SUMMARYThe primary or elementary education level is crucial when young people are dependent and nurtured by teachers. The teaching profession is undeniably linked to stress. Having the skills required to best perform their duties, teachers expect to achieve a certain level of competence in their profession. The main objective of this study is to determine the relationship between the level of professional stress and the teaching competence of primary teachers assigned to public primary schools in Oas South district. This study will be descriptive-correlational as a methodology aimed at knowing the competence and stress level of teachers in public primary schools. This study also attempts to study the level of stress based on the skill level of teachers. It is hoped that the results of this study will add to the existing body of knowledge and contribute to the understanding of the nature of skills and occupational stress among teachers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayKeywords: Teaching Competence, Teacher Stress, Elementary EducationINTRODUCTIONEducation is the body of knowledge that has the power to maximize one's capabilities. Human beings could not be intelligent or intelligent today if they were not cultured and educated. There is a strong belief that the quality of a nation rests on the quality of its people. The quality of its students depends on the quality of the education they received and this quality depends on the commitment and competence of the teachers they provided. Teaching is considered a most noble profession; it is not just about earning money to earn a living, but it is a service rendered for the development of society. The responsibility for shaping the future lies with teachers. The nation depends on the abilities and effectiveness of teachers. They were given the name creators because they created other professions such as doctors, engineers, managers, philosophers and many more; moreover, their work will never be simple. Tough and demanding efforts are made by teachers in and out of the classroom where they interact with the community to which they belong. For these purposes, it is indeed necessary for a teacher to be carefully supervised and assimilate the skills necessary to best carry out their work. A teacher might be encouraged to improve their work that allows them to multitask both in the classroom as well as in the school and community if they are to acquire professional skills and commitment; this would help them perform their work professionally. With all the strengths that an individual must have to access employment, such fluctuating difficulties in professional life are perceived. Literally, the concepts of stress are closely linked to professional life and we can no longer escape it. Even though different associations attempt to remedy the negative effects of work stress, this does not provide a complete guarantee that stress will decrease. TEACHING COMPETENCE Competence is the ability to use knowledge and skills in order to construct a necessary result. This is the ability to perform activities within the profession; perform as expected and complete the task even under varying circumstances. It cannot be perceived exactly and therefore must be collected through various performance-based tests. There existsskills standards that could measure the usefulness of training, improve efficiency, productivity and recruitment of employees, in complete safety. (Trinder, 2008)The term “teacher skills” refers to the set of knowledge, skills and approaches required by a teacher to successfully fulfill the requirements of the educational profession. (MEB, 2006 & Koksal, 2014). It is written in the Encyclopedia Dictionary of Education (1997), teaching competence was defined as the condition of being able to demonstrate the skills necessary for the appropriate execution of a learning task. For B K. Passi and M S Lalitha, teaching competence is an effective implementation of all visible behaviors of a teacher that could show the expected results of the student. According to the suggestion of Bhargava & Pathy (2011), the well-defined set of skills is influenced by the authorities working in the field of education, that is where teaching matters. In the Philippines, there is a framework for teacher performance, called the National Competency Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS), in which the recommended competencies for teachers are clearly explained. It includes 7 domains as follows: Domain 1 – Social Respect for Learning, Domain 2 – The Learning Environment, Domain 3 – Diversity of Learners, Domain 4 – Curriculum, Domain 5 – Planning, Assessment and Reporting , Domain 6 – Community connections and domain. 7 – Personal growth and professional development. According to Pantic and Wubbels (2010), the most important skill from the teacher's perspective was identity and professional development. But on the other hand, what they consider least important is the involvement of the teacher in the development of national education systems. Competence is created from acquired training and experiences related to the profession. It is somehow matured through exposure to field training, where such activities can test the individual's ability to survive in various situations and improve their ability to face new challenges. As the individual gains different experiences and his ability to handle them also improves, a higher level of competence is achieved. Professionals in the Philippines are well aware of Republic Act 10912, commonly known as the CPD Act of 2016. It is a law mandating and strengthening the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program for all regulated professions, includes Professional Teacher . CPD means training innovative information, abilities and values ​​within a professional field of study, in order to adapt to the professional method, lifelong learning and/or independent study. Under the CPD Act, professionals must earn credit units by joining CPD schemes. This credit unit indicates the value of learning from the CPD program that can be transferred to qualification. As for professional teachers, before they can renew their license, they must complete 45 credit units in three (3) years. CPD programs are a set of learning activities that provide professionals with the innovative information, skills and values ​​they need. Seminars, workshops, technical conferences, thematic meetings, non-degree training courses, modules and visits/tours are examples of CPD programs where a professional can improve his or her potential. To help people achieve the required result, skill-based training is designed regardless of the task he is called upon to accept. Training must be based on all competency standards. Bhargava and Pathy (2011) explored perceptionsteaching skills among student teachers, with skills categorized into personal and professional skills. The result of the study showed that students' preferred personal skills as a teacher are confidence, intelligence, sociability, politeness and perseverance. As for the professional skills of the teacher, they consist of expertise in the subject, effective communication skills, rigor, punctuality and a broad understanding of the nature of child psychology. Furthermore, there is a study carried out by Oliva et al (2009) which presented that the preliminary training of teachers should be an in-depth process emphasizing the necessary skills and interrelated with themanagement and organization of teaching- learning, appropriate use in the primary classroom of advanced technological skills, social skills that include involvement with students and families, value education and professional skills in working with professional groups. “The Impact of Professional Competence and Creativity on Professional Enjoyment” is a study conducted by Kanakala Jayaram (2010) which aimed to find the relationship between the variables – creativity, professional enjoyment, professional competence and especially socio-demographic. The study reached the following main conclusions: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between creativity and professional competence; (2) professional competence has a significant positive correlation with professional enjoyment and finally (3) sociodemographic variables such as age, gender and locality do not affect professional competence. TEACHER STRESS The idea of ​​stress was originally introduced by Hans Selye in 1936. as "the force, pressure or strain exerted on a material object or a person who resists these forces and attempts to maintain its original state. According to him, as cited in (Pokhrel, 2017), all actions and events both helpful and undesirable would become stressful as long as they involve changes to be adopted by people. Stress is generally described by a set of negative emotional states and responses that has been associated with pressures and a difficult situation (Cordon, 1997; Pohkrel, 2017). Fevre, Matheny & Kolt (2003) presented the 2 types of stress, Eustress and Distress. Eustress is often referred to as moderate or low stress, while distress equates to high stress. Teacher stress according to Kyriacou (1987) is the stress felt by teachers when they reject their responsibilities, where hostile emotions such as depression, frustration, tension and anger are caused by the nature of teachers' work. Teachers experiencing eustress might see it as a driving force to meet professional demands and describe an increased value of professional life. On the other hand, distress undermines the teacher's source of power that allows him or her to fulfill the demands of his or her job and can lead to a reduction in his or her professional life. . (Newell, 2002; Fevre et al, 2003; Leka, Griffiths & Cox, 2004; Millward, 2005) Traditionally, teaching is considered a profession operating with low levels of stress (French et al., 1982), but The situation was reversed after twenty years. (Olivier & Venter, 2003). Teaching as a profession has become more difficult due to paperwork, changed rules and regulations, and uncontrollable students. School teachers, among different professional groups, have been identified as experiencing high levels of stress as a profession.(Malik, Nudler & Meinhe, 1998; Johnson et al., 2005; Newberry & Allsop, 2017). Teachers in many countries report high levels of stress (see for example Chaplain, 2008; Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Kyriacou, 2001; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2015). There is a universal observation among surveyed teachers who testified that their job was very or extremely stressful. (Kyriacou and Sutcliffe, 1978; Boriles, 1982; Borg and Falzon, 1989; Soloman and Feld, 1989; O Connor and Guglielmi & Tatrow, 1998; Pithers and Soden, 1998). Hammond & Okinawa (1997) stated: “In the education sector, stress is increasing day by day because teaching today's youth is not only hard work, but can be dangerously stressful. Anxiety due to school reform efforts, minimal administrative support, poor working conditions, lack of involvement in school decision-making, red tape, and lack of resources were identified as factors can cause stress among educators. In Kaur's (2011) study, the stress experienced by teachers is the effect of unmet needs and demands from the school management. Bashkirova (2005) added other causes of stress that are virtually impossible to resolve, such as a dilemma faced by students, parents and the school. According to him, providing more responsiveness is necessary to reduce the negative effects of professional stress felt by teachers. The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines stress as “pressure, tension, or worry resulting from a problem in life.” It is considered a factor in several diseases. According to Mingoa's research, the most common physical ailments complained of by Filipino teachers in his study were: (1) fatigue – 71%, (2) neck and shoulder muscle pain – 41%, (3) lower back. pain -39%, (4) sleep disturbances and insomnia – 34%, (5) migraines – 22% and (6) distress or menstrual irregularities – 22%. Complaints about neck, shoulder and lower back pain are related to their job description. Additionally, research has shown that work-related stress among teachers could have serious consequences on their job performance, health, and psychological state (Capel, 1987; Cooper, 1986; Pierce & Molly, 1990). Health and psychological status and performance can lead to poorer educational performance, reduced job satisfaction, increased absenteeism, insignificant decision-making, and immoral judgment (Eckles, 1987 ; Quick and Quick, 1984). Countless studies have been conducted to measure stress levels, teaching skill, the cause and effect of stress, how stress might affect skill, etc. However, no similar or related studies have been conducted on stress level as a function of teaching skill level among public primary school teachers. Additionally, secondary and tertiary school teachers in universities were always the chosen respondents, while researchers working on public primary school teachers were rare even in the Philippines. Conducting research on the teaching skill level and job stress among teachers and their relationships could help in future planning of programs like seminars and workshops for the well-being of primary school teachers. The result can also be used as a call or request for an increase in salary or rewards received to stimulate the eagerness of public primary school teachers to work towards increasing their skill level. As such,.