Advances in Research

Background: Inadequate teacher professional development remains a persistent challenge affecting instructional quality and educational outcomes in many contexts, including the Philippines. Leadership practices and individual psychological factors are increasingly examined as potential determinants of teachers’ continuous professional growth and effectiveness within schools, particularly in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the influence of teacher resilience and authentic leadership on the professional development of public elementary and secondary school teachers within the context of Self-Determination Theory.

Method: A quantitative evaluation research design was employed involving 220 public school teachers from Glan 1 District, Philippines, selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using validated survey questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression at 0.05 level of significance using SPSS software.

Results: Findings revealed that teacher resilience was not significantly related to professional development. In contrast, authentic leadership showed a significant positive relationship and emerged as a significant predictor. However, combined variables explained only 3.4% of the variance, indicating limited explanatory power at 0.05 significance level within Glan 1 District schools.

Conclusion: The study concludes that authentic leadership plays a more decisive role than teacher resilience in enhancing professional development. Strengthening leadership practices and exploring additional contextual factors are recommended to improve teacher growth outcomes with implications for policy and practice in the Philippine basic education context.