ABSTRACT
This study was concerned primarily with assessing the lived experiences of private school
licensed professional teachers who prefer to stay in the private schools in the Division of Calamba City. The research design used was qualitative with phenomenological approach. The study explored the experiences and challenges encountered by selected ten private school licensed professional teachers. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the in-depth interview as the research instrument. As an output of the study, a compilation of inspirational testimonies of teachers about their purpose had been proposed to inspire and motivate other teachers to teach in private school and understand the importance of them for the students' future private school.
The study generated the ten superordinate themes: Varied Unforgettable Experiences in Teaching, Good Working Relationships, Meaningful School Activities, Student Learning Behavior, Internal and External Challenges in Teaching, Teacher Satisfaction, and Happiness, Positive Relationship as Family, Delightful Fulfilment, and Maintaining Work-Life Balance.
The researcher reflected that the themes mentioned were the licensed teachers' purpose of staying and teaching in the private school. Regardless of the challenges that the teacher experiences, especially in dealing with the parents, the teacher must be responsible for the parents' complaints and problems. The teachers had learned and adopted parents' and students' behavior, thus knowing how to deal with them healthily. The private school teachers believed that the essence of joy and happiness was presented as staying and maintaining the profession in private school. Lastly, the positive outcome every teacher provided and given to their students was priceless.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the Philippines, there are two sectors in the educational field that manage teaching and instructions among teachers, either in the private or public sectors. In these two separate and diverse education sectors, teachers can practice their profession accordingly through specific grounds. The highly diverse educational framework of these two sectors can provide teachers the vast opportunities for educational practice to find out what will work for them to attain such longevity and stability considering the difference of these educational systems in many areas. It was stated in the article of School Advisor (2018) that the main difference between public schools and private school systems is in their funding and administration.
Concerning this, every teacher aims to have better careers in education ahead of them in longevity. Most of the problems facing many professionals are employment stability which can be compromised with the kind of instructional system that we have in the society allowing many teachers to engage or disengage with their jobs. One indicator of success among teacher professionals is the longevity of service rendered or the ability for retention in an institution for a long time without intending to migrate from one system to another, making them susceptible to career growth and achievement of sustainable employment.
The massive diversity of education from private and public institutions does not hamper licensed professional teachers from succeeding in their respective professions. Both private and public educational sectors promise an offering of abundance and progressions of one’s careers in education and lead them to live with their purpose. But really, there are vast differences between the two educational systems: public and private.
As the names imply, public schools are administered and funded by the local, state, or national government. In contrast, private schools are funded wholly or partly by students’ tuition and administered by a private body. To a large extent, private schools are independent of the interference of the public. Based on these two major differences, other significant differences can be noticed between public schools and private schools. As the government controls public schools, the curriculum is decided at state or national levels; that is, all public schools follow the same curriculum. The government also manages admissions and testing. Public schools also have a greater number of students than private school students. However, it is essential to note that public schools always hire highly qualified teachers. Teachers must meet all state-mandated requirements and be proficient in their subject to work in a public school.
On the other hand, a private school is neither funded nor administered by the government. It is controlled by a private body and funded partially or wholly by students’ tuition. Private schools follow the same curriculum as decided by the government. However, the method of delivery is agreed upon by the school board. The school administrators also decide the fees and admission. They also have the authority to determine whether a student meets the requirements for admission or not. It also resolves the criteria for the recruitment of teachers. In this case, a teacher in a private school may be qualified to be a teacher in a public school (School Advisor, 2018)
In connection, improving the motivation and status of teachers generally enhances teaching. Researchers believe that students learn more in classrooms with highly dedicated and motivated teachers. Raising the basis and status of teachers and retaining high-quality teachers is vital to improving education. In many educational systems, student learning suffers due to difficulties attracting high-quality teachers, limited motivation for teachers to perform their jobs well, and teacher attrition. Though well-intentioned, some educational policies and programs undermine teacher motivation. Education planners should, therefore, carefully consider the impact of their decisions on teachers and their motivations to teach. Exemplary teachers are highly motivated to teach all of their students as well as possible. However, various intrinsic factors such as loving the teaching process, enjoying children and extrinsic factors such as salary, further education) influence teachers’ motivation levels. Low teacher motivation can affect the quality of candidates entering the profession. It can also contribute to a reduced focus on the teaching and learning process, as evidenced by minimal time spent preparing lessons or supporting struggling learners. Moreover, teachers with low motivation may repeatedly arrive late or not at all. Attrition is often a consequence of low motivation and is most severe in contexts where the living or teaching conditions are challenging. (Learning Portal, 2015).
Nowadays, teachers from private schools have a fast migration to the probably because the Department of Education has been working hand in hand with teachers to ensure that their welfare and rights are upheld. For the year 2019, teachers under DepEd get to enjoy several benefits, allowances, and perks mandated by the law. The fast migration of private school teachers to public schools can be attributed to such reasons.
But, still, not all private school teachers intend to migrate. It may be because of the thin management structures in the private schools creating ideal teaching conditions. Private school teacher is not required to go through layers of bureaucracy to deal with issues, and there is a quick response to issues when raised (Davies, C., (2019) (Benefits for a Teacher Working in Private School). Communication channels are also clear due to the simplified administrative structure; thus, making a teacher’s work more simplified. This may be a reason why teachers who prefer simplicity stay in private schools.
For seventeen (17) years, the researcher has been a teacher in St. Peter Academy, one of the private schools in the Division of Calamba City. As of now, she is teaching both in the elementary and secondary levels of the said school. Although she already passed the LET (Licensure Examination for Teachers) in 2004, and even if many friends and relatives have been convincing her to seek transfer to the public school near her residence in San Rafael, Sto. Tomas, Batangas, the researcher, feels reluctant to do so.
Thus, she is interested in discovering the experiences of teachers who are already eligible for public school teaching but prefer to stay in private institutions. She wonders if she can relate to their experiences; or if those teachers have experienced something similar to hers.
The researcher seeks to answer this central question: What is the essence of the lived experience of the licensed private school teachers? And three Corollary Questions: 1. How do the licensed private school teachers describe their experiences? 2. What themes emerge from the testimonies of the licensed private school teachers? 3. Based on the consolidated results and reflections, what compendium of inspirational testimonies for licensed private school teachers may be crafted?
2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
This research study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of licensed professional teachers who still stay in a private school set-up and eligible to be admitted in the public school system. The research design used was qualitative with the phenomenological approach. The study utilized qualitative research with the phenomenology approach. According to Clemente, Julaton, and Orlean (2016), qualitative research deals with people make sense out of their lives. The perspective of the subjects of the study is a major concern. With this kind of research, meaningful information is drawn about feelings, beliefs, values, and motivations that support behavior. In this study, the researcher used this design which is truly appropriate since she explores the topics as well as the experiences of the participants involved in the study. She used the Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA) to explore in detail individual personal and lived experiences and to examine how participants are making sense of their personal and social world. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was the method in qualitative research that had its roots in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics. From the phenomenology side, it focuses on understanding human experience while the hermeneutic side, its interpretative activity since the researcher involved in the analytic process as researching with people.
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