Elucidating the Lived Experiences of College Physical Education Students in the New Normal Setting: A Phenomenology

Abstract

This qualitative study explicitly employed a phenomenological design to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of college Physical Education students in the new standard setting in Davao City. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the college students enrolled in the subject of physical education from different schools to be the participants. The participants’ experiences regarding the new standard setting of Physical Education were drawn out from the in-depth interview and focus group discussion. Thematic analysis was used to extract the themes from the participants’ responses. From the collected data, significant themes emerged from the lived experiences of college students, specifically, the acknowledgment of the advantages and disadvantages of the new normal, the benefit of the positive effects of the new normal, and the experience of the adverse effects of the new normal. For the coping mechanisms of the participants, the themes that emerged were acquiring dispositions, abilities, and support systems. In contrast to the insights they shared, the themes were expressed as involving improving teaching and students’ attitude in Physical Education for the new normal and reinforcing adaptive traits of students and teachers in the new normal.