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Lived experiences of Students with overseas

Filipino worker parents: The case of Makiling I.S.

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

MEMBERS:

DIEGO, PERFECTO

CAGUIOA, CRIS JUN MARK

MAGSILANG, VON CARLO

MARCH 2020

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CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Migration is the result to the person who does not have

better job and income, in order to attain their necessity. They need

to go and live to different countries. These circumstances are typical

in any Filipino people who experiencing poverty and hardships in

life. So that means poverty is the cause to force anyone either the

father, mother, or both parents to migrate for the sake of their

children’s betterment in future and sustainability of their needs.

Because of the overseas migration, numerous children are growing

up devoid of their parents’ love, time, and attention. However, the

overseas migration of one or both of the- parents is not new

phenomenon, in the reason of, it is a prevalent case in accordance

with the statistics of The Commission on the Filipino Overseas

recorded that as of, 2006, citing that there were 8.23 million

Filipinos abroad, of whom 3.6 million were permanent migrants. But

in the year of 2013. it was prospectively to increase, and this

resulted in 10.4 million Filipinos living in foreign countries. Among

the Filipino workers, 96.2% -

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are overseas contractual worker (OCWs) The remaining 3.8% are

regular and self-employed workers, most of the OCWs came from

the Luzon island, the largest group of OCWs is in the Calabarzon

province comprising 18.4%; those that come from central Luzon

provinces, is 13.9%: and from the National Capital Region, 12.8%.

Therefore, 45.1% of all OCWs come from Luzon provinces the rest

come from the Visayas islands and Mindanao. It should be-

Remember that Eastern Visayas (consist with Leyte and Samar)

provide 9.4% of all OCWs and Western Visayas (Panay and Negros)

has 6.5%, according to the Philippine Statistical Authority recorded

as of, 2016. Multiple of these OCWs have their own families. The

children who were secluded by their parents because of work

abroad may feel emotional and psychological distress maybe the

reason is the deficiency of affection and parental interaction to each

other. Smeekens, (2010) stated that the parents have to leave their

children at home in order to work abroad to be able to financially

support them. The convention on the rights of the child emphasized

that the personality and traits of the child is fully and

chronologically developed in the family under an atmosphere of

happiness, love, and care. When the parents understand this right

of children and the concept of the family that lives together, they-

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need - to restore the concept of a family to be able to take care of

its welfare. Thus, parents must leave their children to work

overseas. So that means parent’s influence and presence is

significant for the Child development. Thus, the phenomenological

study is suitable for our approach on the subjects that we selected

to study, dedicated to them.

Theoretical ⁄Conceptual Framework

This study is concentrated in three theories: namely,

family systems theory, attachment theory, and structural family

theory. The family systems theory suggests that an individual is a

part of the family is a complex, dynamic, and integrated whole and

there is interaction and influence between and among all the-

members (Minuchin & O’Brien, as cited in Taylor, 2008), Thus, it is

presupposed that left-behind children often suffer psychological and

emotional challenges because they terribly miss their parents.

Attachment theory (Bowlby, as cited in Taylor, 2008) is concerned

with personal relationships between human beings. This theory

presupposes that children need to develop a relationship with at

least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to

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occur normally. This theory assumes that students whose parents

are working abroad are deficient with the parental care and

attention necessary for their social and emotional development

(Taylor, 2008). Minuchin’s structural family theory, (Minuchin, as

cited in Taylor, 2008) describes a family structure that is reinforced

by the expectations established by roles. There is hierarchical

structure with clear boundaries in which the parents- possess the

leadership role (Taylor, 2008). Each member of the family holds

several roles like a mother serves as a wife and also helps her

husband manage the family (Goldenburg & Goldenburg, as cited in

Taylor, 2008). This theory presupposes that when parents are

working abroad, the immediate role that they play in the family

structure as mother or a father is lost. This phenomenological study

inquired and described lived experiences of the students whose

mother, father, or both parents are working overseas. The

discoveries of the study may add to the structure information of

concerning the experiences of children longing for personal time

and attention from the parents. The results may be likewise be

utilized for advisory and guidance purposes.

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Graphical presentation of the three theories implication.

INSUFFIENCY IN NEEDS

MIGRATION AND DEPARTURE OF

PARENTS WORKERS PAUPERS

PSYSCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND INSTABILITY

OF ACACEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THEIR CHILD

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Scope and Delimitations of the Study

For clarity of focus this research undertaking was guided

by the following scope and delimitations.

1. This study is concentrating on the lived experiences of

selected students of the Makiling Integrated School for the

analysis and description gathering toward in our study.

2. The researchers selected 7 students as a subject to be

personally asked and interviewed related to their lived

experiences having an overseas contractual worker parent

or any relatives. The subjects where be provided enough-

time to think what to testify, to express recommendation

and regulations.

Definitions of Terms

Migration- the act, process, or an instance of migrating to the

different countries.

Departure- the act or an instance of leaving.

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Psychoanalysis- a method of explaining and treating mental

and emotional problems by having the patient talk about dreams,

feelings, memories, etc.

Phenomenology- The study of the development of human

consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or apart of

philosophy.

Anxiety- feeling or nervousness about what might happen.

Instability- the tendency to change your behavior very quickly

or to react to things in an extremely emotional way.

Pauper- a very poor person who has no money to pay to pay

for food, clothing, etc.

Utilize- to use (something) for a particular purpose.

Prospect- the possibility that something will happen in the

future.

OCW- overseas contractual worker

Worker- a person who does a job to earn money

Integrated- having different parts working together as unit.

Presuppose- to be based on the idea that something is true

or will happen.

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Significance of the Study

The purpose of this research is beneficiary and useful, for

all the family because this study provides awareness for them in

order to apply the learning to their lives and to avoid mistakes.

Furthermore, this study grants realization and guidance for the

students to understand the importance of family’s integration and

belongingness to their lives. The researchers desire their research is

meaningful and helpful for the prospectively becoming researchers

to the approaching future era. Shall the righteous purpose and

deeds will be prevailed.

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Chapter 2

A REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND

STUDIES

At this portion of research, the study expounds the semi-

structure of the main problem, its occurrence in situation and the

types of relevant studies which is having a source primary in books,

theories, the internet and different researches. This context

includes: 1) The lived experiences of Students 2) The concept of

Migration and Psychoanalysis 3) OCWs Parents effects to their

children experiences.

Migration and its Effects on Academic Performance of

Children

The United Nations International Children

Emergency Fund (as cited In Owusu, n.d.) proclaimed that

migration of parents is conforming to limited education and child

obligations. While financial support of the OCW parents enable their

children to acquire school needs and pay school accounts, they still

have the experience and situation of negative educational results,

but not totally the children excluded in all developing countries

suffer negative educational results. Parreńas (as cited in, 2008)

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reported that two boys who were recognized by a guidance

counselor as troublemakers were respectful and obedient and had

demonstrated higher cognitive skills compared to their classmates.

Harris and Godall (2008) also reported that parental assistance in

facilitating learning when their children are at home is a significant

factor for their children’s scholastic achievement.

Migration and its Psychological Effects on the Family Left

Behind

The children who has been left behind by their

parents, according to Dela Garza (2010), are expected to meet

psychological and emotional stresses until they reach adolescence.

Furthermore, Parreńas (as cited in Owusu, n.d.) stating that children

who have one Parent (the mother) left with them at home

experiences much care and attention. Parental absence creates

“disruptions and changes in living arrangement” (Reyes, 2008, p.

2). disturbance in feelings and emotions goes with overseas

migration of parents. The presence of the extended family to take

care of the children only partly relieves emotional disturbance

because children always long for the tender loving care of their

parents (Reyes, 2008). For young children, according to Arellano

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Caranding et al, and Anonuevo (as cited in Reyes, 2008), migration

means abandoning the children resulting in positive or negative

effect. The positive effect is that the children become happy

because of the material benefits. But the negative effect is that they

cannot hide and keep their emotion from being sad due to their

parents’ absence. These children do not recognize that their parents

care for them when they are given the material things (Reyes,

2008). This situation is parallel with results of Battistella and

Conaco’s study (as cited in Reyes, 2008), which revealed that

children consider parental absence as abandonment and source of

loneliness, For being lonely, these children whose parents are on

overseas employment are far behind in scholastic performance from

their classmates with parents living with them (Reyes, 2008) noted

that children whose parents are working abroad are less socially

adjusted. Other children with mothers on work migration have the

tendency to be angry, confused, apathethic, and more afraid than

other children. According to Atikha and Balikbayani (as cited in

Reyes, 2008), the parents’ long periods of absence is often the

reason why their children do not know their parents well, and their

association is most often forged by monetary remittances, gifts, and

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phone calls. Their absence at home makes the children feel that

they have been abandoned.

The importance of Communication after Migration

It could be distinguished from several studies that children were not

abandoned by their parents despite the distance through the advent

of technology. Parreńas (2005) found that mothers who were

working abroad did not abandon their children during migration.

Instead, they did intensive care by providing acts of love and care

via available means of communication, this simply shows that being

far from the family is not necessarily a hindrance to being

responsible in providing emotional restrain to the children.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

The chapter depicts the method of this qualitative

research used, the participants of the study, the tools for

investigation and interrogation, the data gathering procedures

borrowed, and the ethical considerations that were utilized in this

research.

RESEARCH DESIGN

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This is a phenomenological study as this explored

the lived experiences of the students whose parents are working

abroad. A phenomenology is “a strategy of inquiry in which the

researcher identifies the essence of human experiences about a

phenomenon as described by participants” (Creswell, 2009)

Phenomenology describes the subjective reality of an event as

perceived by the study- population. It is concerned with the lived

experiences of a person (Litchman, as cited in Wa-Mbaleka, 2016).

Population and Sampling

The researcher had interviewed a number of 7

participants; 7 students. Consistent with the phenomenological

approaches, they where selected based on their willingness,

availability and ability to provide in-depth detailed, and relevant

information about their experiences.

For student participants:

a. High School students; and

b. Experiences with parents abroad.

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Following the given criteria, the participants where consisted of

4 male(students) and 3 females (students). The number of 7 was

selected through purposive sampling techniques.