Change Gear, Gear Up: Understanding the School-Based Management Experiences of the Teachers in the Last Mile Schools

This phenomenological study aimed to understand teachers' School-Based Management experiences in the last-mile schools. This study recorded their challenges, their coping mechanisms, and what learning and insights they can share. Moreover, it involved twenty (20) teachers from the Division of South Cotabato in the T’boli II district located at Barangay Maan, T’boli, South Cotabato, Philippines. They underwent in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) using the validated research instrument. The findings of this study revealed that teachers encountered the challenges of Burdening Pressure, Overwhelming Paperwork, Wavering Confidence, Emerging Passiveness, Occurring Misunderstanding, Varying Loads, Unravelling Authenticity, Lacking Knowledge, and Believing in Competence. In addition, they could cope with it by Uplifting Themselves, Receiving Compliments, Free-flowing Dialogue, Safe-Keeping Documents, Preparing Themselves, Replenishing Environment, Sharing Informal Conversation, and Learning Accountability. Finally, their insights were about Becoming One’s Best Version, Having a Compassionate Heart, Stepping out of Comfort Zone, Lagging in Action, Hoping in Sanguinity, Laboring in Bliss, and Thriving Values. Further, the data of this study would contribute meaningfully to understanding the realest predicaments of mountain teachers. Likewise, this study would motivate and impact the teachers serving the last-mile schools.