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CONQUERING TRIALS AND RELISHING TRIUMPS: THE JOURNEY OF

TEACHER-MOTHER

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Graduate School

PHINMA Araullo University

Cabanatuan City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

Major in Educational Management

By

MARA CONCHITA P. ROBLES

March 2024
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Approval Sheet

We, the members of the Thesis Review Committee have found the Thesis of

MARA CONCHITA P. ROBLES

entitled

CONQUERING TRIALS AND RELISHING TRIUMPS: THE JOURNEY OF

TEACHER-MOTHER
Acceptable and hereby recommend it for oral examination

CEASAR C. LOPEZ, Ph.D.

Adviser

Lulu Diamante, Ph. D Dante G. Parungao

Member Member

Approved by Board of Oral Examiners

PAQUITO R. DOMINGO, Ed.D.

Chairman

Salome Manuel, Ph. D. Ceasar C. Lopez, Ph.D

Member Member

Donnabel M. Germino, Ph. D.

Member

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER IN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

EMILY L. GARCIA, CPA, MBA

Dean President
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher would like to express her heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the

following generous and kind people who, one way or another, have assisted the

researcher in the completion of this undertaking:

Dr. Ceasar C. Corpuz, her thesis adviser, for his never-ending passion in mentoring

the researcher and for his sublime and transcendent example of a prolific and inspiring

educator;

Dr. Paquito R. Domingo, the chairman of the Thesis Committee for being a good

mentor.

Dr. Lulu Diamante, Dr. Salome Manuel and Dr. Donnabel M. Germino ,

members of the advisory committee for sharing their knowledge and valuable

suggestions, for the improvement and enhancement of this manuscript and for their words

of wisdom and encouragement.

Dr. Edgardo Camacho, Bongabon District Supervisor who approved the conduct of

this study;

To all the teacher-mothers/participants of Bongabon District who answered and

provided the needed data;

Her friends, school head and co-teachers for their moral support, encouragement

and motivation.

Her Family for the encouragement, moral and financial support, love and prayers.
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Above all, she is overwhelmed in all humbleness and gratefulness to acknowledge

our Almighty God, her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His favor, kindness and

faithfulness to fulfill every promise and make all things possible. To God be the Glory!

- MARA CONCHITA P. ROBLES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Approval Sheet

Acknowledgement

List of Tables

List of Figures

Abstract

CHAPTER

I THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

AND STUDIES

Introduction

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Synthesis of Related Literature and Studies

Statement of the Problem

Significance of the Study

Scope and Limitation of the Study

II METHOD

Research design

Participants
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Research Site

Materials and Instruments

Data Collection

Data Analysis
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Abstract

The study focused on the journey of teacher-mothers and their challenges and triumphs in

Bongabon District, Nueva Ecija. The researcher used qualitative design to determine the

experiences. The study involved 12 participants, using the purposive sampling design.

Interviews were used as data collection technique for the study. Data were gathered

through face-to-face and phone call interview and by giving interview questionnaires

personally to the participants.

Participants’ background information shows that their ages ranged from to years

old, of which were () female and the () others were male.

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CHAPTER I

The Problem and Review of Related Literature and Studies

Introduction

“I’m a teacher-mother, of course…!”, a catchy social media statement that every

teacher mother will understand. It may sound silly but it will somehow reveal the true

world of educators especially those with kids. Having a family and a career at the same

time requires a lot of adjustment just to juggle with the flow of life. As we live in a

diverse world wherein women are designed to stay at home and be responsible from

maternal responsibilities, a transition from being a traditional housewife to a career

woman has been made. Moreover, with various opportunities, doors were opened to

success and recognition. As with the saying “With great power, comes with great

responsibility”, many women are confronted with challenges associated with motherhood

and demands of their job. Balancing these roles can be both rewarding and challenging,

requiring a delicate equilibrium between professional commitments and family

responsibilities.

One of the most significant challenges faced by teacher mothers is balancing the

maternal and career obligations. It is not a simple task especially teaching profession

requires a lot of work time. Unlike with other professions that one can enjoy its time after

office hours. As such many career women are trying the best of them to cope with the
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dual responsibilities. But with many of the challenges comes the triumphs that every

teacher mothers should celebrate with.

The journey of a teacher mother is behind with challenges and triumphs, as they

strive to excel in their profession while fulfilling their responsibilities as parents. It

involves navigating two demanding roles: a teacher and a parent. Teacher-mothers must

balance the responsibilities of raising ang caring their own children as well as teaching

and nurturing their learners. This dual role requires exceptional time management,

organizational skills, and emotional resilience.

With the high demands in raising a family and fulfilling work responsibilities, how

are teacher-mothers able to find balance and success? To answer this question, there is a

need for an increased understanding of how teacher-mothers negotiate the balance

between their professional and family duties while attempting to attain personal

satisfaction and remain in the classroom.

Review of Related Literature

Relationship between fellow educators, parents and family

According to Bryk and Schneider (2002), effective teacher cooperation requires a

high level of trust as well as mutual respect among the participating educators.

Additionally, Ingersoll and Strong (2011) and Little (1990) found that the school's

culture, the support of leadership, and teacher attributes such as experience, subject area,

and ideas about cooperation may all affect the results of teacher collaboration. As per the
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research results, collaborative efforts among teachers are imperative for fostering the

professional development of educators and achieving favourable academic outcomes for

students. Nguyen and Ng (2020) conducted research indicating that the establishment of a

learning culture within educational institutions is of utmost importance, whereby

educators collaborate. having a connection with other women in the workforce who share

similar values can help. Lee et al. (2009) share that finding these relationships can help

with challenges and have someone to talk to about the stresses and resources. In addition,

Lee et al. (2009) suggest that mentors are essential for women in academia to find the

support to help them succeed.

The decisions parents make have influenced their children’s growth and development

and led to either positive or negative outcomes (Respler-Herman, Mowder, Yasik &

Shamah, 2012). A strong social support network for the family was also associated with

more positive parenting behaviors (Respler-Herman, Mowder, Yasik & Shamah, 2012).

This social network often included families, friends, and neighbors, but early childhood

programs strived to make teachers a part of that support system by forging positive

relationship between families and teachers (Baumgartner & McBride, 2009). The

National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) accreditation

criteria for quality childcare included a joint effort between parents and teachers to

determine program 2 goals and form a reliance on families as a resource for learning

more about the children (Reedy & McGrath, 2010). The objective was having parents and

teachers working together in a relationship based on shared decision making, mutual

trust, and respect in pursuit of helping encourage and enhance the child’s development
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(Dunst et al., 2000). A positive relationship encouraged parents and teachers to exchange

information about the children, which resulted in positive outcomes for parents and

children. In addition, knowing effective parenting practices and having realistic

expectations of children’s behaviors helped parents to be more resilient in the face of

adversity (Bokony, 2009)

In both the United States and India, work–life research including dual-earner couples

is intrinsically tied to gender. Dynamics of both the workplace and home environment

changed with the entry of women into the workforce. In the United States, issues of

work–life became critically important in the 1970s as women with families entered the

workforce in higher numbers (P. Miano,A. Salerno, 2015). In India, the economy was

liberalized around 1991, increasing exposure to global competitiveness, opportunities for

economic growth, and the entry of more female employees into the workforce (H.

Berlato, K. [Link], (2017) . In both countries, working women created the need for

organizations to address gender and diversity through work–life initiatives, making it

easier for dual-earner couples to balance work and life ([Link], W.S.W Mustaffa,

[Link],[Link], 2017). Nowadays, flexible working hours are becoming

important to the workplaces. A lot of organizations offer flexible working hours to

employees due to the benefits that flexibility gives to both employee and

employer([Link], W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link], H.A Wahid, 2016). Greater

employee productivity and higher organization profitability are the most common

benefits. Also, flexible working hours promote and facilitate work-life balance. If work is

positive, it can positively experience family life (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006).
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Financial Literacy

Financial literacy refers to one’s capacity to manage and navigate resources carefully

and meaningfully (Mandell & Klein, 2009). Furthermore, it is the combination of

awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude and behavior to achieve financial being (Hussain &

Sajjad, 2016). Higher levels of education is said to impact increased financial literacy

understanding (Marcolin & Abraham, 2006). According to the Philippine Constitution

(Article XIV, section 5), “The state shall assign the highest budgetary priority to

education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best

available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and

fulfillment.”

Over the years, public school teachers have been known to be the top client of

different lending agencies, whether it be public or private institutions. Mateo(2017)

mentioned that according to the Department of Education, teachers’ debt in the country is

already amounts to 300 billion pesos. Meanwhile, after two years, the same department

reported that it rose to 319 billion pesos. Initially, every reason why teachers applied for a

loan is acceptable.

According to a study of Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies (PIDS) on

households, the current secretary of the Department of Education noted that the
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propensity of public school teachers to borrow is 50 percent higher compared to

government employees like police officers and nurses. Leisure travel topped the

commonly listed interests of teachers. Travels that are planned or unplanned lead to

misuse of financial incomes. They also spend most on their budget to their basic needs.

These include food, shelter, clothing, and daily fares (Perculeza et al., 2016). They also

spend for classroom first aid kit and cleaning supplies. Every school year, teachers allot

budget for furniture and decorations to make classrooms more conducive for learners. On

top of that, teachers have low family income and housing ownership level. Furthermore,

they lack skills in financial management and planning which results to high incidence of

informal credit and significant housing debt. Those are some of the contributing factors

why teachers tend to borrow money (Ferrer, 2017). According to the Department of

Education Secretary Briones (2017),financial literacy is essential for teachers,

particularly in light of the fact that teacher s’ debt has been rising. "Thus, something must

be done," she highlighted,that is why, she welcomes financial literacy programs to teach

teachers how to invest and how to save. She also initiates programs on financial literacy

and issues DepEd Order No. 022 series of 2021 to target public school teachers and

DepEd personnel to enhance their financial literacy and capability. In a study conducted

by Fausto (2019), the teachers’ problem is not the amount of salary, but the environment

makes it so easy, if not attractive, to take on loans. They just need to show their pay slip

and they instantly get a loan. Even the GSIS and PFIs make it so easy for them to make a

loan, and some even give freebies. Even the teachers who have not yet received their first

salary can already avail of a loan.

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STRATEGIES TO COPE WITH THE DUAL ROLE

Support Group Participation

Organizations can also support career mothers in the teaching profession in many

ways. Many women do not perform maximally when attending to organizational roles

alongside family roles because both organizations and society do not understand

women’s needs within a family framework (Evbouma, 2008). MacIntyre et al., (2020)

suggests that school teachers who are also mothers should receive support from

the school, community and specialized training; higher risk of occupational

stress in those teachers who perceived high demands and low resources (Kebbi, 2018).

The risk of imbalance between work and family roles does not affect only individuals,

but also the family, the organization in which they work, the government, as well as the

society at large (Ajala, 2013). In order for women to perform maximally within their

organizational roles, the organization should seek to support women by lessening work-

family role conflict so that they can focus on their work (Downes & Koekemoer, 2011).

Organizational support is defined as “the extent to which employees perceive that they

value their contributions and cares about their wellbeing” (Sinha & Subramanian, 2012,

p. 72). According to Ajala (2013), it has been found that organizational support has a

relationship to employees’ commitment to the organization and a good quality of work-

life balance, which results in employees being more satisfied with their jobs. Many
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contemporary organizations are beginning to initiate gender sensitive and family-friendly

policies and programmes in support of their employees (Evbouma, 2008; Sanichar,

2004). The aim of these programmes is to ease stress relating to balancing work and

family responsibilities (Evbouma, 2008). Organizations may support women by

providing on-the-job training, access to decision-making processes, advancement to

managerial positions and support for equitable distribution of gender responsibilities,

mentoring programmes and removal of ‘glass ceiling’ phenomena (Evbouma, 2008).

Ajala (2013) asserts that, nowadays, organizations do not just offer employees training

for the job, but are also trying to equip employees with support systems that promote

workplace learning. Offering employees capacity building in the organization has proven

to have a positive impact on job satisfaction, and leads to increased productivity, which

enhances quality of work life. The organizational support includes structural supports that

involve restructuring one’s job, or flexible job design and changing human resource

policies in order to enable an individual to have control over her workload and work

hours (Kossek, Lewis & Hammer, 2010). Other examples of structural work-life support

include, teleworking, working at home, reduced workload, work sharing, vacations, sick

leaves, childcare facilities within the organization of employment, occupational health

and safety programmes, sabbatical and career breaks (Downes & Koekemoer, 2011).

Most faculty mothers’ lives were deeply conflicted as they managed responsibilities

in their personal life and professional work (Nawaz and McLaren 2016).It has also been

shown that women in the 21st century experience challenges in terms of balancing these

dual roles. However, a recent study conducted by Okonkwo (2014) revealed that women
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in management did not experience work-family conflict because of their economic status.

They were able to hire ‘house help’ or employ people to perform household chores for

them. Such people see to some of the home responsibilities such as cleaning and

childcare. It is argued that women who experience challenges in terms of work and

family conflict are women who do not earn enough to afford some of the services like a

domestic worker and laundry. According to Matias and Fontaine (2015), the first strategy

and the fourth strategy seem more like problem solving mechanisms, whereas strategy

two seems like avoiding the situation. It is also highlighted that delegating some duties,

being “super” and “being good enough” have been proven to work, unlike prioritizing,

which has been found not to be a useful coping strategy. On the other hand, Hall as cited

in Matias and Fontaine (2015), revealed three coping mechanisms with work-life conflict.

The first one involves Structural Role Definition, which means changing what is

expected of the roles played. The second strategy is called Personal Role Definition, and

means changing conceptions about what is expected of certain roles, or changing one’s

character in order to be able to cope with multiple roles. The last strategy involves

Reactive Behaviour, which means working hard to meet all role expectations without

changing anything about one’s life (Matias & Fontaine, 2015). The difficulties in

achieving the coping mechanisms call for better work-life balance policies. Bhattacharya

and Pramanik (2016) indicated that work-life interferences may occur when one cannot

stop thinking about uncompleted activities at work at the workplace while she is at home.

Furthermore, one may be too exhausted from work strain to carry out family

responsibilities.
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In addition, Okonkwo’s (2014) study reveals that many African families depend on

extended family members for social support, especially with childcare. With this kind of

available resources and social support, Okonkwo (2014) found out that there was no

conflict between work and family roles amongst professional women. This assertion is

however contentious as some career women are not staying with extended family

members. The sources of support include, but are not limited to, spousal support,

organizational support and supervisory support, as well as cultural work-life support and

structural life support (Ajala, 2013; Aycan & Eskin, 2005; Downes & Koekemoer, 2011).

The family responsibilities of women may affect their work role in an organization;

at the same time, women need assistance at home with household chores, elder care

duties and childcare so that they can focus on their work role (Ajala, 2013; Imbaya,

2012). In some African families, working women will leave their children with the

grandparents or in-laws leaving the woman to focus on work roles (Okonkwo, 2014).

Performance of traditional role within the family is demanding and married women need

their spouses’ support in order to succeed in their career (Imbaya, 2012). Imbaya (2012)

asserts that family is the most substantial system in the life of an individual, and

therefore, a woman’s success in a career depends on the support family gives her. This

support may take the form of moral support, support with house chores and childcare, and

spousal support. Spousal support has been proven to have a positive impact on how

women balance their work role with family responsibilities (Ajala, 2013; Evbouma,

2007; Imbaya, 2012). These mechanisms are similar to those described by Matias and
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Fontaine (2015) whose study revealed work-family coping mechanisms that address role

conflict.

According to Lee et al. (2009), “Work-life balance allows the fulfillments of work roles

without the loss of personal life” (p.75).

TIME MANAGEMENT

One of the most significant challenges faced by teacher-mothers is the constant

balancing of priorities and time. Balancing the demands of work-stuff related activities

and with the responsibilities of parenting, household management, and personal well-

being requires a unique skill set and an unwavering commitment to excellence. The

teacher mother's days are often long and exhausting, filled with moments of

overwhelming stress and fatigue. There are several reasons someone chooses to pursue a

teaching career, such as the desire to educate the nation, try new challenges to convey

material to students, try new experiences, fulfilling a long-held dream, utilizing leisure

time productively, and the desire to socialize with friends or colleagues. Mothers who

work as teachers face the demanding task to maintain professionalism in carrying out

their duties as educators, teachers, mentors, assessors, and evaluators of students, and to

fulfil their responsibilities as housewives, attending to their spouses, caring for children

and managing household chores.

A 2005 study that focused on parent's balance between work and family found that

workers who attempted to combine their work life and their home life were the most

stressed with the result, thus clear boundaries between home and work must be
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established (Blacher, 2005). The difficulty of balancing work and family can be

challenging and many choose not to do it. McKinsey & Company (2017) find that senior-

level women often have more household responsibility than senior-level men, specifically

5.5 times more likely than their male partners to do all or most of the household work.

“Doing a disproportionate share of household work may dampen women’s career

aspirations: women with partners and children have significantly lower aspirations to be

top executives than men with the same family structure” (McKinsey & Company, 2017,

p. 18). Therefore, women opt out of leadership positions to be able to maintain life at

home. Educated women who are expected to perform family duties often encounter

challenges (Knowles, Nieuwenhuis & Smit, 2009; Attom, 2014).

One could argue that we have what we did not expect: “problems of fertility, female

burnout, eating difficulties, not to mention ‘who’s going to take care of our children?’”

(Dickerson, 2004, p. 338) Many women are joining men in the provider role, causing a

role conflict for women. Recent data show that “four in five families with children no

longer fit the archetypical structure of a single male breadwinner and female home-

helper” (Savitsky, 2010, p. 174) and that women are now “acting as breadwinners or co-

breadwinners in more than half of all American families” (Savitsky, 2010, p. 174)

In as much as the number of female teachers is still below expectation, research

conducted by Sultana et al. (2014) has shown that some positive qualities such as
honesty, creative thinking, problem solving and patient are appearing in female that are
appropriate for the highest achievement in the teaching profession. In both countries,
working
women created the need for organizations to address gender and diversity through work–
life
initiatives, making it easier for dual-earner couples to balance work and life
([Link],
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W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link],[Link], 2017). Nowadays, flexible working hours
are
becoming important to the workplaces. A lot of organizations offer flexible working
hours to
employees due to the benefits that flexibility gives to both employee and
employer
([Link], W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link], H.A Wahid, 2016). Greater employee
productivity and higher organization profitability are the most common benefits. Also,
flexible
work-ing hours promote and facilitate work-life balance. Reduced stress and
increased
employee wellbeing are out-comes of the work-life balance (S.C. Kundu, Rina 2013)
In both countries, working
women created the need for organizations to address gender and diversity through work–
life
initiatives, making it easier for dual-earner couples to balance work and life
([Link],
W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link],[Link], 2017). Nowadays, flexible working hours
are
becoming important to the workplaces. A lot of organizations offer flexible working
hours to
employees due to the benefits that flexibility gives to both employee and
employer
([Link], W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link], H.A Wahid, 2016). Greater employee
productivity and higher organization profitability are the most common benefits. Also,
flexible
work-ing hours promote and facilitate work-life balance. Reduced stress and
increased
employee wellbeing are out-comes of the work-life balance (S.C. Kundu, Rina 2013)
In both countries, working
women created the need for organizations to address gender and diversity through work–
life
initiatives, making it easier for dual-earner couples to balance work and life
([Link],
W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link],[Link], 2017). Nowadays, flexible working hours
are
becoming important to the workplaces. A lot of organizations offer flexible working
hours to
employees due to the benefits that flexibility gives to both employee and
employer
([Link], W.S.W Mustaffa, [Link], H.A Wahid, 2016). Greater employee
productivity and higher organization profitability are the most common benefits. Also,
flexible
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work-ing hours promote and facilitate work-life balance. Reduced stress and
increased
employee wellbeing are out-comes of the work-life balance (S.C. Kundu, Rina 2013)
The difficulty of balancing work and family can be challenging and many choose not

to do it. McKinsey & Company (2017) find that senior-level women often have more

household responsibility than senior-level men, specifically 5.5 times more likely than

their male partners to do all or most of the household work. Within the literature, some

researchers find that real balance is nearly impossible to accomplish and instead should

focus on how to integrate the two successfully. Zigler (2007) shares that school principals

should embrace the imbalance and should focus more on seeking meaning, not balance.

Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) found that when work and family were integrated, the

two roles could enhance each other, and managing each role's boundaries is more

important than just reducing time spent at work.

Furthermore, some research points to the other side of the debate that balance is hard

to find and ultimately, one will suffer if the other is out of balance. Shillingstad (2011)

determined that all of our lives' roles compete for a limited amount of time and energy

from a single individual. With each added role and 17 responsibility, the challenge

becomes more difficult to manage until work or family suffers.

Cheung (2010) finds that “past studies of work-life balance rarely included leaders at

the top with substantial family care responsibilities and have not considered their

responses as a distinct group; partly because there are very few women leaders to be

studied” (p. 186). Marshall (2009) believes that it is an urgent issue to include more
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women leaders in the field of work-life balance as women are primarily responsible for

managing work and family and we must learn what strategies they employ to help others.

Efficiency of their Work and Home Performance

Women, whether in the past or present, are always expected to perform duties of

wife and mother in addition to fulfilling their professional duties. Knowles, Nieuwenhuis

and Smit (2009) argued that mothers find it difficult to understand themselves as they try

to manage the demands of the world of work and family responsibilities. Many mothers

seem to feel tired and stress-out trying to find equilibrium in terms of paid work demands

and parenting commitments. If they somehow put their career interest first, they often

experience feelings of guilt and selfishness (Bhattacharya & Pramanik, 2016).

Women’s representation in the workforce has increased considerably in the past 30

years, yet, women still take a greater responsibility for the family especially the care for

children (Guendouzi, 2006).

In the past, very few teachers were in the position of also being mothers especially

while their children were small. But we live in a diverse world, along with the rising

number of mothers in the labor force, the group of women who are both teachers and

mothers has increased. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the

percentage of female teachers in primary Education in Philippines on 2021 was 90.20%.

Teaching is often referred to as a job, sometimes as a career, or even a profession,

but it is far more than that: We consider the choice as a way of life, or even a way of
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being. The teacher’s journey represents a lifelong commitment to learning, not only about

your content area, grade level, curricular changes, school policy, and technological

innovations, but about true passion for new knowledge and skills that make you more

effective as a professional—and a human being.

Women’s labour force participation is considered as economic indicator since it

helps to reduce unemployment rate, poverty and increases the overall standard of living.

Similarly, as part of women’s participation in the labour force, their engagement in the

teaching career is advantageous to the nation as teachers have positive impact on students

of diverse background within the nation (Sultana, Norhirdawati, Zahir, Norzalan &

Yaacob, 2014).

Work-life balance has always been concerned with those interested in the quality of

working life and its relation to broader quality of life. Successful teachers who want a

long-term career in education must learn how to juggle the demands of being in a

classroom all day long and still maintaining a satisfactory personal life.

When mothers became academics and academics became mothers, the tug of war in,

the continuous tension of, and the dialectical relationship between motherhood and

teacherhood, the pulling on opposite ends of the rope, spelled indescribable stress and

pressure for these academic mothers (Burk et al. 2020; Clarkson et al. 2021; Stead et al.

2021; Young 2015). Their embodied maternal experiences disrupting the disembodied

academic work (Ollilainen 2020) have largely remained inadequately theorized (Bell and

Sinclair 2014; Gabster et al. 2020) in career–motherhood studies. As a highly embodied

reality, motherhood rendered an academic woman vulnerable and stigmatized in the

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workplace (Bassett 2005; Huopalainen and Satama 2019; Knowles et al. 2009) as she is

perceived to have her primary loyalty at home.

According to Rincy & Panchanatham (2014), privilege, status security, psychological

energy and personal growth are benefits that may come from assuming multiple roles and

one can have a positive impact on the other. One of the biggest obstacles they will face is

learning how to juggle all of the responsibilities, which often involve working long hours,

participating in evening and weekend events and managing crises regardless of when they

arise (Metzger, 2006).

Time Management

To Zafarullah and Pettri (2017) educators should create better time management

skills to strengthen their drive and happiness at work and enrich their personal and

professional lives. Moreover, time management and motivation should be practiced in the

behavior of the teachers (Torres and Conceição, 2019).

Better job performance in the organization is predicted by showing good time

management abilities (Iqbal Amin Khan et al., 2023), by implementing significant

administrative reforms or adhering to the necessary administrative procedures, teachers

should fully utilize the advantages of time management (Eriau, 2017).

The work-life balance affects their productivity and performance as teachers. By

fulfilling their roles and responsibilities in being a teacher, with managing their time they

have a greater impact on productivity, and they become more stable in every challenge

they have experienced. As Jundran and Saleem (2021) time management has unique
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advantages in determining the period of time that is most productive. The teacher also has

a responsibility as a parent, time is divided over their roles and responsibilities and

profession, this study, aims to find out how dedicated teachers balance their work-life. In

relation to the study of Khan et al., (2016) suggested that time management

techniques should be included in teacher training programs to assist teachers to develop

and control their time in playing their roles and responsibilities. As to Zhang et al., (2021)

when it comes to improving quality and improving productivity in a fast-paced work

environment with a wide range of job demands—time management is a crucial tool.

Stress Management

Teaching-mothers faced issues in terms of maintaining their work-life balance,

managing space and resources for online teaching, and learning a new set of skills in

orderto teach online, which affect their mental health (Kalsoom, 2021; Utami [Link], 2021).

One solution to maintain sound mental health is to get positive influences in the teaching

professions through proactive changes like promoting self-esteem and encouraging

students, parents, co teachers to talk about their worries andair their concern to school

authorities for possible support system; they are important in productive work outcomes

(Murphy,2018). As Oladipo and Oladejo (2018) emphasized that there was a substantial

correlation between time management behavior and teacher job performance.

Stress is a very complex phenomenon that we can define in several ways. However,

if you put them together, it is basically the wear and tear of daily life. Stress management
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refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies for controlling a person’s

stress level, especially chronic stress. If there is effective stress management, we can help

one another break the hold of stress on our lives. The essay on stress management will

throw light on the very same thing. Even before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic,

performing these duals roles brought big impacts on the mental, physical, social and

economic status of working mothers globally(Vahratian, Blumberg,

Terlizzi.&Schiller, 2021;.Kirwin & Ettigner, 2021; Quickfall, 2020; Ehsan & Jahan,

2021) The contribution of stress to anxiety and mental disorders were revealed

also in other studies (Wang et al., 2020; Huang & Zhao,2020; Vindegaard & Benros,

2020; and Pappa et al., 2020), , as cited by Ehsan & Jahan, ,2021).

On the other hand, Li et al., (2020) found that economic factors significantly

contribute to how working mothers experienced stress. Aside from these, there are critical

demands on teachers who are also mothers namely, dealing negative behavior of

students and frequent absenteeism, administrative demands and lack of teaching

materials (Lambert [Link]). Moreover, these teachers face issues like feelings of distress

due to closure of schools and overwhelming experience by the change of teaching

modalities from the face-to-face modalities to virtual teaching; social confinement

had substantially transformed the work scenarios of the educators; and affected the

health of teachers of all levels (Carnese, 2020; Di Vincenzo,2020; Favant, 2020;

Fernández, 2020; Figueroa -Díaz, 2020; Santoro, 2020; Vallejos, 2020).

According to Cooper (2018), personality types are important factors in determining

stress, being thus capable of explaining how certain people manage to function for years
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while handling huge amounts of stress. Whereas others collapse after several months

under similar amounts of stress. For example, “those who are high in neuroticism are

more likely to perceive life events as highly stressful while those high in extraversion are

less likely to perceive life events as stressful,” (Ebstrup et al., 2018, p.23). Therefore,

“neuroticism is negatively related to the use of some effective coping styles such as

problem-focused and active coping, and positively associated with avoidance coping.

Furthermore, extraversion is positively related to active coping styles like problem-

focused coping styles and looking for social support, and it predicts avoidance

negatively,” (Afshar et al., 2018, p. 67).

According to Abu Alhija (2018), who referenced Kyriacou (2016), each teacher

experiences different pressures. These depended on the particular interaction of the

teacher's character, principles, capabilities, and environment. Additionally, a teacher's

judgment of how stressful a scenario was may be affected by a variety of factors,

including personality qualities, coping mechanisms, and environmental circumstances.

and emotions inclined towards a healthy development (Saricaoğlu et al., 2018).

Many of the studies confirmed the correlation between stress and performance where

increasing stress levels led to poorer performance (Al-Kubaisi, 2017 as cited by Oteer,

2018). According to Mingoa (2017), the five most common sources of stress for Filipino

teachers were as follows: having too much paperwork; high cost of living; insufficient

salary and other money concerns; oversized classes; and being too busy (including

simultaneous activities as being enrolled in school, being employed, parenting,

community service). Other most common sources of stress stemmed from monetary
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concerns. For the most common sources of stress, public school teachers found most

stressful the problem of insufficient salary and oversized classes. The other most

common sources of stress, being too busy and having too much paperwork, equally

affected teachers of any age, civil status, years of experience, and whatever level or kind

of school (public/private) they were teaching (Mingoa, 2019).

Specifically, most teachers found watching television an effective way of relieving

their stress; so, with window shopping at malls, watching sports on television, going to

movies, and doing deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Although the method

mentioned were positive, most of them were sedentary. Among the most common coping

strategies teachers resorted to certain hobbies. Accordingly, many more male than female

teachers and more elementary rather than high school teachers watched television.

Window shopping and watching movie were mostly done by young and single teacher

(Mingoa, 2019).

In order to cope with the accumulated stress at their job, teachers called for some

solutions. They discussed problems with their family members, friends or colleagues

(Aldrup et al., 2019). They underwent psychological counselling, taking part in training

programs for personal development and resilience (Neves de Jesus et al., 2018; Sandilos

et al., 2018). They also self-examination of the life style avoiding situations or persons

who generated the stress. They spent free time in nature, practiced physical relaxation

exercises (Fengler, 2019). Among the measures considered by specialized institutions to

be efficient for stress relief were the following: avoiding educational policies changes,

improving work conditions, and suggesting objectives with a moderate level of

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accomplishment. Also, a transparent, objective assessment, increasing wage and number

of teachers, decreasing the number of pupils in a classroom, orientation on clear

objectives, program implementation regarding stress management at the job, mini-brakes

during work hours, time keeping were also mentioned (Fengler, 2019). In addition of

those measures were; an attitude full of kindness, positivism and gratitude, valuing these

and the feeling of membership (Cozolino, 2018). Also, the development of the support

groups and mentors for professional development establishing flow in teaching,

establishing spaces for stress relief at the job and improvement of the teaching wellbeing

(Aldrup et al., 2019).

Innovative Practices

Teaching and learning should adapt to the continuous innovative practice such

technological innovations as one of the most important innovations in the present time as

there here are many positive outcomes on the use of social media learning to

students’performance; increased social connectivity and belonging, personal contentment

and self-esteem, emotional; on the other hand, social media use takes away the attention

of the children to their concentration in their studies particularly when students multitask

like emailing, texting, games and Facebook; internet helps in sharing information, for

entertainment and research; and mobile phones should be used mainly for communication

and not doing school work (Charmaraman and Richer, 2018; Felisoni et al., 2018;

Chawinga, 2017; Moghavvemi et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2017; Liu, Kirshner & Karpinski,
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2016; Cobanoglu & Yurek, 2018). In consideration of these teachers and other

educational managers’ practices should be defined to address the demands of the new

normal (Leithwood et al., 2020; Aureada,2021; Owusu-Fordjour & Koomson ,2020;

Dutta & Smita, 2020). Teachers should weigh each thing to better fulfill their roles and

responsibilities. Teachers as the main source of knowledge and motivator of learning

(Culajara, 2023), teachers must exercise the continuous learning process as a lifelong

learner (Aquino and Chavez, 2022). Professional discipline and motivation both directly

impacted how well teachers performed at their jobs (Haryaka & Sjamsir, 2021).

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the journey of teacher-mother including their trials and

triumphs while in service. Specifically, the researcher aims to answer the following

questions:

1. How may the profile of the teachers be described in terms of:

1.1. age;

1.2. civil status;

1.3. number of children;

1.4. age of children;

1.5. highest educational attainment; and

1.6. years in service

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2. How may the respondents describe their difficulties and triumphs in performing

the roles as a mother and teacher in terms of:

2.1 relationship between fellow educators, parents and family;

2.2 efficiency of their work and home performance;

2.3 financial literacy; and

2.4 possible barriers to women advancement in career.

3. Strategies to cope with the dual role

3.1 Support group participation

3.2 Time management

3.4 Stress management

3.5 Innovative practices

Significance of the Study

The result of this study would be beneficial to the following:

Educators and Administrators: Being aware with the experiences of teacher-mothers

can inform the education system about practices, support and policies. Recognizing

challenges and triumphs faced by teacher-mothers can inform schools to help them

promote work-life balance.

Parents and Families: The study can provide support for mothers who balance career

and family duties, sharing strategies to cope with dual responsibilities.

Employers and Workplaces: Employers and workplaces outside of the education sector

can also benefit from the study by gaining learnings into the difficulties and strategies
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employed by individuals balancing work and family duties. Knowing the experiences of

teacher-mothers can inform workplace policies and practices aimed at promoting gender

equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Future Researchers. The result of this study would give insights to the future

researchers. It would serve as reference to those who are also interested to continue or

pursue future studies related to the topic.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to identify the journey of teacher-mothers.

Specially, this study aimed to:

3.1. describe the participants’ background in terms of age, civil status,

number of children, age of children, highest educational attainment and

years in service;

3.2. determine the participants’ difficulties and triumphs in performing

the roles as a mother and teacher; and

3.3. find out the strategies to cope with the dual role

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study was focused on the gathering of data from the teacher-mothers from

Bongabon Central School - SDO Bongabon, Division of Nueva Ecija. The study used a

purposive sampling design which concentrated on the successful stories of teacher-

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mothers of BCS. This study also has the following limitations. It consisted only 12

participants who teacher-mothers at Bongabon District. It would only focus on: the socio

demographic characteristics of participants in terms of age, sex, civil status, number of

children, age of children, educational attainment and years in service and difficulties and

triumphs in performing their role. Lastly, strategies for coping dual role will also be

determined.

CHAPTER II

Methodology
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This section presents the research design, locale of the study, population and

sampling, research instrument, data gathering procedure, data analysis and ethical

considerations.

Research Design

Qualitative research design was employed in this study. The researcher conducted a

face-to-face and phone call interviews and also used interview questionnaires to

determine and examine the participants insights and experiences as teacher-mothers at

DepEd Nueva Ecija-SDO Bongabon.

Qualitative research is an approach for exploring and interpreting the meaning of

journey of teacher-mothers. It involves social research in which the researcher relies on

text data rather than numerical data. It analyzes data in textual form and focuses on

understanding the meaning of human action (Schwandt, 2001). In a broad sense, the

purpose of qualitative research is to obtain “an understanding of how people make sense

out of their lives, delineate the process of making meaning, and describe how people

interpret what they experience” Merriam (2009).

The phenomenological approach was fitting with this study as it focused on how

people make sense of their lived experiences. This study focused on mother teacher that

allow them to face the challenges, and the support systems and management strategies

they use in balancing work and family. Being able to hear their stories and voices of their

lived experiences was critical in understanding how they could balance an intense career

with being a parent.

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Participants

To determine the participants of this study, the researcher used purposive sampling

procedure to investigate the twelve (12) participants who are teacher-mothers from

Department of Education – SDO Bongabon. They were asked about their personal

information, their journey as a teacher-mother and the relevance and effectiveness of

teacher-mothers. The researcher employed face-to-face interview with the twelve (12)

participants.
21

Research Site

This study was conducted in the municipality of Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. Bongabon

is an old town of Nueva Ecija and was the second Capital of Nueva Ecija, after Baler,

which is now the capital of Aurora. Looking back at History, before the creation of the

province of Nueva Ecija in 1705, Bongabon was part of the province of Pampanga.

Bongabon was quite populous and it was not long after that it became municipality

making Santor one of its barrios. In 1760 and the Parish Patron become Saint Francis of

Assisi became the Parish Patron since then. Years later, Bongabon became the capital of

Nueva Ecija. Bongabon got its name from the botel nut palms (bunga) that abound in the

place. Up to this time, botel buts are plentiful in the poblacion and in the barrios, most

specially in Santor. Basic information, Bongabon is chief an agricultural town. Its soil is

fertile and mostly sandy loam. It is very suited to rice, corn, vegestables like onions and

petchay.
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Bongabon Central School is under the DepEd which is located at Brgy. Social,

Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. It is under the Division of Nueva Ecija headed by the Schools

Division Superintendent Sir Ronaldo A. Pozon. It was supervised by the School’s District

Supervisor Mr. Edgardo P. Camacho followed by Mr. Vicente Ventura, Jr., School

Principal IV of BCS.

Figure 1. Map Showing the Location of the Study

Research Instrument
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In this study, the researcher developed guide questions with the assistance of the

thesis advisory committee. Primary data were obtained from the respondents through the

use of interview questions that aimed to obtain information that would describe the

triumphs and challenges of teacher-mothers.

Data Collection

All information relative to the conduct of this research involved primary data given

by the participants of the study. The researcher submitted a request letter to the District

Supervisor. The informants were purposively chosen from them. The participants gave

the salient qualifications and characteristics like those teachers who have children

especially the younger ones. Consent form was given to the chosen informants in order to

determine their most convenient interview schedule. Once the informants have agreed to

do the interview, it was immediately conducted. The interview guide was provided to the

informants before the interview. After conducting the interview, the gathered data were

analyzed and interpreted to the needs of the researcher based on the objectives of the

study.

Data Analysis

Data analysis began as soon as the first set of information was gathered from the

twelve (12) participants. The researcher reflected continuously on the teacher-mothers’

perceptions, impressions and experiences during interviews.

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Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) method was employed to

analyze the qualitative data which were in the form of text or word which are based on

the answers of the participants during the conduct of the interview. It is one of the

several qualitative methods for analyzing data and interpreting the meaning

(Schreir,2012). Once the data were encoded, the researcher started to identify themes,

looking for the most common responses to questions, identifying data or patterns that

could answer the research questions and finding areas that can be explored further.

In the light of the research questions specified, data were carefully reviewed as

well as the significant codes reflecting the journey of teacher-mothers. Interview

transcripts were read several times and data coding was done to exhibit classification and

emerging themes.

Guide Questionnaire

Part I Socio Demographic Characteristic

1. Name:

2. Age:

3. Civil Status: [ ] Single [ ] Married [ ] Widowed [ ] Separated

4. Number of children: ________

5. Age of children: __________

6. Highest educational attainment: ___________

7. Years in service: _____________

Part II Difficulties and Triumphs in Performing their Role as a Mother and a Teacher
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1. How is your relationship between your fellow educators, parents and your family

members?

2. How efficient are you in school and at home?

3. How do manage your salary to provide your career and family needs?

3. Can you describe a specific instance where you felt overwhelmed by the dual

responsibilities of teaching and motherhood?

5. What is your view of yourself as a mother while working to balance career and

motherhood?

Part III Strategies for Coping Dual Role

1. Do you participate in support groups like social media groups or group of people

with the same situation like yours in school?

3. How is your support system with your family? (i.e. husband or immediate family)

4. How do you ensure that you manage your responsibilities at work and at home

properly?

5. Do you still find time for yourself?

6. How do you handle the stress from work and at home?

7. What are the activities that you do in order to maintain your mental health?

8. What are the innovations that you use to perform your dual roles?

9.
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