The Mediating Effect of Work Values on the Relationship Between Reflective Thinking Skills and Positive Personality Traits Among Public School Elementary School Teachers

This study determined the mediating effect of work values on the relationship between reflective thinking skills and positive personality traits among 310 teachers in the Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines using a non-experimental quantitative descriptive-correlation-al research design. Weighted mean, Pearson r, and path analysis using AMOS were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed significant relationships between reflective thinking skills and positive personality traits, between reflective thinking skills and work values, and between work values and positive personality traits. Employing path analysis, results revealed a complete mediation of work values on the relationship between reflective thinking skills and personality traits among public elementary teachers. This indicates that work values are only one of the reasons how reflective thinking skills can influence positive personality traits.


INTRODUCTION
Teachers' positive personality traits (PPT) significantly influence students' performances, progress, and accomplishments since this is where students would follow the way teachers behave, present the lesson, and interact with them (Malekshahi, 2019). When teachers cannot empower their students and bring about negative personality traits, this may result in students' decision not to continue schooling as they feel less motivated and to drop out of school (Alexander, 2017). This is where lack of positive personality traits often leads to ineffectiveness: experienced burnouts, higher turnover rates, poor performances, and reduced organizational commitment. In Samfira and Palos (2021), they posited that teachers' behavior reflects personality, and students' conduct mirrors it. Teachers are regarded as role models among students, and PPT predict effective teaching strategies. Any move teachers make can have a big effect on how their students act and behave (Gershenson, 2016). If teachers have strong PPT, they beget respect, but if weak, it is the other way around (Kim, Dar-Nimrod & MacCann, 2017). With this, teachers should use caution with their students (Blazar & Kraft, 2017), use acceptable language and courteous demands while communicating (Engel & Finch, 2015), supply knowledge, and show students the way to success (Joynes, Rossignoli & Amonoo-Kuofi, 2019). More so, positive personality traits are vital to teaching and learning, and this is a key factor in determining whether educational achievement is good or harmful (Fatima, 2021). Teachers with pleasant personalities may best lead children (Hansen & Horn, 2015). This teacher can keep students engaged, guide them, and help them realize their greatest potential (Pugh, 2018). If teachers cannot engage their students, they will not reach their objectives as teachers with good personality traits aid students in less time (Rivas, 2017) and may develop students' talents and abilities . In Russia, teachers' emotional intelligence and drive showed 21st-century favorable personality qualities for teaching and education administration (Volkova, 2022). In the US, impatient, fast-talking teachers who do not even explain properly are ineffectual (Rubenstein, Ridgley, Callan, Karami & Ehlinger, 2018). In Pakistan, the teaching process involves the classroom, its resources, and the teacher's personality and teaching style (Rasool, Mahboob, Sajid & Ahmad, 2017). Teachers lose students' confidence and respect when they scream, reprimand, or lose their anger. In China, students disliked teachers because they were not quite as easy to speak to or influential, making it impossible to establish a positive learning atmosphere (Liu & Chang, 2017). A teacher's capacity to teach in the Philippines depends on their knowledge, skill, and attitude. They get inservice training and activities. Work habits, professional experience, and positive personality attributes affect how successfully teachers accomplish their jobs (Roberto & Madrigal, 2019). Consequently, it is not only PPT of teachers that can influence and impact students' performances, learning experiences, and academic success but also reflective thinking skills and work values. Teachers' reflective thinking skills (RTS) help develop and employ teaching practices and strategies (Redding & Henry, 2018), identify their strengths and weaknesses and assess their personality traits (Meador, 2019) while work values (WV) could mold their character to recognize, understand, and https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajet Am. J. Educ. Technol. 1(3) [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]2022 articulate sound decision-making (Jones, 2016). These are essentials for teachers to develop their skills for reflective practice (Gu, 2018), research on the job (Villasana, Alonso-Tapia & Ruiz, 2017), and working in diverse environments (Wang, Zhang, Thomas, Yu & Spitzmueller, 2017). Reflective thinking abilities let students reflect on the knowledge they had and what they still needed, and discover ways to narrow that gap during the learning process (Aydogmus, 2017). Students rely on teachers' PPT and problem-solving skills. Reflective learners know what they've done, what they ought to know, and how to bridge the gap. Teachers utilizing RTS examine student behavior to determine if learning objectives were reached, how they were accomplished, and why they were not fulfilled (Olteanu, 2017). Further, in Iligan City, Philippines, teachers' WV include honesty, achievement, respect, integrity, punctuality, patience, and helpfulness (Cajeta, 2016). This is demonstrated by teachers with good PPT reflected in their doings. Additionally, a gap exists in the literature because the researcher had limited acquaintances across studies in the Philippine context dealing with the relationship between RTS, PPT, and WV. Most studies on RTS, PPT, and WV were conducted outside the country, and no study would illustrate the relationship between the three variables. RTS as a method of introducing critical thinking have not been widely explored among teachers. Thus, there is a need to fill this gap. This study is urgent to prove if there is a relationship between RTS and PPT, between RTS and WV, and between WV and PPT, as well as mediating effect of work values on the relationship between RTS and PPT. The study's findings may be utilized as one of the references for crafting policies and programs in the field of education; hence, this proposes to determine the mediating effect of work values on the relationship between reflective thinking skills and the positive personality traits of public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines.

Research Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of work values on the relationship between reflective thinking skills and the positive personality traits of public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines. Particularly, the following goals were developed: 1. To describe the level of reflective thinking skills of public elementary school teachers in terms of:

LITERATURE REVIEW
To dig deeper into this study, the researcher looked into several research outputs and references to find different approaches, points of view, theories, and findings from different authors on relevant topics and similar research pursuits. In this study, the independent variable is reflective thinking skills (RTS) with indicators identified by Mirzaei, Phang, and Kashef (2014) like observation, communication, team working, judgment, and decisionmaking skills. More so, the dependent variable is positive personality traits (PPT) with indicators identified by Singh and Jha (2010) like positive self-image, commitment, outward/people orientation, and cultural identification. Further, the mediating variable is work values (WV) as identified in the study by Farnese (2010).

Reflective Thinking Skills
Universities and other higher education institutions have concerted efforts to teach students critical thinking; however, research indicates that students may not be able to think critically because their teachers are unable to do so themselves. Dewey (1998 as cited in Atalay & Karahan, 2016) emphasized that RTS facilitate critical thought and relate to the processes of studying and evaluating past events. In the context of education, RTS described teachers' holistic consideration and critical assessment of their professional actions concerning their attitude, behavior, conduct; duties and responsibilities as educators. Through RTS, teachers become more involved in problem-solving situations and more attentive to cultivating higher-order thinking abilities (Fakazli & Gonen, 2017) that significantly contributed to professional growth (Aycicek, Yanpar, Yelken & Yokus, 2019).

Observation Skill
This capability is shown by educators when they pay attention to the feelings and behaviors of individuals who are involved in the learning process and then identify, emphasize, and record important parts of the academic setting (Dilekli & Orakci, 2019). In Olteanu (2017), teachers may show competencies in writing, sketching, recording video or audio, or any combination

Team Working Skills
The ability to work effectively in a team applies to a teacher's ability to work cooperatively with the individuals around them (Care & Vista, 2017). This is mirrored in practice via activities such as group instruction, collaborative sharing, and peer mentorship. For a team to be effective, each member must exhibit a significant dedication to accomplishing goals (Smith, Hoffart & O'Neill, 2016). To successfully carry out the many obligations placed on the school, the faculty, staff, and administration must work together. In addition, increasing the sense of camaraderie and community among the faculty and staff of the school is one method for enhancing the morale of the faculty and has resulted in a great many benefits. These advantages include encouraging opportunities and involvement for professional and leadership growth (Mills & Kim, 2017), working in a positive environment (Barnett, Lawless, Kim & Vista, 2017), encouraging collaboration, strengthening ties between faculty, parents, and community members, helping faculty become better problem solvers (Joynes, Rossignoli, & Amonoo-Kuofi, 2019), achieving a higher level of commitment (Kim & Care, 2018), improving teaching quality, and communication (Shepard, 2019).

Judgment Skill
Teachers are supposed to stay neutral, especially when there are disagreements or other challenging situations. To make a good and sensible decision as a judge, teachers must be able to skillfully combine parts of the event with their judgment or with other explanations and ideas (Ashman, 2018;Blank, Houkamau & Kingi, 2016;Boyd, 2022;Gilmore, Trundley, Bahnmueller & Xenidou-Dervou, 2021Helgetun & Menter, 2020Knight, 2020).
Teacher judgments are determinations made by teachers on the current action of students (Glock, Krolak-Schwerdt & Pit-ten, 2015). These determinations can potentially influence teachers' ongoing instructional decisions in the classroom. These decisions may include instructional tempo, the degree of assistance provided, and the level of task complexity (Cordingley, Higgins, Greany, Buckler, Coles-Jordan, Crisp, Saunders, & Coe, 2015;Hetherington & Wegerif, 2018). For instance, children seen as more capable have higher quality learning opportunities than those regarded as less competent. In addition, teachers' judgments impact student placement decisions in programs and grade retention (Francis, Archer, Hodgen, Pepper & Taylor, 2016).

Decision-Making Skills
The ability to choose a course of action systematically to accomplish the goal one has set for oneself is an example of this trait (Aktas, Yakici-Topbas & Dede, 2018). To better comprehend and cope with the obstacles of teaching, teachers use a wide array of reflective practice methods and make decisions about the measures that should be taken next (Hartlep & Porfilio, 2015). Significantly, these strategies enhance the ability of the teacher to assess the favorable and unfavorable aspects of the conditions in the classroom. The factors influencing the decisions made about teaching may be evaluated from several perspectives (Rogers, 2014). Most of the research that has been done about teachers' decision-making points to the curriculum, the testing, and the educators' beliefs all impact instructional choice (Duncan, Washburn, Lewis, Bavarian, DuBois & Acock, 2016; Greenberg, Domitrovich, Weissberg & Durlak, 2017).

Positive Personality Traits
In the context of the conduct of any profession, personality traits have become a distinctive factor that explains why some people perform better and act more professionally although employees possess a similar level of education, knowledge, and job description (Bastian, McCord, Marks & Carpenter, 2015).

Self-Image
A high level of self-esteem is the result of having a positive self-image. In education, teachers with a healthy sense of their worth are likely to impact the students they teach positively others (Buenvinida, Rodriguez & Sapin, 2020;Deng, Zheng & Chen, 2020;Oduntan, 2022). This idea is understood as the teacher's overarching picture or implicit conception of oneself as a working professional.

Commitment
A person demonstrates commitment when they decide on their terms to align with the beliefs and goals of the organization and to connect with other members of the organization; this also includes having a goal orientation, being resilient, having a desire to learn new things, being independent, being original, being grateful, being generous, and being loyal (Liu, Yang & Yang, 2015). A dedication to efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness in teaching and learning are all markers of higher academic achievements and better student learning experiences (Rhodes, 2019). Moreover, dedication on the part of teachers is often regarded as one of the most crucial elements of effective education. Because of this, educators who have a significant amount of devotion may be able to make a difference in the learning and achievements of their students (Klassen, Durksen, Al Hashmi, Kim, Longden, Metsäpelto & Györi, 2018). Thus, committed teachers have the desire to be good educators, an increased number of truth providers and sources, the awareness and acceptance of their value, and the fulfillment of their professional commitments Outward/People Orientation Applying a people-oriented approach to education promotes awakening students' potential and developing their personalities (Wang, Guerola, Lin, Fu & Lin, 2019). This is done within the setting of a classroom. Similarly, the phrase "people-oriented" is often used to describe an environment analogous to a place of employment where everyone knows each other (Kell, 2019). They all get along well with one another, are courteous and upbeat, and smile at one another as they pass one another in the hallways (Bacher-Hicks, Chin, Kane & Staiger, 2017). It is a pleasant workplace; everyone is happy in their employment, and everyone is treated fairly and well. This suggests that the workplace is enjoyable.

Cultural Identity
In the actual practice of teaching, when one is selfaware of one's cultural identity, it is not surprising that one wants to grasp the different cultural characters of the students and the academic environment (Breitweiser, 2019). Educators who value cultural diversity are expected to perform better in teaching effectiveness and student accomplishment than those who do not. These have been discovered to be attributes that highlight the notion of someone with good personality traits, notably among educators (Whaite, Shensa, Sidani, Colditz & Primack, 2018). Similarly, to establish a culture in a classroom, the teacher must self-reflect on their culture and how it relates to the student's cultures (Buenvinida, Rodriguez & Sapin, 2020).

Work Values
Due to many facets in any organization's daily operations, work values have become a focal point on how it affects dramatic changes in work environments brought about by globalization, such as the advancement of technology, among other trends. Work values currently serve as an assessment factor in evaluating workplaces and employees' attitudes toward work instances concerning their behavioral patterns (Koklukaya & Yildirim, 2016). In a more specific sense, teachers' work values have served as one determiner of teaching performance among educators as such values reflect the teacher's perception of the academic institution and their attitude towards their line of the profession (Cajeta, 2016). Research stressed how work values determine the teachers' needs in a more physiological or psychological sense, and serve as a foundation for how teachers conduct their teaching tasks (Altun, 2015;Donmus, Akpunar & Eroglu, 2017). Work values are people's awareness, emotive impulses, or personal needs or want that influence how they behave at work (Dogan, 2018). Consequently, work values may be a factor in determining teachers' work performance and have been proven to predict career preferences in diverse businesses strongly (Tedmem, 2019).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study employed a non-experimental quantitative design utilizing the descriptive correlation technique of research conducted in the public elementary schools in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Davao del Sur, one of the provinces of Region XI with 300 public elementary school teachers as respondents. Research instruments used were in the form of a standardized questionnaire modified to fit the research objectives and were validated by the panel of validators and experts. The expert comments were comprehensively taken and incorporated in the instrument's finalization with an overall validation of experts mean score of 3.97, described as very good.
The questionnaires were also pilot tested and Cronbachalpha scores were utilized for its reliability: 0.726 for RTS, 0.679 for PPT and 0.745 for WV, all suggesting internal consistency of Good or low-stakes testing (Streiner, 2010). Also, the questionnaires lifted from the internet had sought permission from the author in the manner that the researcher personally e-mailed them. Before the questionnaires were administered, the respondents were given explicit instructions as to study's goal and the need to provide truthful responses. Also, they were assured that their responses would not be shared with anyone since strict conformity with appropriate ethical guidelines and considerations were made particularly on confidentiality, privacy, and anonymity. The first part of the questionnaire deals with a ten-item reflective thinking skills adapted and modified from the study of Mirzaei, Phang, and Kashef (2014), followed by positive personality traits from the study of Singh and Jha (2010) and on work values from the study of Farnese (2010). For statistical treatment, mean was used to determine the levels of RTS, PPT, and WV, Pearson r if significant relationships existed between RTS and PPT, between RTS and WV, and between WV and PPT, and path analysis for the significance of mediation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Level of Reflective Thinking Skills
Since overall mean score of RTS of the public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines is 4.55 with a verbal description of "Very High" and all domains have "very high" verbal description such as Decision-Making Skill (x̄ = 4.58), Communication Skill (x̅ = 4.57), Judgement Skill (x̅ = 4.56), Observation Skill (x̅ = 4.53) and Team Working Skill (x̅ = 4.49), it is indicative when teachers think about what they do to help students learn, they are using RTS. Through RTS, teachers become more involved in problem-solving situations because they learn to be critical thinkers and look at different points of view that might lead to the best results, especially when it comes to meeting the school's goals. Teachers who use reflective thinking methods pay more attention to developing higher-order thinking skills, especially critical thinking, in their students. This assumption is in parallel with the study of Fakazli and Gonen (2017) which posited teachers' RTS include a paradigm shift from seeing challenges as problems that need to be solved to seeing them as opportunities for self-reflection and coming up with creative ideas that open new perspectives and opportunities. In Aycicek et. al., (2019), reflective thought contributes significantly to professional growth.

Level of Positive Personality Traits
Since overall mean score of PPT of the public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines is 4.56 with a verbal description of "Very High" and all domains have "Very High" verbal description such as Culture Identification (x̅ = 4.60), Commitment (x̅ = 4.59), Positive Self-Image (x̅ = 4.56) and Outward / People Orientation (x̅ = 4.50), it is indicative why individuals perform better and act more professionally than others, even though they have the same level of education, the same amount of knowledge, and the same job description, because personality traits have become a distinguishing factor in the conduct of any profession. In Whaite et. al., (2018), all these qualities have been identified as characteristics that highlight the idea of a person who possesses positive personality traits, particularly in the context of education. More so, Borden-King et. al., (2020) emphasized that teachers bring their unique mix of experience, culture, and personality with them everywhere they go, including the classrooms where they teach. Consequently, in Soomro et. al., (2016) and Buenvinida et. al., (2020), educators must have a deep and meaningful comprehension of their own uniqueness, identity, and culture to interact with and respond to the unique identities, languages, and cultures of their students in a genuine way.

Level of Work Values
Since the level of WV has an overall mean score was 4.53 with a verbal description of "Very High" and all items under work values have very high verbal descriptions, the very high level of WV shows that teachers' WV have served as one determiner of teaching performance among educators as such values reflect the teacher's perception of the academic institution and the attitude, he/she has towards his/her line of profession. Majority of respondents public school teachers strongly agreed that they assume a leadership position and having decisionmaking authority, they are being attentive to colleagues' needs and emotional states, they respected colleagues' work and tried to understand their point of view even if he/she does not share it, they dedicated their attention in listening to colleagues who does have low self-esteem, and they are open to forgiving a colleague who behaved incorrectly towards them. In Donmus et. al., (2017) and Tedmem (2019), how teachers' personal values about their work shape their needs, especially in the realm of the body and mind, and form the basis for their professional work. This assumption is parallel with Dogan (2018) that occupational well-being entails the positive experiences one has because of doing one's job well. It is the engine that propels people to do what they need to do to help the organization reach its goals.  Additionally, it supports the studies of Weli and Bako-Osu (2019) that RTS has been shown to help teachers improve their performance and help their students do better in school. Both things happen when teachers use RTS in their teaching techniques. Skills in reflective thinking that come out in a reflective approach to teaching have also been shown to have a link with the personality traits of teachers, especially when those traits show up in hard situations where teachers must analyze, discuss, evaluate, and change their own practice, as well as take a systematic analytical approach to teaching.

Correlations between Reflective Thinking Skills and Work Values
Teachers' WV may be linked to their ability to think reflectively. This is because developing these skills has become important to the goal of teachers' jobs, leading them to look for better values to improve the quality of their teaching. When RTS have been fully developed and have become a habit, they may be the reason for a person's ability to change behavior in a way that shows off personality traits. If teachers are better at thinking about what they are doing, PPT also improve, making teaching methods more effective in the long run. Learning how to think reflectively has been a critical component of gaining a deeper understanding of teaching.

Correlations between Work Values and Positive Personality Traits
Since the overall RTS positively and significantly correlated with overall WV (r=0.851, p<0.05) and the domains of RTS also significantly correlated with WV: Judgement Skill (r=0.765, p<0.05), Team Working Skill This implies that the development of skills in reflective thinking has become increasingly attuned to the goal of teachers' professions, leading to the pursuit of better values to enhance the quality of teachers' instruction (Barnett et al., 2017). Because of this, it is possible that reflective thinking abilities are also associated with the work values of teachers (EJoynes et al., 2019;Taylor et al., 2017). Learning how to think in a reflective manner is a vital component of developing a greater knowledge of the practice of teaching. This may be an indicator of positive personality qualities in teachers, since reflective thinking is a skill that can be learned. Since the overall WV positively and significantly correlated with overall PPT (r=0.786, p<0.05) and the overall PPT also significantly correlated with the all the domains of WV: Outward/People Orientation (r=0.778, p<0.05), Positive Self-Image (r=0.684, p<0.05), Culture Identification (r=0.659, p<0.05), and Commitment (r=0.574, p<0.05), it suggests that a significant relationship between WV and PPT of the public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines. Numerous research (Elmali & Kiyici, 2018;Greenberg et. al., 2017;Malekshahi, 2019;Papavasileiou, et. Suparto, 2020;and Taylor, 2022) have concluded that an employee's work values have an effect not only on the positive things that employee does while at work, but also on how employee acts, what employee thinks about their job, and how employee feels about their work. In Parlar and Cansoy (2017), positive work values, which have been found to be produced by positive personality qualities in employees, have been associated to excellent work outcomes, which have also been linked to positive work results.

On the Mediating Effect of Work Values
A Medgraph using path analysis was employed to prove the mediation and to strengthen the obtained result on the significance of mediation of work values on the relationship between reflective thinking skills and positive personality traits among public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, Philippines. Table 7 illustrates the mediating effect: a path analysis. The data obtained in this table were results after conducting the SPSS AMOS.  Since RTS and WV is the path A coefficient which has an unstandardized regression coefficient of 0.972, standardized regression coefficient of 0.851, computed standard error of 0.034 and the effect size of RTS on WV is 97%; WV and PPT is the path B which has an unstandardized regression coefficient of 0.970, standardized regression coefficient of 0.118, computed standard error of 0.041 and the effect size of WV on PT is 71%; RTS and PPT is the path C which has an unstandardized regression coefficient of 0.735, standardized regression coefficient of 0.785; the computed standard error is 0.047 and the effect size of RTS on Willingness to PT is 74%, full mediation was found in this study which means that WV is the very reason how RTS can influence PPT among public elementary teachers. The significant and important direct effects shown in this study may be of help in the enhancement of the existing research (Ballou & Springer, 2015;Blazar & Kraft, 2017;Fatima, 2021;Hartlep et. al., 2015;Oduntan, 2022;Rivas, 2017;Volkova, 2022;Wang et. al., 2017) on RTS and PPT. More so, this is in support of Schwartz's (2012) work values theory on self-transcendence values which posited that WV affects the human relation within the organization on how they interact, and handle situations based on their attitude towards work. One of the factors that has been found as contributing to an improvement in a teacher's performance and academic accomplishments is reflective thinking. It has been shown that reflective thinking abilities, as shown in a reflective approach to teaching, are connected to the personality attributes of teachers. The capacity to reflect is the result of a teacher having developed the talent of reflective thinking, which in turn enables the teacher to cultivate the admirable qualities of being empathic and thinking critically. There is a correlation between positive work values and strong job performance, which is in turn related to individuals who possess favorable personality qualities. Also, the finding of this study on RTS and WV may support the existing studies of authors (Abeln, 2015;Amira et. al., 2017;Aydogmus, 2017;Care & Vista, 2017;Duncan et. al., 2016;Gale, 2017;Melati, 2019;Smith et. al., 2016) who concluded that developed and sustained RTS could be greatly affected by WV.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the findings generated in the study, it can be concluded that the public elementary school teachers in Kiblawan North and South Districts, Division of Davao del Sur, in Region XI have a very high level of RTS, very high level of PPT, very high level of WV, have a significant relationship between RTS and PPT, have a significant relationship between RTS and WV, and have a significant relationship between WV and PPT. Also, full mediation was found which means that WV are the very reason how RTS can influence PPT. Reflective thinking abilities are connected to the personality attributes of teachers. The capacity to reflect is the result of a teacher having developed a talent for reflective thinking, which in turn enables the teacher to cultivate the admirable qualities of being empathic and thinking critically. Through reflective teaching skills, teachers become more involved in problem-solving situations because they learn to be critical thinkers and look at different points of view that might lead to the best results.