Testing Resilience: Secondary School Teachers’ First- Hand Experiences on the Full Implementation of Face-to-Face Classes

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences, challenges encountered, coping mechanisms, and insights of public secondary school teachers on the full imple- mentation of face-to-face classes in schools. The partici- pants were coming from Cogon National High School of the Island Garden City of Samal Division (IGACOS), Region XI. There were eight teachers who participated in the study. This study made use of a phenomenological approach to extract the ideas from the participants. The participants were purposely selected as representatives from the group of secondary school teachers who are assigned in the same school. The virtual in-depth inter- view was employed to gather significant information with regard to their respective lived experiences. Using the thematic analysis, the following themes emerged per- taining to their lived experiences: focusing on learners‘ interpersonal skills, teaching with limitations, and hur- dling work fatigues. There were three sub-themes that emerged from the challenges encountered or work fa- tigue by the participants. These are heavy additional workloads, interactions hindered by protocols, and obvi- ous learning gaps. The two coping mechanisms of teach- ers as participants in the challenges they experienced were creating recovery programs and professional de- velopment training for teachers in the new normal. The two educational management insights drawn from the participants were adherence to safety protocols and the importance of blended learning. Thus, Division officials, District Supervisors, School administrators and heads may encourage and support their teachers by reviewing their workloads and by supporting their efforts to ad- dress learning gaps in schools. They may also implement a comprehensive program or capacity building and pro- fessional development to help teachers to be effective and efficient in the full implementation of face-to-face classes and alternative modalities in schools.