Struggles, Coping Mechanisms, and Insights of Childless Teachers in the Philippines: A Descriptive Phenomenological Approach

Authors

Randy Ale Tudy, Cor Jesu CollegeFollow
Ida G. Tudy, Cor Jesu College

Abstract

The phenomenon of childlessness has elicited interest among professionals all over the world. However, this phenomenon received little interest, particularly in the Philippine context. The purpose of this study was to describe the struggles, coping mechanisms, and insights of childless teachers in the Philippines. We employed a descriptive phenomenological research design. Ten childless teachers participated in the semi-structured key informant interview (KII), and the data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. Results revealed the following themes: embarrassment, incompleteness, and pressures for their struggles; escapism and optimism for their coping mechanism; and work commitment and acceptance for their insights. Although being childless continued to be a challenge in their married life, the informants found a way to be happy and considered their situation as a plus factor, particularly in being available and committed to their teaching job.

Keywords

Childlessness, Childless Teachers, Qualitative Research, Phenomenology, Philippines

Author Bio(s)

Randy A. Tudy is the Director of Research and Publication Office of Cor Jesu College. He acts as program coordinator of the Master’s in Public Administration. He also teaches research at the same institution. He is the author of several books including Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Student Researchers and Learning the Fundamentals of Quantitative Research. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: andytudy@gmail.com.

Ida G. Tudy is a researcher and professor at Cor Jesu College teaching English and Research subjects both in the undergraduate and graduate levels. She is the co-author of Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Student Researchers and Learning the Fundamentals of Quantitative Research.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Cor Jesu College through the Research and Publication Office (RPO) for supporting this research project.

Publication Date

5-11-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3372

Recommended APA Citation

Tudy, R. A., & Tudy, I. G. (2020). Struggles, Coping Mechanisms, and Insights of Childless Teachers in the Philippines: A Descriptive Phenomenological Approach. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1256-1278. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3372