When the Child is not Born

The Sensitive World of

Filipino Childless Teachers

Randy A. Tudy
Ida Gauran- Tudy

MacroJournals Conference on Business and Social Science: New York 2015*** Dec. 28-29, ‘16, New York Hilton Midtown,
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Do you have a baby now?
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The phenomenon of childlessness has gained

interests among sociologists and demographers
throughout the world.
Dramatic change in the patterns of
childbearing since the post Second World War
(Sobotka, 2004).

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Women do not want to have a child (Gillespie, 1999;

Hakim, 2004; Mencarini & Tanturri, 2005).
VOLUNTARY OR INVOLUNTARY CHILDLESSNESS

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To prepare in having a child a number of socio-

economic factors must be first in place (González &
Jurado-Guerrero, 2006).
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childless
lifestyle
*POORER QUALITY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
*LESSER INCOME than fathers
(Dykstra & Keizer, 2009).

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In India, a study among rural childless couples
found out the prevalence of social culture which
largely influences the psychological state of these
couples.

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In Ghana, childless couples were stigmatized

and not allowed to handle leadership duties in
the community. (Tabong & Adongo, 2013)
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The purpose of this phenomenological study

was to describe the life experiences of childless
teachers in Davao del Sur, Philippines.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What are the life experiences of childless
teachers in the workplace?

What insights and suggestions can they

share to other childless teachers and to the
academe, in general?
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 STUDY DESIGN
Phenomenological Tradition

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 STUDY PARTICIPANTS
Married teachers who have no children either by choice or
circumstance

Married for 2-20 years, eager to participate and willing

to sign the consent letter.

10 teachers participated (3 males and 7 females 17

PURPOSIVE

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COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

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ROLES OF THE RESEARCHERS

Interviewers
Transcribers
Translators
Analysts
Interpreters
Writers
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 INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

Experiential-theoretic transition model

(Piantanida and Garman, 2009).

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TECHNIQUE IN WRITING RESULT
Story-telling writing (Creswell,1998)

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 TRUSTWORTHINESS
Fenton and Mazuwelics (2008)

Credibility – member checking

Transferability – dissemination of results
Dependability- shared experience of the participants
Confirmability – audit trail

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Consent, use of codes

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 EXPERIENCES OF THE CHILDLESS 25
TEACHERS IN THE WORKPLACE

“A little bit
embarrassing
especially
when teachers
talk about the
number of
children they
have.” EMBARRASSMENT
INCOMPLETENESS

A picture of blissful families,

with parents happy with their
children, made the informants
felt jealous and insecure

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 Pressures

Not having a child was a constant question they received 27

Escapism and
Defense
They tried to divert
topics. Most of the
time they ignored
the talk.

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OPTIMISM
“I love my work
but it is better to
have a child.”

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Economic &
Personal
Advantages

Upsides of Childlessness
AVAILABILIT &
COMMITMENT

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 INSIGHTS TO OTHER CHILDLESS TEACHERS
AND TO THE ACADEME IN GENERAL

Accept the reality, be

tough & remain positive
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 Spend Quality Time with Spouse
“Although I do not have
a child, I am still grateful
to God. I have a strong
relationship with my
husband.”

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 Be Sensitive
Avoid childlessness as the topic specially there were
others who are insensitive.

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 Be thankful amidst the Situa

“We do not have a child but it is not a hindrance for

us to be happy.”
DISCUSSION

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IMPLICATION

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

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