Teachers’ Perceived Challenges and Coping Strategies in Pandemic-Influenced Teaching:Basis for a School-Based Teacher Support Mechanism

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected many global activities, including teaching and learning. This research investigated teachers’ perceived challenges and coping strategies to craft localized school-based support mechanisms. This study followed a mixed methods convergent parallel design where quantitative and qualitative data were collected during the same phase of the data-gathering process. This design was followed to enrich quantitative data with qualitative data. This study utilized two research instruments to gather quantitative data for the following variable – perceived challenges and coping strategies. To collect qualitative data, interviews were conducted using the sub-questions aligned with the study's central question. The data were derived from randomly selected public school teachers of an educational institution in Makati City. Three of those teachers who answered were chosen at random to be interviewed. During analysis, Shapiro-Wilk’s normality test was done for the quantitative data to determine the statistical analysis to be employed. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed through Pearson r coefficient and thematic analysis, respectively. Results showed that perceived challenges have no significant relationship with overall coping strategies. However, by analyzing the subcomponents of coping strategies, perceived challenges positively correlate with problem-focused coping. This result revealed that when teachers experience a high intensity of challenges in their teaching practices during the pandemic, they tend to do active coping strategies indicative of grit and a more practical approach to solving the problem. Moreover, qualitative data supported that teachers must also be given mental and emotional support besides physical, technological, and financial support. Furthermore, parallel studies must be conducted with a more diverse and large sample to serve as a guide in crafting a nationwide support mechanism for teachers during a challenging situation