Abstract
This study explores the challenges experienced by non-Early Childhood Education graduates teaching preschool and what ways do they employ to navigate preschool teaching. This study created a structure based on a story plot called Frytag’s pyramid. Using the qualitative phenomenological method, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews among five participants of Palimbang District 1. The results of the interview were transcribed and translated to produce themes. The transcriptions were analyzed using thematic Analysis where 13 major themes and 43 core ideas were generated. Four themes emerge concerning the challenges they have experienced in teaching preschool. The themes are the lack of formal training and ECE background, struggles in classroom management, limited resources and difficulty in ensuring safety of learners. In terms of the ways, they employed to navigate preschool teaching, four themes also emerged: acknowledging challenges, adapting to the diverse learner needs, employing coping strategies, engaging in continuous professional development. Lastly, in the structure of lived experiences drawn, five themes emerged: considerations, challenges, adaptation, continuous learning and fulfillment, which structured into a conceptual model to understand the lived experiences of non-early childhood education graduates teaching preschool. These findings are important as they enhance the understanding of the experiences of participants in teaching preschool.
