Mathematics as a discipline is considered as one of the most difficult subjects among Filipino learners. This study was conducted in a public national high school in the Mandaue City Division, Cebu, Philippines. The respondents were the 177 Grade 9 students enrolled in mathematics. These respondents were selected using probability random sampling. They were asked to answer a standardized survey questionnaire to assess their attitudes and study habits. The tool is consists of three parts. Part 1 gathers the socio-demographic profile of the respondents. Part 2 assesses the attitudes of the respondents towards mathematics, while Part 3 was used to assess the study habits of the respondents. Furthermore, their academic performance in mathematics was measured based on their first quarter grade, which was retrieved from the Registrar's Office. The study revealed that those respondents had positive attitudes towards mathematics in terms of its value while they had a neutral attitude when it comes to their self-confidence, enjoyment, and motivation in mathematics. Also, the study shows that there was a negligible positive correlation between the attitudes and academic performance of the respondents in terms of their selfconfidence, enjoyment, and motivation while there was a weak positive correlation between the value of math and their academic performance in math. It was concluded that students' attitudes and their study habits are significant factors that affect their performance in mathematics. The researchers strongly recommend the utilization of the enhancement plan in the teaching of mathematics to junior high school students.

The key purpose of this study is to determine the functional skills of learners with special educational needs (LSENs) in terms of life skills, social skills and community-based learning skills in the identified schools in Toledo City Division. It employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess the functional skills of LSENs amidst the pandemic as rated by the parents. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique. The study utilised an adapted the research tool. The findings show that most of the learners were aged 10 years old or older, male, non-graded and with intellectual disabilities, while most of the parents were poor, housewives and had a high school level. The result also revealed that parents rated LSENs with moderate functional skills. The challenges encountered by parents include lack of relevant training, lack of knowledge about child care and lacks of time. With this, the school administrators should design responses with specific contexts and consider implementation of the functional skills of learners. Hence, the adoption of the parental intervention plan for LSENs is recommended. Keywords: Functional skills, special educational needs, life skills, social skills, community-based learning skills.

Learning to teach reflectively is a lifelong process that is strengthened through the active engagement of varied professional development activities inside or outside the school. This study assessed the quality of instruction and professional development activities in a well-known university in Cebu, the Philippines, where it determined teachers' teaching competencies and perception in their professional development activities, issues, and concerns. It utilized a quantitative-descriptive research design where respondents were selected through universal sampling. Findings showed that professional development activities for teachers had achieved mastery in instructional planning, instructional delivery, knowledge of the subject matter, rapport with students, and classroom management. On the other hand, professional development activities were perceived to have little benefit for the teachers. It was also found out that there is no significant relationship between the teaching competencies and professional development activities. Perceived benefits of professional development activities were attributed to personal perceptions and contextual factors. The findings call for strategic professional development planning, implementation, and evaluation for teachers to benefit more. Thus, the conduct of a similar study in a broader parameter is recommended. Contribution/Originality:This study contributes to the existing literature about the correlation between teachers' competence and professional development activities. It presents the perceptions of teachers on the selected professional development activities and their influence on quality teaching. changes to meet the students' needs and demands for the global market. With the No Filipino Child Left Behind Act of 2010, all citizens have the right to quality instruction, and that the State shall take appropriate steps to make that education accessible. Recent reforms focus on curriculum standardization, which results in teachers become accountable for students' performance. For developing countries like the Philippines, producing highly skilled and globally competitive graduates is a great challenge for all educators. The effectiveness of instruction is dependent on the caliber of teachers. In the book of Stronge (2018) some researchers define teacher effectiveness as to student achievement. As a teachers' influence is far-reaching, it is challenging to determine what outcomes might demonstrate the effectiveness and how to measure results. Furthermore, many external variables affect each potential measure of effectiveness outside teachers' control. In totality, we can agree that effective teachers make an extraordinary and lasting impact on students'

With the recent claim that the maintenance of population immunity will not depend on continued vaccinations but on the endemic presence of the virus, the proper understanding of the value of public health allows us to configure human living conditions as it thrives in a world where the novel Corona Virus Disease in 2019 (Covid-19) becomes endemic. World leaders and economic managers need to redefine public health not just as a means that enables economic productivity but as a substantially primordial goal—an end that every functional society must achieve via living an economically sustainable lifestyle. This paper argues that economic and societal sustainability thus must be framed and delimited within the human ecological boundary—a crucial viewpoint that could sustain public health amid a Covid-19 endemic world while preventing another viral pandemic from occurring.

This paper exposes an alternative and juxtaposed interdisciplinary view of the Pythagorean Triangle, from a mathematical point of view to ethical applicability. Pythagorean Theorem is understood as a mathematical principle (a2+b2=c2), where the sum of the square of the shorter legs, a and b, is equal to the square of the most extended leg, the hypotenuse, c, resulted in the equation of the right triangle (Pythagorean Triangle). As an antediluvian mathematical figure, the Pythagorean Triangle's beauty and intricacy still amazed and provoked present-day thoughts. It is indubitable that the Theorem intrigues humanity's curiosity to provide proofs of the hypothesis, as well as its application. From such a viewpoint, this paper looks into the interdisciplinary applicability of the mathematical figure of the right triangle (Pythagorean Triangle). Utilizing analogical investigation, as the prime method of this research, the paper argues that the concept of the 'right triangle' could be an analogy for 'right living.' The logic behind the Pythagorean Triangle posits inherent beauty and a transcendent possibility beyond mathematics to other disciplines like ethics. The paper offers an analogical investigation of an alternative insight for the ethical problem of 'right living.' By reflecting on the presence of the existing similar feature, the right triangle (Pythagorean Triangle) could be analogically applied to 'right living.' From extant literature, the paper concludes that uprightness and balance are two essential concepts that could propose alternative ethical views by analogy to understanding what it means for 'right living.'   Received: 12 October 2020 / Accepted: 12 December 2020 / Published: 17 January 2021