Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

In the educational arena of the Philippines, the Department of Education

schools are facing issues on how to meet the critical factors which bear

significance in enhancing quality education due to heavy workload but with

meager salary. Teachers are asked to perform the jobs of a school registrar, a

nurse, a canteen manager and so many other things in which they lose sight of

focusing on their real job as teachers. These are considerable factors that hinder

quality education in the country as expressed by Valisno, 2012.

Multiple ancillary functions of teachers often lead towards losing their

motivation, satisfaction and competence, and even feel burnout (Howard and

Johnson, 2004). In the study conducted by Parham and Gordon (2011), a person

seeks for multiple ancillary functions only because of promotion. This

underscores the potential negative impact on individual’s satisfaction, quality of

living, and work performance. Furthermore, scholars have questioned the nature

of characteristics of teachers with multiple ancillary functions.

However, in the study of Benedict 2007, he clearly expressed that

teachers encountered problems relative to the delivery of ancillary services

because of time constraints, unfinished competencies, and financial woes. These

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problems were attributed to the unscheduled services of the teachers that

caused disruptions thus, affecting mastery of learning.

Pearson 2014 postulated in his study that teachers who are empowered in

their respective stations were already walking the extra mile in order to

accomplish assigned functions but at the end of the day, they were not

compensated in return. However, in the article published by Peters and Pearce

2012, it was revealed in the study entitled Relationships and Resilience: A

Role for School Principal that when teachers experienced difficulties in their

personal relationships, these difficulties were caused by their tiredness and

a lack of energy due to multiple work load or ancillary functions. In like

manner, Cannon 2006 cited that in countries such as China and Japan, hard

work and perserverance contributed toward academic achievement. An

important factor of what everybody needs to develop in whatever organizations

you are in.

In the study of Zickar et al. (2004), they stated “role conflict’’ for

teachers with multiple ancillary function happens if the primary and

secondary jobs are very dissimilar. An employee is more likely to face role

conflict and feel less satisfied since more efforts are required to shift among

the different roles and to adapt roles and behaviors to the different job

demands. To prevent outcomes of excessive stress of teachers,

administrators need to be proactive and assist in managing the workload

while, at the same time, foster collaborative responsibility and ownership

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(Don, Puteh, Nasir, Ashaari, & Kawangit, 2016).

It is also congruent to the study conducted by Ajzen and Fishbein 2010, who

underlined that multitasking would result into hands-on-activities and attainment

of goals and objectives. However, engaging in multiple ancillary functions can be

tsaking and demanding, where individual performance will suffer and the overall

productivity will be decreased. In like manner, the result of teachers’ multiple

ancillary functions and their increased responsibilities showed greater

accountability for school administrators. Research shows that a strong interest in

allocating greater decision-making was authoring to teachers (Howard and

Johnson 2004).

In addition, Orata (2010) revealed that overload is a nightmare because

as teacher is, so is the school, the teachers work, duties, and responsibility are

insurmountable and beyond compare. It is a very sad fact that in spite of so

many sacrifices that teachers do carry, they are still overburdened which may

add another weight in their shoulders. For teachers to renew active interest in

the exercise of their school’s responsibilities, the school should offer less

teaching load to teachers. This would provide more opportunities for teachers to

assist students to develop course content, plan effective teaching methods and

improve instructional techniques to interact with their colleagues and to

emotionally and academically support one another. Hence, there would be more

opportunities for teachers to assist students in accomplishing something

worthwhile.

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The Department of Education categorizes classroom teachers into two:

teachers without ancillary functions and teachers with ancillary functions which

means that aside from being classroom teachers they have other classroom-

related functions. Some of them are designated as Grade Level Coordinators,

Organization Moderators, SBM Chairperson, Clinic In-charge, Canteen Manager

among others.

Meanwhile, under DepED Memorandum No. 291 dated June 13,

2008, the general guidelines for the implementation of the six hours of

actual classroom teaching of public elementary and secondary teachers

and the specific guidelines to be formulated at the school level for the

remaining two hours to complete the eight hours of work, have been

promulgated. The six hours of actual classroom teaching shall cover the

full teaching load of a teacher as indicated in the class program. Teaching

loads including advisorships and/or special assignments for the entire

school year combined shall be considered as one teaching load. As cited in

the memorandum, the special assignments of teacher as grade level

coordinator, school paper adviser, class adviser, and property custodian for one

actual teaching load.

Locally, the study of Retubada (2014), opined that multiple ancillary

functions of teachers is one of the challenges encountered by schools in Davao

del Sur, Region XI. He explained that teachers, while performing their main

function as classroom advisers, are also given extra non-teaching functions as

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their additional workload since there is a need to assign these teachers as

subject area coordinators, grade level head, canteen manager, sports

coordinator, coaches in different contests in cluster, district, division, regional

and even at national levels which resulted into unsatisfactory performance of

teachers as well as students.

With this context, it urges the researcher to explore in detail the experiences

of teachers handling multiple ancillary functions in their respective stations. The

purpose of conducting this study is to broaden the perspective of finding

solutions to the long time dilemma of teachers with multiple ancillary functions.

Through this study, they could somehow find ways to sustain their courage and

fortitude amidst challenges and difficulties in handling and managing their

multiple ancillary functions.

Research Questions

The prime objective of this phenomenological study is to describe how

teachers with multiple ancillary functions practice their profession in the

contemporary setting in order to extract information where potential successors

of the next generation can learn and enhance their viewpoint while forming their

own career. The following are the research questions considered as the

researchers’ lens in the construction of the interview guide:

1. What are the experience of teachers with multiple ancillary functions?

2. How do teachers cope with the challenges of having multiple ancillary

functions?

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3. What insights can the participants share with their colleagues and the

academe in general?

4. What are the benefits of teachers from having these multiple ancillary

functions?

Scope and Delimitation

This will utilize a qualitative-phenomenological study and explore the lived

experiences of 20 public elementary school teachers in Davao Occidental.

Only 20 selected teachers who are assigned in Don Marcelino district,

Malita South, and Sta Maria East districts will be acknowledged as participants of

the study. The researchers will delimit the research participants from the

teachers in the three predetermined districts of Division of Davao Occidental to

enable to achieve ease on administration, data interpretation, and analysis.

Hence, it would not generalize the entirety of teachers in Don Marcelino district

and municipality, Division, and Region. Furthermore, this study will be conducted

in the school year 2018-2019.

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CHAPTER II

METHOD

Research Design

This study will employ a qualitative research design, specifically

phenomenological approach. A qualitative research design is described

as an approach for exploring and understanding the meaning of individual's

or group's ascribe to social or human problem as cited by (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). Moreover, qualitative research seeks to understand the

meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of

their world and the experiences they have in the world (Merriam, 2009).

Phenomenology is the study of structures of experience, or consciousness.

Literally, it is the study of phenomena, appearances of things, as they

appear in our experience or the ways we experience things (Smith, 2018).

As mentioned by Hancock, Windridge, and Ockleford (2009),

phenomenological study systematically focused on how people or group

of people can have different ways of looking at reality. However, the

uniqueness of qualitative research is that one may produce findings that

were not determined in advance and also the findings may be applicable

beyond immediate boundaries of the study. Researchers of this kind of

method study things in their natural settings, attempting to make a sense of or

interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.

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Furthermore, Burns (2000) likewise defined qualitative research as a method

that emphasizes on the naturalistic investigative strategies. This method enables

the researcher to focus on complexities and qualities in educational action and

interaction that might be unattainable through the use of more standardized

measure. Its goal is the explication of meaning rather than the isolation of truth;

it is another way of understanding people and their behavior.

With this, the researchers will able to come up with an idea how

important these experiences are to other teachers who have multiple

ancillary functions. As a phenomenological researchers, there is a need for a

careful in presenting and interpreting the experiences of the research

participants. The development of this research will be interpreted through

narrative and thematic analysis (Letts et al., 2007).

It was also mentioned by (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Giorgi, 2009) that

in qualitative research, such as phenomenology, it is recommended that

for in-depth interview, researchers could interview 5-25 participants who

had experienced the same phenomenon, if one would want to achieve the

goal of representativeness and generalizability as a criterion from a small

number of research participants.

Participants/Informants

The participants of this study will be the public elementary school teachers

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from the three districts of Davao Occidental Division, Region XI. The research will

be choosing 20 teachers for the in-depth interview and focus group discussion.

They will make up an adequate number for this guided introspection.

Research Instrument

This study will employ a semi-structured interview which Fontana and Frey

(2000) described as “one of the most powerful ways in understanding our fellow

human beings. This kind of interview collects detailed information in a style that is

somewhat conversational. Semi-structured interviews are often used when the

researcher wants to delve deeply into a topic and to understand thoroughly the

answers provided (Harrell & Bradley 2009).

Data Collection

This study will be collecting responses from the informants through in-

depth interview and/or face-to-face interview using semi-structured questions.

The following procedure will be done: (1) Secure permission from the

Superintendent and Supervisor; (2) After the approval of the permit to study,

schedule for the date and venue for the face-to-face and/or in-depth interview; (3)

The interview will be personally done by the researcher at the specified place

and date; (4) The responses will be recorded with the permission of the

informants; (5) The recorded responses will be transcribed to ensure accuracy of

responses from the informants.

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According to Elliott (2005) the most appropriate and available data

collection method to achieve data validity and reliability in the target population is

the semi-structured interview.

Data Analysis

In analyzing the participants’ transcripts phenomenological method will be

utilized. In this method, Meadows and Morse (2001) explained that all written

transcripts are read several times to obtain an overall feeling for them. The data

analysis of the interview comprised the following:

 Reading through the written transcripts several times to obtain an overall

feeling for them;

 Identify significant phrases or sentences that pertained directly to the lived

experience;

 Formulate meanings and clustering them into themes common to all of the

participants’ transcripts;

 Integrate the results into an in-depth, exhaustive description of the

phenomenon; and

 Validate the findings with the participants, and including participants’

remarks in the final description.

Ethical Considerations

Mc Leod (2009) postulated the seven key principles of ethical research,

which comprises the following: informed and voluntary consent, respect rights of

privacy and confidentiality, minimization of risk, truthfulness, social and cultural

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responsibility, research adequacy, and avoidance of conflict of interest. In the

conduct and practice of this study the Treaty of Participation is embedded. The

invitation to participate is completely voluntary in nature, and based on an

understanding of adequate information.

Another dominant concern is the Treaty Principle of Protection, as

reflected in the respect for the rights and privacy and confidentiality, and the

minimization of risk to participants. The possibility of a degree of risk inherent to

being an informant is minimized by taking all reasonable steps to guarantee

participant confidentiality. Each of the participant will be informed his/her right to

withdraw his/her information at any time up to the completion of the data

collection process. They may be requested to verify his/her individual transcript

after the interview is carried out. This provides the participants the opportunity to

amend, remove, any information which they felt might identify them or they may

be uncomfortable with.

All the transcripts will undergo validation and verification. The researcher

reserves the right to employ the use of pseudonyms and changing names and/or

non-significant dates in the interest of the protection of the identity of the

participant in all subsequent data analysis and reporting. With regard to the

protection of participants, it is noted that this study will never involve the use of

deceit in any stage of its implementation. Gaining the trust and support of

research participants is critical in an ethical academic inquiry (Walker, 2007). All

participants will be given an informed consent form before scheduling the

interviews and participating in the phenomenological research process.

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Each participant will be required to provide a signed personal

acknowledgment, consent, and an indication of a willingness to participate in the

study release. The purpose of the informed consent letter will be to introduce the

research effort, provide contact information, articulate the intent of the study,

request voluntary participation by the recipients, and identify the anticipated

information that participants will be expected to provide. Personal assurances of

committed participation, prompt scheduling of the interviews and personal

contact will ensure adequate participation to achieve thematic saturation.

The informant’s consent letter will articulate the procedural steps to

maintain privacy, confidentiality, and the non-attribution of the individual

responses. The consent letter declares that the participants’ background

information would remain confidential and would not be released without prior

expressed personal approval. Restricted access based upon a need to know

protects and secures participant information to maintain confidentiality,

anonymity, and to ensure that all the responses are secured from inappropriate

disclosure to enhance reliability of provided data. All participants are required to

sign and return the letter of consent to the researcher before participating in the

research. All the informants’ responses will be secured in a locked repository.

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