experience. Despite high work values and professional growth, the lack of a significant relationship suggests that these may evolve independently. The consistency of values across demographics indicates a shared professional culture among educators. Teachers uphold strong work ethics and are proactive in pursuing professional development. However, these domains appear not to be directly correlated, implying that external factors may influence growth more than intrinsic values.