Elementary Teachers’ Experiences and Instructional Challenges - Return to School After the Covid-19 Closure in the Philippines

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

Education began to recover from the impact of COVID-19 as pilot face-to-face classes were launched in the Philippines. The study investigates teachers’ lived experiences of preparations and instructional challenges during the early weeks of reopening following COVID-19 closures. Using a phenomenological approach, interviews with 12 elementary teachers from Bansalan Central Elementary School were recorded, transcribed, translated, and thematically analyzed. Findings identify preparation themes and highlight barriers including health-protocol maintenance, learners’ readiness, new instructional demands, and time management.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study focus and context

Purpose and research questions

Policy background and gaps

Elementary Teachers’ Experiences and Instructional Challenges: Return to School After the Covid-19 Closure In the Philippines SUSIE MARIE O. SANGGO Teacher I Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. Master of Arts in Education Management [susiemarie.sanggo@deped.gov.ph](susiemarie.sanggo@deped.gov.ph) Abstract — As education started to recover from the impact of COVID-19, the Philippine Department of Education began to roll out pilot face-to-face classes. Hence, there is a need to explore teachers' experiences regarding the preparations and challenges encountered during thereopening of classes after the COVID-19 closures. Specifically, this study explored teachers'preparation and instructional challenges encountered during the first few weeks of reopening of classes. The study utilized a phenomenological research approach. The 12 teacher-participants included in the study are involved in the face-to-face pilot classes of the Bansalan Central Elementary School of Poblacion Uno, Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Each interview lasted for about 30-minutes and was tape-recorded. Data were then transcribed, translated, and analyzed using a thematic analysis technique. The result shows that five themes emerged pertaining to teachers'preparation for the reopening of classes. These include establishing health protocols, school physical improvements, instructional materials development, psychosocial preparation, and acquiring new teaching strategies. As for the instructional challenges encountered, the teachers expressed concern about the alarming number of non-readers and students who are mentally and socially unprepared. Other challenges include the difficulty of maintaining health protocols, the need for new teaching strategies, and challenges with time management. The findings suggest that comprehensive reading intervention and psychosocial first aid programs should be part of the school reopening strategy. Furthermore, the researcher recommends that teachers should be trained to handle students during the post-pandemic era. Keywords — Class reopening, limited face-to-face, new normal, post-pandemic education, psychological first aid I. Introduction Reopening classes under the new normal entails many preparations as schools involved in the pilot face-to-face classes need to pass the School Safety Assessment (SSAT), a guideline issued by the inter-agency task force on safe school reopening (Philippine Joint Memorandum circular 1, S. 2021) . This strategy for the reopening of classes is based on the idea of shared responsibilities. Other government agencies pledged to assist schools with resources and technical support. The need for stringent preparations is to ensure the safety of the school children and personnel as they physically report to school. The government and school administrators need to ensure that the school reopening will lead to normalcy rather than contribute to the COVID-19 surge. While our schools are still planning for the full-time face-to-face classes, there are many issues our teacher front liners may have encountered. The apparent lack of studies on the school reopening strategies also contributes to our limited understanding of how best our schools can adapt to the new normal. Hence, the researcher believed in the need to explore teachers’preparations and challenges encountered with the hope of offering insights into our effective school reopening. The elementary teachers of Bansalan Central Elementary School are the focus of this study. The researcher explored the teachers’ preparation and challenges in the school reopening withinsights on how to make the reopening suited for the existing pandemic in terms of safety for the children and heath protocols for everyone. This study was conducted to explore elementary teachers' lived experiences during the return to school for the limited face-to-face classes after the COVID-19 closure. Specifically, it aimed to examine teachers’ experiences during the prep

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To explore elementary teachers’ lived experiences during limited face-to-face class return after COVID-19 closures, focusing on preparation and instructional challenges in the first few weeks of reopening.

What research method and participants were used?

A phenomenological research approach was used with 12 teacher-participants from the Bansalan Central Elementary School of Poblacion Uno, Bansalan, Davao del Sur; interviews were recorded for about 30 minutes each and analyzed thematically.

What instructional challenges did teachers report?

Teachers expressed concern about the high number of non-readers and about students who were mentally and socially unprepared. They also faced difficulty maintaining health protocols, adapting to new teaching strategies, and managing time.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel