The Pandemic’s Repercussions: Tales of Filipino Teachers Working in American Schools Amidst Covid-19


Authors : Lanah Rhee Millan; Dr. Remigilda D. Gallardo

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 3 - March


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3kjdj7v8

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/2s4kd8df

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25mar1855

Google Scholar

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Note : Google Scholar may take 15 to 20 days to display the article.


Abstract : This study explores the personal experiences of Filipino teachers who worked in the United States during the pandemic, shedding light on their challenges, coping strategies, and valuable insights. The focus is on six primary school teachers from Carlsbad, a quaint city in Eddy County, New Mexico. Using a phenomenological approach, the research aims to capture the heartfelt stories of these educators, who were thoughtfully chosen to represent their colleagues across various grade levels within the same district. To gain a deeper understanding of their lived experiences, virtual in-depth interviews were conducted. During these conversations, several important themes surfaced. The teachers discussed the process of "Learning through Technology," as well as the "Technological Stress" they encountered while transitioning to online teaching. They also expressed feelings of being "More Challenged Teachers," highlighting the unique obstacles they faced during this time. Among the specific challenges were problems such as "Intermittent Internet Connections," which disrupted their lessons, as well as feelings of "Lack of Physical Activity and Interactions" and "Language Barriers Online," all of which contributed to their difficulties. To navigate these challenges, the teachers relied on various coping mechanisms. They highlighted the importance of "Considering Professional Development" to strengthen their skills and "Valuing Resilience and Change Management" to weather these unprecedented times. The insights shared by these teachers underscored the importance of "Social Connectedness" and the vital role of adaptation for thriving in the educational landscape. The findings suggest that educational institutions employing Filipino teachers could enhance their experience by assigning seasoned mentors who can offer meaningful support. This guidance could come through training programs or mentoring relationships that encompass academic, technological, cultural, and institutional knowledge, ultimately fostering a more nurturing environment for foreign educators.

Keywords : Lived Experiences, Pandemic, Distance Learning, Filipino Teachers, America.

References :

  1. Abdullah and Ismael, (2019) Al Lily, A. E., Ismail, A. F., Abunasser, F. M., and Alhajhoj, R. H. (2020). Distance education as a response to pandemics: Coronavirus and Arab culture. Technol. Soc. 63:101317. doi: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101317
  2. Adopt A Classroom.org (2022). State of Teaching Statistics 2022, online article, 10 S 5th St Ste 835 Minneapolis, MN 55402, Published on April 12, 2022 by Devon Karbowski https://www.adoptaclassroom.org/2022/04/12/state-of-teaching-statistics-2022/?
  3. Aperribai, (2020), Arias, W. L., Huamani, J. C., and Ceballos, K. D. (2019). Síndrome de Burnout en profesores de escuela y universidad: un análisis psicométrico y comparativo en la ciudad de Arequipa. Propósitos Representaciones 7, 72–91. doi: 10.20511/pyr2019.v7n3.390
  4. Baird, K. (2020, May 19). Caring for Educators is the First Step in Serving Students -. THE Journal. https://thejournal.com/articles/2020/05/19/caring-for-educators-is-the-first-stepin-serving-students.aspx
  5. Besser, A., Lotem, S., and Zeigler-Hill, V. (2020). Psychological Stress and Vocal    Symptoms Among University Professors in Israel: Implications of the Shift to Online Synchronous Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J. Voice Official J. Voice Foundat. S0892-1997, 30190–30199. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.028
  6. Bredo, E. (1994). Reconstructing educational psychology: Situated cognition and Deweyian pragmatism. Educational Psychologist, 29 (1), 23-35.
  7. Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140- 6736(20)30460-8
  8. Bruner, J. (1985). Models of the Learner. Educational Researcher, 14(6), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X014006005
  9. Bustos-Orosa, M. A. (2008). Inquiring into Filipino Teachers' Conceptions of Good                Teaching: A Qualitative Research Study. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher (De La Salle University Manila) . Dec2008, Vol. 17 Issue 2, p157-171. 15p. Retrieved from https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract
  10. Cachón-Zagalaz, J., Sánchez-Zafra, M., Sanabrias-Moreno, D., González-Valero, G., Lara-Sánchez, A. J., and Zagalaz-Sánchez, M. L. (2020). Systematic review of the literature about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of school children. Front.Psychol. 11:2457.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569348
  11. Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
  12. Cavanaugh, C., K. J. Gillan, J. Kromrey, M. Hess, and R. Blomeyer (2019). The effects of distance education on K–12 student outcomes: A meta-analysis. Naperville, Ill.: Learning Point Associates. http://www.ncrel.org/tech/distance/index.html
  13. Chabbott, C., & Sinclair, M. (2020). SDG 4 and the COVID-19 emergency: Textbooks, tutoring, and teachers. PROSPECTS. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09485-y
  14. Cullinane, C., & Montacute, R. (2020). COVID-19 and Social Mobility Impact Brief #1: School Shutdown. 11
  15. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Second Edition.California: Sage Publications
  16. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications
  17. DeBord, K.S., Aruguete, S. & Muhlig, P. (2018). Are computer-assisted teaching methods effective? Teaching of Psychology 31 (1):65–68.
  18. De la Fuente, J., Peralta-Sánchez, F. J., Martínez-Vicente, J. M., Sander, P., Garzón-               Umerenkova, A., and Zapata, L. (2020). Effects of Self-Regulation vs. External              Regulation on the Factors and Symptoms of Academic Stress in Undergraduate Students. Front .Psychol. 11:1773.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01773
  19. Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. Free Press.
  20. DeWitt, P. (2020, April 26). 6 Reasons Students Aren’t Showing Up for Virtual Learning. Education Week - Peter DeWitt’s Finding Common Ground. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2020/04/6_reasons_students_a rent_showing_up_for_virtual_learning.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB
  21. Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime. McKinsey & Company, 9.
  22. Eachempati, P., & Ramnarayan, K. (2020). Ten maxims for out of class learning to outclass the academic challenges of COVID-19. MedEdPublish, 9. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000089.1
  23. Fagell, P. L. (2020). Career Confidential: Teacher wonders how to help students during coronavirus shutdown: Phi Delta Kappan. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721720923799
  24. Fedynich, L. V. (2014). Teaching beyond the classroom walls: The pros and cons of cyber learning. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 13, 1. https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/131701.pdf.
  25. Gewin, V. (2020). Five tips for moving teaching online as COVID-19 takes hold. Nature, 580(7802), 295–296. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00896-7
  26. Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school. Teachers College Press.
  27. Hrastinski, S. (2008). Asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 4. https:// er.educause.edu/articles/2008/11/asynchronous-and-synchronouselearning.
  28. Jakubowski TD, Sitko-Dominik MM (2021) Teachers’ mental health during the first two      waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0257252.                 https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0257252
  29. Johnson, A. V., La Paro, J., & Crosby, D. A. (2017). Early practicum experiences: Preservice early childhood students’ perceptions and sense of efficacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45, 229–236
  30. Kim, L. E., and Asbury, K. (2020). ‘Like a rug had been pulled from under you’: The impact               of COVID-19 on teachers in England during the first six weeks of the UK lockdown. Br. J. Educ. Psychol. 90, 1062–1083. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12381
  31. Kaden, U. (2020). COVID-19 School Closure-Related Changes to the Professional Life of a K– 12 Teacher. Education Sciences, 10(6), 165. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10060165
  32. Korkmaz S.& Mirici, İ. H. (2021): Converting a conventional flipped class into a synchronous online flipped class during COVID-19: university students’ self-regulation skills and anxiety, Interactive Learning Environments, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2021.2018615
  33. Lavis, V. (2010). Multiple researcher identities: Highlighting tensions and implications for ethical practice in qualitative interviewing. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7, 316- 331. doi:10.1080/14780880902929506
  34. Li, Q., Miao, Y., Zeng, X., Tarimo, C. S., Wu, C., and Wu, J. (2020). Prevalence and factors for anxiety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic among the teachers in China. J. Affect. Dis. 277, 153–158. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.017
  35. Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (2005). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  36. Mala,D.(2020)https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1919728/filipinoteachersfeel-the-pinch
  37. Manches, A., & Plowman, L. (2017). Computing education in children’s early years: A call for debate. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(1), 191–201.
  38. McPake, J., Plowman, L., & Stephen, C. (2013). Preschool children creating and communicating with digital technologies in the home. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(3), 421–431.
  39. Moore, J. L., Dickson-Deane, C., & Galyen, K. (2011). E-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same? The Internet and Higher Education, 14(2), 129–135.
  40. Moran, D. (2010). Introduction to Phenomenology. London and New York: Routledge.
  41. Nadiahan, M.B. & Cabauatan, L. I.. (2021). Practically ingenious teaching: instructional     behavior of teacher education faculty members in a Philippine public state universıty amidst Covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Education, Technology and Science, 1(4), 102–118.
  42. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2009). NAEYC standards for early childhood professional preparation, position statement. https://www.naeyc.org/fles/naeyc/ fle/positions/ProfPrepStandards09.pdf.
  43. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2012). Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age Washington DC. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/ fles/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/ resources/ topics/PS_technology_WEB.pdf
  44. Ormston, R., Spencer, L., Barnard, M., & Snape, D. (2014). The foundations of qualitative research. In J. Ritchie, J. Lewis, C. M. Nicholls, & R. Ormston (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students & researchers (2nd ed., pp. 1-26). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
  45. Plowman, L., & McPake, J. (2013). Seven myths about young children and technology. Childhood Education, 89(1), 27–33.
  46. Polito, Theodora. (2005). Educational theory as theory of culture: A Vichian perspective on the educational theories of John Dewey and Kieran Egan. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37(4).
  47. Prado-Gascó, V., Gómez-Domínguez, M. T., Soto-Rubio, A., Díaz-Rodríguez, L., and Navarro-Mateu, D. (2020). Stay at Home and Teach: A Comparative Study of Psychosocial Risks Between Spain and Mexico During the Pandemic. Front. Psychol. 11:566900. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566900
  48. Reich, J., Buttimer, C. J., Fang, A., Hillaire, G., Hirsch, K., Larke, L., Littenberg-Tobias, J., Moussapour, R. M., Napier, A., Thompson, M., & Slama, R. (2020). Remote Learning Guidance From State Education Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A First Look. EdArXiv. https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/437e2
  49. Riel, M. & L. Polin (2019). Online communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical environments. In Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning, ed. S. A. Barab, R. Kling, and J. H. Gray, 16–50. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.
  50. Ryan, R. (2018), The effects of Web-based social networks on student achievement and perception of collaboration at the middle school level. PhD diss., Touro University International, City, Calif.
  51. Schafer, K. (2020). Impact of COVID-19on public psychological state and also the              buffering effect of a way of coherence. https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/510752
  52. Schroeder, V. M., & Kelley, M. L. (2010). Family environment and parent-child relationships as related to executive functioning in children. Early Child Development and Care, 180(1), 1285–1298.
  53. Singh, V., & Thurman, A. (2019). How many ways can we define online learning? A systematic literature reviews of definitions of online learning (1988–2018). American Journal of Distance Education, 33(4), 289–306.
  54. Smith, D. W. (2013). An extensive introductory discussion of the principal works    of the classical phenomenologists and several other broadly phenomenological thinkers. London and New York: Routledge.
  55. Stephen, C., & Plowman, L. (2008). Enhancing learning with information and communication technologies in pre-school. Early Child Development and Care, 178(6), 637–654.
  56. Van Lancker, W., & Parolin, Z. (2020). COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: A social crisis in the making. The Lancet Public Health, 5(5), e243–e244. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30084-0
  57. Vu, C.-T., Hoang, A.-D., Than, V.-Q., Nguyen, M.-T., Dinh, V.-H., Le, Q.-A. T., Le, T.-T. T., Pham, H.-H., & Nguyen, Y.-C. (2020). Dataset of Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives and perceived support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data in Brief, 31, 105788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.105788
  58. Walters, A. (2020). Inequities in access to education: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 36(8), 8–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbl.30483
  59. Wang, G., Zhang, Y., Zhao, J., Zhang, J., & Jiang, F. (2020). Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet, 395(10228), 945– 947. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30547-X
  60. Wedenoja, L. (2020). What to expect when you weren't expecting online classes. USA Today Magazine, 148(2900), 20–22.
  61. Yilmaz, A. B. (2019). Distance and face-to-face students’ perceptions towards distance education: A comparative metaphorical study. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, 20(1), 1302–6488. https://fles.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1201959.pdf.
  62. Yurt, Ö., & Cevher-Kalburan, N. (2011). Early childhood teachers’ thoughts and practices about the use of computers in early childhood education. Procedia Computer Science, 3, 1562–1570.

This study explores the personal experiences of Filipino teachers who worked in the United States during the pandemic, shedding light on their challenges, coping strategies, and valuable insights. The focus is on six primary school teachers from Carlsbad, a quaint city in Eddy County, New Mexico. Using a phenomenological approach, the research aims to capture the heartfelt stories of these educators, who were thoughtfully chosen to represent their colleagues across various grade levels within the same district. To gain a deeper understanding of their lived experiences, virtual in-depth interviews were conducted. During these conversations, several important themes surfaced. The teachers discussed the process of "Learning through Technology," as well as the "Technological Stress" they encountered while transitioning to online teaching. They also expressed feelings of being "More Challenged Teachers," highlighting the unique obstacles they faced during this time. Among the specific challenges were problems such as "Intermittent Internet Connections," which disrupted their lessons, as well as feelings of "Lack of Physical Activity and Interactions" and "Language Barriers Online," all of which contributed to their difficulties. To navigate these challenges, the teachers relied on various coping mechanisms. They highlighted the importance of "Considering Professional Development" to strengthen their skills and "Valuing Resilience and Change Management" to weather these unprecedented times. The insights shared by these teachers underscored the importance of "Social Connectedness" and the vital role of adaptation for thriving in the educational landscape. The findings suggest that educational institutions employing Filipino teachers could enhance their experience by assigning seasoned mentors who can offer meaningful support. This guidance could come through training programs or mentoring relationships that encompass academic, technological, cultural, and institutional knowledge, ultimately fostering a more nurturing environment for foreign educators.

Keywords : Lived Experiences, Pandemic, Distance Learning, Filipino Teachers, America.

Never miss an update from Papermashup

Get notified about the latest tutorials and downloads.

Subscribe by Email

Get alerts directly into your inbox after each post and stay updated.
Subscribe
OR

Subscribe by RSS

Add our RSS to your feedreader to get regular updates from us.
Subscribe