"My job as a teacher literally never stops": How Filipino women teachers coped during the Covid-19 pandemic

Kimberly C. Rivera
Bataan Peninsula State University, Philippines

In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic affected the whole world, particularly in the education sector as schools were closed and social distancing applied as control measures. Nevertheless, teaching and learning continued, overcoming diverse challenges and adopting various coping mechanisms, as examined in this phenomenological research into the personal experiences of forty-two women teachers in public high schools in Bataan, Philippines during June-November 2021. The challenges noted included using the same space for multiple roles; undefined work hours; high workloads; students' diverse contexts; and lack of control in quality of learning delivery, quality of support from educational leaders, and health risks in delivery/retrieval of modules. The coping mechanisms included hiring help; prioritising workloads; blending work; separating home and workspace; upskilling through self-learning or training; collaborating with colleagues; employing flexible processes; and investing in resources. This study suggests that the most pressing needs of teachers for coping with current teaching and learning in Covid-19 pandemic circumstances are provision of quality resources; creation of policy that will improve balancing of workload; designing flexible and equitable work assignments; improving health protection, and being supportive for work-life blends.
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Author: Kimberly C. Rivera is an Associate Professor at Bataan Peninsula State University, Balanga Campus, Philippines. Her research interests include integrating arts in chemistry education, women in science and women in education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-9577 Email: kcrivera@bpsu.edu.ph Please cite as: Rivera, K. C. (2022). "My job as a teacher literally never stops": How Filipino women teachers coped during the Covid-19 pandemic. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1584-1604. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/rivera.pdf