Abstract. This quantitative study employs a descriptive-correlation research design to determine the motivation and pedagogical competence level of public elementary teachers teaching non-readers in a school district in Alamada, Cotabato, Philippines. It further examined the influence of their motivation on their pedagogical competence. Thirty-five teachers from Grades 1-3 participated in the study. More so, the study utilized content-validated and pilot-tested survey questionnaires to extract the data from the respondents. Descriptive statistics, such as frequency count, mean, and percentage, were utilized, and multiple linear regression was employed for the correlation test. Based on the result, the teachers' overall level of motivation to teach non-readers was very high. More so, the responses indicated a high level of identified regulation, reflecting strong intrinsic motivation. Both introjected regulation and extrinsic motivation were also reported as high, while amotivation was notably low. Moreover, the data revealed that the teachers in Grades 1-3 from one school district in said town were considered very competent. However, this present study found that there is no significant influence between teachers’ motivation and their pedagogical competence in teaching non-readers. The current study recommends that school administrators consider possible actions directed towards sustaining and enhancing high motivation because it can still impact teaching effectiveness and student outcomes while teaching non-readers.

Keywords: Motivation; Pedagogical competence; Philippines; Public elementary teachers; Quantitative