The Covid-19 pandemic has posed various challenges particularly in the education sector where the ‘new normal’ experience is all about online interaction and distance learning. As the health protocols enforce physical distancing measures, actual and personal interaction and engagements are limited. As teacher professional development (TPD) becomes a melting pot of best practices and strategies that work, teachers receive a perspective that helps them create their own professional vision. The findings of this study revealed that for teachers, TPD is a route to enhance and upgrade their knowledge and skills and professional growth, with teaching as a life-long learning process. Pre- Covid-19 TPD programs included initiatives on content, pedagogy and technology, action learning, graduate studies, leadership and management, and action research. During the pandemic, teachers were exposed to webinars and training on online teaching and learning, technological capacity, and mental health. Regardless of age and years of teaching experience, teachers have a mindset to grow in the profession and be better educators. They want to unlearn the old, and relearn new knowledge and skills because they want their students to learn according to their current needs and what the world needs in the future.

<table><tbody><tr><td><div><p class="s7"><span class="s10">This study involves future education leaders and managers in the Philippines and their conceptual understanding of “quality” in the context of education, the streams of teaching and learning to be specific. Respondents were enrolled in a graduate program in a teacher education institution based in Manila, Philippines and were asked the following: (1) concepts identified with quality; (2) conceptual understanding of quality assurance; (3) quality assurance mechanisms employed in the Philippine education syst</span><span class="s10">em; and (4</span><span class="s10">) proposed quality assurance mechanisms to uplift the academic achievement of Filipino students.  It has been revealed that while future education leaders and managers possess sufficient ideas and knowledge about quality assurance, it is still vital to provide them with technical know-how and discourses on the theoretical-practical connection of quality and students’ academic achievement. Quality assurance mechanisms being implemented are considered to be effective in the Philippine education system. </span></p><div><span class="s10"><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>

This qualitative research describes the experiences of Filipino graduate students as they continue with their schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Particular challenges faced are related to technology and internet access. As graduate work is expected to be about research tasks, subscribing to paid resources is seen as an issue. It is also crucial to recognize how the experience has caused stress for students. The experienced challenges are resolved by augmenting students’ technological capacity, realigning personal values and perspectives, and resorting to free and open access journals to sustain research activities. The COVID-19 experience has taught graduate students the importance of technology, the significance of revisiting one’s values, and the reflection on their quest to finish their graduate studies. Lastly, assistance to graduate students can be done by proactively offering infrastructure assistance, socio-emotional support, and institutionalizing responsive and flexible communication mechanisms.

Malpractice is a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of professional skill or learning by rendering professional services which results in injury, loss or damage. This study probed into the questions: (2)what are the types of educational malpractices in the Philippine education system; and (2) who are mostly guilty of these offenses? Data were gathered by downloading court cases and newspaper articles. A total of ten online court cases involving teachers, parents, students, school administrators, and principals were included. Coding was done by identifying the emerging themes per cluster. Findings indicated that offenses can be clustered into two: corruption and misconduct. Corruption cluster includes offenses ranging from illegal collection by the teachers from the students to the misuse of funds by the school administrators. On the other hand, the misconduct cluster includes sexual abuse targeted towards students by the teachers, and abuse of power by the school administrators towards the teachers. Data revealed that some cases involving principals whose offenses include misuse of funds and abuse of power were dismissed. Furthermore, involvement of principals was under-reported due to certain interfering reasons like fear, doubt or hesitation, or carelessness on the part of those who file the cases or as a result of the misleading or scheming practices of the offenders. On the other hand, abuses and minor offenses committed by the teachers were magnified. Among the teachers charged of malpractice in education, only one was found not guilty. This led to the creation of a typology that highlights the forms of offenses, the offenders and the offended as well as the results of the investigation of the cases. . Comparatively speaking, this may be attributed to the lack of power, authority and influence teachers have against principals and other school administrators.

This study analyzed the Philippine public school teachers' financial literacy challenges. The data and results were gathered through online survey questionnaires and focused group discussions conducted in the school year 2019-2020. Twelve participants contributed to the FGD, while a total of 325 teacher respondents answered the online survey questionnaires. The results showed that the majority of the public-school teachers are struggling financially. That results in a controlled and limited financial lifestyle. Moreover, teachers unconsciously practice informal debt, which causes uncontrolled debt. Without proper knowledge and education to financial literacy, borrowing money becomes a lifestyle of every teacher in the country. Based on the findings, a financial literacy program must be included in every in-service training or division-wide teachers' mass gathering. The financial literacy program may be implemented by all participating schools where the study was conducted. Future research related to financial literacy programs may be conducted in basic education, colleges, and universities following the method used in this study.