Experiences of Secondary Science Teachers in the Early Stage of Post-Pandemic Education

After the ravage of COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine educational system is now squirming slowly but steadily in welcoming the new days of its aftermath. As education flounder back to face-to-face learning, this qualitative study conducted an in-depth exploration of teachers’ experiences in the early stage of post-pandemic education utilizing Colaizzi’s phenomenological data analysis. The in-depth interviews with the participants revealed three themes with five sub-themes namely; contrasting teaching pedagogy, deteriorating academic achievement, and behavioral challenges. The sub-themes include; teaching in MDL is monotonous while face-to-face is boundless, substandard learning transfer and significant learning gap, declining reading skills, academic dishonesty, and apathy among learners. Regardless of the number of years teaching, all the participants concede that MDL has brought more negative effects than the positive ones in students’ academic performance. Recommendations are highlighted which include enhancement activities to bridge the learning gap especially on the alarming number of non-readers; redefine assessment to eliminate academic dishonesty; harness new acquired skills in using educational apps and learning management systems; and support from the government in solving longstanding educational inequities that are unearthed during the pandemic.