Philippine E-Journals

 Part-Time Instruction: A Comparative Lens

Rhodora S. Ranalan

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Teachers who work on a part-time basis in other schools while maintaining a full time teaching employment have stories to tell. Their reasons for teaching as part-time faculty, their experiences in other schools, as well as their views on part-time instruction are sources of the stories that this phenomenological research paper aimed to present. The study focused on the experiences of two groups of college teachers in the University of the Immaculate Conception. Using interview, focus group discussion and fielded questionnaire, the study found that though the two groups of teacher participants have various reasons for being part time teachers, their motivations converge on two points: they teach for additional income and for recognition of their expertise. The researcher classified the experiences of the participants into either fulfilling or frustrating. Both groups articulated that their fulfilling experiences are mainly rooted on the growth and appreciation shown by their students as well as the school’s recognition of their expertise. Both groups also expressed that their frustrating experiences are income-related and also due to the different school systems that confronted them. Although there are dissonances in their shared experiences, there is also synchronicity in their perceptions and encounters with a different school. Moreover, their reasons for teaching part-time are closely related with how they assess their experiences as either frustrating or fulfilling.