Philippine E-Journals

Balancing Academic and Family Life: Seamen’s Wives in Focus

Basilisa R Padriquela

 

Abstract:

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to find out the experiences of teachers on balancing academic and family life. It aimed to understand the life of seamen’s wives who was working in the academe and balancing their academic and family life. With 24 teachers, in-depth interview and focus group discussion were conducted, which revealed the lived experiences of seamen’s wives who were in the teaching profession. The major themes were financial stability and prosperity, solo parenthood woes, solitude and loneliness, anxiety and doubt, concern for children, career challenges, and balancing act with in-laws and relatives. Further, there were seven themes revealed on balancing their academic and family life such as planning and prioritizing, optimizing used of time, hard work and diligence, support and help of family, keeping lines of communication open, faith and prayer and re-charging. On their insights, seamen’s wives in the teaching profession shared four themes. These themes included family support, rewarding sacrifice, understanding and compassion, and career as an antidote. As narrated and observed, seamen’s wives appreciated the financial and economic support rendered by their husbands. Primarily, they acknowledge the value of sea faring and its relationship to financial severity, were the main reasons why their husbands had chosen to work abroad.