Adjustments and Coping Mechanisms among Former College Instructors as Senior High School Teachers

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Teachers who can adjust to the demands of their calling are likely to remain in the profession while those who cannot withstand the work environment tend to resign. Many college instructors opted to transfer to senior high school. However, they encountered many challenges due to the different work environment. The major shift of school practices and processes calls for a wide range of adjustments and the bottleneck factor lies in how these are addressed by the teachers through their coping mechanisms. This research study determined the adjustments and coping mechanisms among former college instructors currently working as senior high school teachers.

METHODS

The study made use of the descriptive method of research. Twenty-five senior high school teachers who were former college instructors with no prior teaching experience in high school answered the research instrument.

RESULTS

Senior high school teachers were between ages 31-40, with BSE-English/AB Communication Arts degrees, earned units in Master of Arts, with more than six years of teaching experience, teaching vertically-aligned subjects both as former college instructors and senior high school teachers. The teachers have a very high adjustment in the preparation of documents and their relationship with parents. They can cope more on the intellectual aspect and can cope less on the emotional aspect.

DISCUSSIONS

The results recommend that the school should conduct orientation, LAC session, and mentoring to teachers on matters pertaining to school forms and the involvement of parents in the academic community.