Unveiling the Experiences of Parents as Homeschool Teachers During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenology of Academic Struggle and Resilience

The purpose of this study was to unveil the experiences encountered by the parents/guardians as home school teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic within General Santos City. The study utilized a qualitative research design, specifically the phenomenological study. The participants of this study were the sixteen (16) parent participants as home school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic within General Santos City. The data were gathered from parents as homeschool teachers through in-depth interviews. The data were gathered through in-depth interview and Focused Group Discussion (FGD) using guide questions. The use of tape recorder was availed, and varying experiences were clustered into themes for easy understanding and interpretation. The result of the study formulated three categories such as the experiences, coping mechanism, and the insights or lessons learned by the participants. The experiences of the parents as homeschool teachers during pandemic formulated 4 emergent themes and these were instructional challenges, personal challenges, technical challenges, and financial challenges. The coping strategies formulated the emergent themes resiliency, embracing family-centric values, support from family members, and collaboration. Lastly, the insights or lessons learned by the parents formulated the following emergent themes. These were learning virtual setting, learning at home, and keeping life simple.