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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the course of human existence, art has been one of the

significant ways to express their thoughts and feelings. It could be emotional,

social, spiritual or even political. It was also used by prominent people in the

history to revolutionize and resist against human prejudice. It can also be used

as a profession and as a means to earn for a living. Art can be ornamental and it

can also be functional.

Gehlbach (2012) states that, art in virtually all of its forms, is one of the

most fascinating educational topics. However, arts have never gained a major

place in either public school curricula or educational research, even if specialists

in art education have been active for many years and fine arts are generally

recognized as important aspects of past and present culture.

As stated by Baguley (2019) in Australia, one of the issues they are facing

in the implementation of arts program is that there is currently a drift towards an

instrumentalist education agenda and a consequent reductionist discussion

about the Australian school curriculum. This revolves around an ongoing and

politically popular discussion about the ‘crowded curriculum’. The Arts curriculum

provides a minimum basic entitlement for every child with a 4%-5% per week

allocation, although if schools have the expertise and resources they can provide

additional hours. There is a misconception that all five arts forms should be

taught each week, however the Arts can be approached in different ways, and
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taught at different times. The focus on this particular area has been unhelpful and

ill-informed, particularly at the national level.

In the Philippines, the study conducted by Leocario and Pawilen (2015) on

the implementation of the Special Program in the Arts Curriculum in Secondary

Schools states that with the general practice of standardized education and its

current national curriculum, Philippine public secondary schools have

experienced reduced classroom time devoted to arts in order to provide more

attention to the basic competencies such as English, Math, and Science. This is

despite emerging education programs centered in the arts being recognized for

their contribution in realizing the full potential of learning.

In the year 2000, the Department of Education launched the Special

Program in the Arts which aims to foster the potentials of artistically-inclined

students. Public high schools that offer this program are selected based on the

criteria established by the Department of Education. The Special Program in the

Arts implements a secondary education curriculum with an additional subject that

is centered in the arts. With the K-12 curriculum, the Special Program for the Arts

remains as part of the Philippine Education System under Programs for the

Gifted and the Talented according to the Implementing Guidelines for the

Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. However, the said implementing

guidelines did not include specific provisions on how the program is to be carried

out.
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In the Division of Davao del Norte, there are schools that have been

recognized to implement the Special Program in Arts based under the

implementing guidelines of DepEd Order no. 43 s. 2002. The Special Program in

Arts in the Division of Davao del Norte has been operating since the first

launching of the program. However, since there is a transition from Basic

Education Curriculum to K-12 Curriculum, there are also changes with the

curriculum design that is being used. Moreover, these changes do have drastic

alteration towards the instruction given by the teachers on the different

specializations. Also, one of the glitches that the teachers are experiencing is the

small number of student population. Hence, this resulted to the multi-grade

practice of teachers in giving instruction on different specialization by grade level

under Special Program in Arts.

This study is different from others for it shed light on the lived experiences

of teacher-coaches in Special Program in the Arts particularly on the

implementation of its curriculum. Examining the implementation of the curriculum

and instruction being used by the Special Program in the Arts is important since

there is a lack of studies about it despite of its more than a decade of existence.

The curriculum of the Special Program in the Arts is unlikely to achieve its

desired aims unless it is implemented as intended. This is even more crucial with

the curricular change brought about by the K-12 program. The study looked into

how the curriculum of the Special Program in the Arts is being implemented by

going over the content of the program and describing the program’s objectives.
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The study also highlighted the challenges of teacher-coaches being encountered

on the implementation of the curriculum of the Special Program for the Arts.

In view with this, I was apprehensive to understand and investigate the

experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation of Special Program in

Arts. I had found the need to conduct this study because I wanted to know their

experiences specifically on the implementation of the specialized curriculum that

they are using. Also, I wanted to understand their situation in the limited

resources that they are using for classroom instruction and the lacking of

teacher-coaches to cater the students’ needs for the program. With this study,

teacher-coaches may be given attention and somehow get help to address their

concern on the phenomenon.

Nevertheless, there were studies on the implementation of different

special programs, yet, there is no further research on the experiences of

Teacher-Coaches on the implementation of the Special Program in Arts. These

existing circumstances have impelled me to complete a study that would

understand the Teacher-Coaches’ experiences on the implementation of Special

Program in Arts.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and

understand the lived experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation of

Special Program in Arts in one of the secondary schools in the Division of Davao

del Norte. This study also aimed to guide the teacher-coaches to recognize their
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role under the special program in arts, to let them see how other teacher-

coaches employ their instruction of the specialized subjects and deal various

parts that not only affected students’ routine under the arts program but also their

involvements.

At this stage in the research, teacher-coaches under Special Program in

Arts are defined as the faculty members who are assigned as coaches,

moderators, trainers or specialists of the different field in the SPA.

Research Questions

This phenomenological study sought answers to the following questions:

1. What are the lived experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation

of Special Program in Arts?

2. How do teacher-coaches cope with the challenges on the implementation

of Special Program in Art?

3. What are the insights of the participants on the implementation Special

Program in Arts?

Theoretical Lens

This study is gleaned through the Curriculum Theory of Stenhouse (1979)

which emphasizes that the teacher is a vital agent in the curriculum

implementation process. Stenhouse further noted that implementation is the

manner in which the teacher selects and mixes the various aspects of knowledge

contained in a curriculum document or syllabus.

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Another point made by the said theory is the need for research and

evaluation in order to achieve quality curriculum implementation. This includes

teacher development in the implementation process that refers to specific local

conditions and to process experiences of the persons involved.

Moreover, this study is also anchored on the Scaffolding Theory of

Vygotsky (1962) which states that with appropriate adult help, children can often

perform tasks that they are incapable of completing on their own. With this in

mind, scaffolding–where the adult continually adjusts the level of his or her help

in response to the child’s level of performance–is an effective form of teaching.

Scaffolding not only produces immediate results, but also instills the skills

necessary for independent problem solving in the future.

These two theories were relevant since these gave emphasis on both the

curriculum that the special program is using and the instruction style of the

teachers-coaches used in channeling the content towards the student.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study was delimited on discovering the experiences of teacher-

coaches on the implementation of Special Program in Arts. This study covered

only 14 teacher-coaches from Special Program in Arts who have at least three

(3) years of experience in the program. This study was conducted last February

2020, School Year 2019-2020, through in-depth interview and focus group

discussion.
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Importance of the Study

This study is deemed significant to following:

The outcome could help the students since the main purpose of our

educational agenda is to enhance their capabilities. This study will give them idea

on what are the underlying challenges that their teachers are experiencing in

terms of the implementation of the special program and how to manage the

existing challenges to effectively receive the instructions.

It could also help the teacher-coaches to determine different challenges

that they are facing and how they can cope with it and how to employ the

specialized curriculum given with the existing provisions provided with the

implementation of the program.

Futhermore, to School Administration, the assessment could be a vision

to provide enhancement on the implementation of the program and provide

thorough and contextualized specialized curriculum on the program.

The outcomes could give help to the Department of Education Officials

to oversee the implementation of Special Program in Arts and implement

provisions on how it should be carried out to improve the instructions given to the

students.

Lastly, this could also help the Future Researchers in creating studies

that will further enhance the Special Program in Arts and make this study as their

reference in their research endeavor.

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Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined both conceptually and operationally for

further understanding about the study.

Teacher-Coaches. This is defined as someone who trains, instructs, or

gives advice to a student in order to improve their physical and mental

performance in their respective fields (Gillet et al., 2010). In this study, this refers

to teachers who handles different speciaizations under Special Program in Arts.

Special Program in the Arts. This is defined as the program of the

Department of Education that is anchored on the Implementing Guidelines of

DepEd Order No. 43 S. 2002 of the Basic Education Curriculum. In this study this

term refers to the implemented Special Program in Arts in Sto. Tomas National

High School.

Organization of the Study

In this section, the overall nature of the research and context are

presented.

Chapter 1 presents the overview of the study. It vividly gives a picture of

what is the status of the Special Program in Arts in the Division of Davao del

Norte, how it is done, and how it affects the teacher-coaches. The research
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questions are also indicated and the significant terms used are operationally and

conceptually defined. The limitation of this study is also articulated in this section.

Chapter 2 presents the review of related literature, readings, studies and

concepts of some researchers and concerned individuals that are similar to the

present study. These literatures are obtained through books, internet articles,

and other publications.

Chapter 3 describes the application or usage of qualitative research

methodology, and articulates the data collection, data analysis and issues

associated with participants’ confidentiality. The chapter addresses information

related to research design appropriateness, the study population and selection,

and data collection approaches.

Chapter 4 discloses the results of the interview which contains analysis of

data referring to the research questions. The results are also transcribed and

translated to further understand the responses.

Chapter 5 discusses the major themes that were extracted from the

results coming from the participants’ ideas with supporting statements coming

from various authors. It is in this chapter that conclusions of the study, as well as

its implications for teaching practices are cited.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents some related literature and studies that support and

correspond to this research regarding an area of concern and nature of the

study.

Arts Program

The value of incorporating the arts into education was first observed

during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and has since sparked

the conversation of incorporating the arts into various subject areas (Berliner,

2011). Also, Arts instruction in schools has been shown to increase student self-

confidence and develop social and emotional expression (Harland et al., 2002).

On the other hand, Elpus (2014) also stated that adolescent arts students

achieve more positive developmental outcomes than their peers who do not

pursue arts in school. By and large, students experience positive developmental

benefits from their arts study, that extend beyond adolescence into adulthood.

Felamban (2007) stated that the term art education came into being about

sixty years ago, when art classes were formerly called drawing and crafts

lessons before that time. Classroom teachers instructed their students to

duplicate examples of pictures drawn on the blackboard using colored chalks. A

diagram of a piece of craft was introduced as a model to be imitated. Thus, the

children were deprived of opportunities to use or improve their creative abilities or

acquire true knowledge about art.

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In another case, Smith (1987) wrote on the theoretical antecedent of

discipline based art education. He dealt with issues like antecedents in

aesthetics, in educational theory, and in theory of art education. He pointed out

great scholars’ contributions in the fields of philosophy, psychology,

anthropology, aesthetic education, and art education. Smith attributed the

advancement of the field of art education to the scholarly writings of John Dewey,

Beardsley, Goodman, Osborne, Lanier, Barkan, Gardner, Arnheim, and McFee,

as well as other scholars. Their collective effort’s helped to make possible the

body of knowledge, community of scholars, and research methods pertinent to

the field of art education.

Furthermore, New Zealand Ministry of Education (2007) mentioned that

the arts subject area is articulated in terms of dance, drama, music and visual

arts. The curriculum policy states that four arts disciplines are mandated to be

taught in every school classroom. Caldwell and Vaughan (2012) reiterate the

value of the arts by the UNSESCO stating that arts in education should be

considered as a universal human right and that its absence is a huge gap in the

Convention on the Rights of a Child. Marshall (2005) also said that in promoting

‘arts across the curriculum, not only would UNESCO’s goals for arts education be

met, but children could become creative thinkers going forward in the 21st

century able to meet the challenges of an ever-changing society. Evidence also

suggests that through an arts process, creative connections can be developed

that are at the heart of cognitive development.

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Moreover, Jolley (2016) enumerated in his article "The Importance of Arts

Education" that arts education promotes some benefits in a variety of ways.

Some of the advantages of arts education are, namely; developing the students'

imagination and creativity; allowing them to understand and express their

feelings and ideas; aiding them to understand and visualize other core subjects;

helping them to observe the world around them; supporting them in the

decisions- making and in solving problems; and developing values such as

concentration and persistence.

Ochshorn (2016) also asserted that Arts Program is important because it

improves performance. She claimed that it improved learning skills, school

attendance, critical thinking skills and creativity. A good arts education is built on

and reflects recognition of the specific and unique way that the arts shape

people's thinking and their lives.

According to Efland (2002), arts have long been considered part of the

human affective experience. One reason proponents cite for integrating the skills

with academic curricula is the perception that works of art can engage the

students emotionally with the curricula. Numerous authors noted that art

education deserve an extraordinary part in the heart of education curriculum

because of its numerous counts regarding its benefits mainly in reasoning and

critical thinking. He likewise said that art education is one of the main

components of greater heights for academic instruction (Caldwell & Vaughan,

2012).
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However, Melnick (2011) revealed that many cognitive advantages from

art education like higher academic achievement, creativity, imagination, self-

expression, rouses the mind of students and stimulates the brain. He suggested

that art education as a future model for useful educational hopes and practices.

Through study of the arts, students learn higher order thinking skills:

critical thinking, analyzing, and decision making. A practical illustration of how

students become better readers and problem solvers can be seen in

Connecticut’s Higher Order Thinking Skills Schools. Here the arts are infused in

teaching methods that are part of the daily program, and an increase in student

achievement has been demonstrated (Connecticut Commission on the Arts,

1997).

Curriculum Implementation

The implementation phase of a curriculum refers to its actual use. It is the

stage when the educational program is put into effect. Since putting the

curriculum into operation requires an implementing agent, Stenhouse (1979)

emphasized that the teacher is a vital agent in the curriculum implementation

process. He further noted that implementation is the manner in which the teacher

selects and mixes the various aspects of knowledge contained in a curriculum

document or syllabus.

Moreover, implementation takes place when the teacher-constructed

syllabus, the teacher's personality, the teaching materials, and the teaching

environment interact with the learner (University of Zimbabwe, 1995). Curriculum

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implementation therefore refers to how the planned or officially designed course

of study is translated by the teacher into syllabi, schemes of work, and lessons to

be delivered to students.

Another point made by Stenhouse (1979) is the need for research and

evaluation in order to achieve quality curriculum implementation. This includes

teacher development in the implementation process. The process of

implementation refers to specific local conditions and to process experiences of

the persons involved.

However, Ornstein and Hunkins (1988) pointed out that curriculum

implementation is often overlooked as a crucial stage. They also emphasized

that in order for curriculum implementation to be successful, it is necessary to

define the important stages of implementation even during early curriculum

development.

Wiles and Bondi (2014) reiterated that curriculum implementation refers to

how teachers deliver instruction and assessment through the use of specified

resources provided in a curriculum. Curriculum designs generally provide

instructional suggestions, scripts, lesson plans, and assessment options related

to a set of objectives. Such designs focus on consistency to help teachers

successfully implement and maintain the curricular structure in order to meet

various objectives. They also defined horizontal alignment as similar instructional

practices and curriculum use between teachers in the same grade level, and
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vertical alignment as similarities in instructional practices and fidelity of

curriculum implementation between the previous and following grade levels.

Having curriculum alignment between the same grades and the preceding

and following grades levels offers consistency in supporting learning objectives

and expectations designed to promote student preparedness and growth

(Tweedie & Kim, 2015).

On the other hand, McNeill et al (2016) found that teachers’ beliefs

significantly influence their decisions for instruction. If beliefs play such a vital

role, then taking time to learn about teachers’ concerns, values, and perceptions

should improve the implementation process by proactively addressing these

areas.

To ensure that curricular innovations are implemented with fidelity,

instructional practices should be aligned to the specific learning goals provided in

the curriculum (MacDonald et al., 2017). Curricular implementation encompasses

different components, including the delivery of the curriculum through resources

and instructional practices. To implement curricula with fidelity, instructional

practices must align with the curriculum as well as support the individual needs of

the students. In addition, teacher preparedness for curriculum implementation

plays a vital role (McNeill et al., 2016).

Furthermore, as cited by Gross and Godwin (2010) identify educations’

stakeholders as parents, students, alumni, administrators, employers and

communities. These stakeholders in education have various designs on the

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outcome of schooling and the purposes of learning, thus affecting how they

structure educational institutions, define learning and understand the nature of

the student.

Challenges in Teaching

One of the issues that arts education is facing is the reduction of time for

the arts in pre-service teacher education. The time allocation for the arts has

been consecutively cut over a number of years, resulting in pre-service and

graduating teachers not feeling fully confident and capable to teach the arts;

much less having the experience and expertise to engage students with five arts

forms in the primary school. In order to respond to this concern, several

approaches have been explored, including incorporating the Arts as part of the

STEAM agenda. STEAM includes Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics (STEAM) with the ‘A’ representing the Arts. The STEAM approach

certainly has its proponents, however there is concern that it is a response by

governments seeking to produce a scientifically literate, and ethically astute

citizenry and workforce for the 21st century (Taylor, 2016).

Also, Deverell (1995) said that many teachers tend to avoid or ignore the

arts in their teaching or, worse still, confuse art with entertainment, regarding arts

activity, like play, as a non-serious past-time and therefore to be accommodated

only on the fringe the curriculum.

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Moreover, it is the delivery of this Key Learning Area which is of greatest

concern. Some school personnel do not know what the arts are and this has

serious repercussions for most, if not all the arts forms. On the surface, declaring

the arts as a KLA for the compulsory years of schooling Years 1-10 may appear

to be assigning curriculum equity and value for arts education, but if a school

does not actively encourage and value the arts in real terms, the timetable and

school organisational structure can serve to diminish the role of the arts -time

allocation can control and inhibit the scope and sequence of the arts. The

curriculum and timetable decision-makers in secondary schools most often have

little experience of the arts, coming from mathematics and science backgrounds,

whilst teachers in traditional subject (English) areas believe their subjects to be

more important than the Arts and demonstrate this by expecting more time on the

timetable. Furthermore, it is difficult to estimate how much time the arts receive in

primary schools (Queensland) because the involvement of students in arts

activities is not documented because statistics are not maintained for student and

teacher involvement in all of the arts subject areas (Education Queensland

Submission, 1995).

Leocario and Pawilen (2015) on the implementation of the Special

Program in the Arts Curriculum in Secondary Schools states that with the general

practice of standardized education and its current national curriculum, Philippine

public secondary schools have experienced reduced classroom time devoted to

the arts in order to provide more attention to the basic competencies such as

English, Math, and Science. This is despite emerging education programs

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centered in the arts being recognized for their contribution in realizing the full

potential of learning.

Furthermore, Gibson and Anderson (2008) argue that within the context of

Australian schools, there is an urgent need for a detailed study of the impact of

arts programs. This individual small-scale study provides further insights into the

impact and status of the arts in Australian primary schools. It has the advantage

of looking across the full range of creative arts disciplines and is grounded in the

field of professional practice.

Hence, one of the most substantial hindrances to effective teaching and

learning of the creative arts in primary schools appears to be a lack of confidence

in teachers. For example, a study conducted in the UK showed that primary

school teachers lacked confidence in teaching music, and that it was a subject

which caused them the most stress in their teaching. Some studies have shown

that the way that teachers’ perceive themselves in regard to their own artistic

abilities connects directly to the level of effectiveness they demonstrate as arts

teachers (Welch, 1995).

Many of the crucial downside factors are well documented by Rogers

(1998): diminishing LEA advisory services in the arts, concerns about the

employment of experienced and specialist art teachers in schools, and continuing

problems in providing appropriate resources and accommodation for the arts in

school. In addition, the decline in the arts content of initial training courses for

primary teachers has caused concern.

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Futhermore, Abdullahhi (2010) states that instructional materials are tools

locally made or imported that help to facilitate the teaching/learning process.

Barbra (2006) also added that the facility which in poor condition will give high

rates of teacher absenteeism, reduce effectiveness on teaching, low morale and

reduce job satisfaction.

Adesua (2016) added that the physical facilities can help students to

enhance their motivation on learning. The physical facilities like laboratory,

library, toilet facilities, canteen, classrooms, field and computers may increase

students’ interest to learn in many ways.

Moreover, Gilakjani (2012) states that students need a starting place for

thinking about and understanding how they learn. This will allow students to

become more independent as learners and play an active role in their own

learning.

According to Underwood (2001), time management is managing the time

of self and the time of others. One may need to struggle to overcome one’s own

personality. If one is sort of person who tends to put off tasks until the very last

minute, he/she is going to have to make immense efforts to change the way of

working. Richardson and Rothestein (2008) have highlighted time management

strategies consisted of goal-setting, scheduling, prioritizing tasks, self-monitoring,

problem-solving skills, delegating, discussing, and as well as conflict resolution.

According to Etiubon (2015), resourcefulness is a teacher’s continuous

response to changes in learners’ needs to better prepare them to overcome

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emerging educational challenges. In other words, resourcefulness is a result of a

teacher considering his learners as assets and giving them opportunities to be

involved in bringing about creative and usable ideas for better living. It hinges on

the teacher having a constant flow of ideas to re-invent study, learning and work.

Motivation in Learning

Motivation will make students engage in teaching-learning process

(Endang Sri Astuti, 2010). Motivation can also be defined as a process whereby

goal-directed activity was investigated and sustained consisting of inherent

motivation (the motivation that comes from within a person) and extrinsic

motivation (motivation that arises because of the encouragement from the

outside). Inherent motivation is a motivation that comes from within the individual

itself. While extrinsic motivation is a motivation that emerged from outside the

individual and often involves the appreciation of others (Omar et al, 2013).

According to Baron (2000), motivation could be divided into three main

parts. The first part looks at arousal that deals with the drive, or energy behind

individual (s) action. People turn to be guided by their interest in making a good

impression on others, doing interesting work and being successful in what they

do. The second part referring to the choice people make and the direction their

behaviour takes. The last part deals with maintaining behaviour clearly defining

how long people have to persist at attempting to meet their goals. Motivation can

be intrinsic and extrinsic.

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Luthan (1998) also defines motivation as a process that starts with a

physiological deficiency or need that activates a behavior or a drive that is aimed

at a goal incentive. Furthermore, Chughtai (2008) states that the motivational

process increases or influences the job performance and other work outcomes of

an individual that can reach to the employees’ outmost performance and even

their job satisfaction.

Moreover, Fehintola (2014) mentioned that a professional teacher must

demonstrate excellence attitudes in his teaching. It shows that teachers must put

forth an attitude that will help to transform the learners' positively in the three

domains of learning i.e cognitive, affective and psychomotor areas. A

professional teacher must demonstrate sound attitudes such as intelligence,

neatness and desirable traits.

Tennant (2015) also cited that according to Tardy’s (1985) hierarchical

model of social support that was developed based on previous literature (e.g.,

House, 1981), support comes from an intricate network that encompasses

multiple sources (e.g., parents and the community), and can be distinguished into

four major types, including emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal.

Linking this model to the context of teaching and learning means that teachers

can also provide different forms of social support to students, with each uniquely

influencing students’ attitude and behaviors.

In conclusion, the literatures that are presented here stress out on the

purpose of art education as a program as it enhances students’ maximum

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potential in different specialization in arts. It is not only beneficial for the students

and teachers in Sto. Tomas National High School but it also helps the

department to improve the program by overseeing the curriculum of Special

Program in Arts and its implementation of its instruction that the schools have

been using to improve teachers’ arts specialization. However, this offers

challenges among the teachers as it has various problems on the implementation

of the curriculum of the program that will affect students’ learning.

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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology of the study that explains the

research design, research participants, role of the researcher, data sources, data

collection procedures, data analysis, trustworthiness of the study and ethical

considerations.

Research Design

This study utilized qualitative design specifically employing

phenomenological approach that described the structure of experiences as the

participants present themselves to consciousness, without theory, deduction, or

assumptions from another discipline (Pathak et al., 2013).

Qualitative research focuses in understanding a research query as a

humanistic or idealistic approach. It is used to understand people's beliefs,

experiences, attitudes, behavior, and interactions. In addition, it generates non-

numerical data (Pathak et al., 2013). Moreover, it is a form of social action that

stresses on the way of people interpret, and make sense of their experiences to

understand the social reality of individuals. It makes the use of interviews,

diaries, journals, classroom observations and immersions; and open-ended

questionnaires to obtain, analyze, and interpret the data content analysis of

visual and textual materials, and oral history (Zohrabi, 2013)

Thus, in this study, qualitative design is believed to be suitable in

understanding the experiences of teachers-coaches through interviews in

teaching in Special Program in Arts.

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Moreover, phenomenology seeks an integrated account of the acts of

consciousness or experiences that include everything from thinking to feeling to

social interaction, the nature of objects in the world to which our consciousness is

attuned, the language we use to express our thoughts in the world, and the larger

culture that we form around us. In particular, phenomenology is interested in

studying the experience of objects and the acts of consciousness by and through

which these objects are disclosed (Detmer, 2013). Phenomenology was utilized

since the primary objective of this study is to clarify the meaning, structure, and

essence of the lived experiences of the participants in this study.

Furthermore, this was the design and approach I have utilized in this

research work because I, as the researcher, attempted to understand the

experiences of teacher–coaches on the implementation of Special Program in

Arts.

Research Participants

The participants of this study were the teacher-coaches of Special

Program in Arts in Sto. Tomas National High School where there were selected

seven (7) in the in-depth interview (IDI) and seven (7) for the focus group

discussion (FGD). They were chosen to best suit the goal of the researcher in

understanding the meaning of their experiences.

A criterion sampling of the participants was utilized in the study, as

Creswell (2012) mentioned that this worked well when individuals being studied

represent people who have experienced the phenomenon. Thus, fourteen (14)

Special Program in Arts Teacher-Coaches in Sto. Tomas National High School

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were the participants in the study, and they were identified as teachers under

Special Program in Arts teaching specialized subjects who are employed one (1)

year and above in the service.

The fourteen (14) participants for the qualitative study met the proposal of

Polkinghorne (1989) who suggests that five (5) to twenty-five (25) participants in

a qualitative method maintain authentic and genuine responses of the

participants because of a close relationship that can be established.

Role of the Researcher

In this phenomenological study, I took the role of being an interviewer,

transcriber, and a verifier. Seeking to come up with intersubjective and reliable

data regarding the experiences of Teacher-Coaches under Special Program in

Arts, my task was to interview the selected participants regarding the

experiences or the challenges being a teacher-coach under Special Program in

Arts.

As an interviewer, I gathered all the responses coming from the informants

using the validated interview guide. In interviewing the participants, my point of

view on the phenomena was set aside to ensure the credibility of this study.

As a transcriber, I made sure that all the transcriptions were precise, and I

have assigned codes to the participants to hide their identities in transcribing the

data.

Lastly, I verified the data by giving it back to the participants for them to

check their answers during the interview to strengthen its trustworthiness.

Data Sources
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Data come from the transcript of the in-depth interview and focus group

discussion of the participants.

An in-depth interview (IDI) is one form of qualitative study in which it is an

open-ended and one of the key methods of data collection (Legard et al., 2003;

Jamshed, 2014). In this study, the aim of this interview is to explore and

understand the participants’ insights, feelings and point of view, where they were

given enough time to ponder without being influenced by the opinions of others.

In-depth interview was used to gather data on the teacher-coaches under Special

Program in Arts’ experiences and the challenges as well as their insights on the

implementation of the program.

On the other hand, focus group discussion (FGD) was used in which I

have gathered all seven (7) participants with the same characteristic to discuss

issues, situations, and experiences on the same topic. Accordingly, the focus

group transcript can be analyzed as to how participants interact with each other,

influenced by the opinion of others, which visibly cannot happen with one-on-one

interview material (Patton, 2015; Lochmiller & Lester, 2016).

Data Collection Procedure

The first thing I have accomplished as a researcher was to secure

permission from the authorities or organizations that might be involved in the

study. This was part of the ethical considerations that I have observed.

I asked an endorsement from the Dean of the Graduate Education

Program first to conduct the study. After, it was sent to the Schools Division

Superintendent of DepEd Davao del Norte Division for approval since this study
 27

was about a school-based phenomenon. Another letter was sent to the principal

of Sto. Tomas National High School asking permission to have the teacher-

coaches under Special Program in Arts as the research participants in this study.

After securing the necessary documents as the permit to the conduct of

the study, I identified the participants who are teacher-coaches in Special

Program in Arts.

After the selection, the participants were gathered for orientation for them

to be aware of their involvement in this research. I explained to them the

objectives of my study such as to discover and understand their lived

experiences as teacher-coaches on the implementation of Special Program in

Arts, how they cope with the challenges and their insights about the

implementation of the program. Each participant during the conduct of the in-

depth interview was asked with self-explanatory questions. This was the

researcher’s way of identifying the experiences of the participants, how they cope

with the challenges, as well as their insights on the implementation of the Special

Program in Arts.

In the same way, focus group discussion was also conducted to elicit

responses from the participants that would help in answering the same research

questions.

Everything that was transpired during the conversation was put into the

record through audio recording which verified the precision of the data that were

collected. The recorded audios were copied out word for word to confirm the

reliability and integrity of the interview. Eventually, the transcription and analysis
 28

of the data were done. The documentation of the responses through audio

recording was transcribed into verbatim way by details to ensure the accuracy

and validity of the outcomes and was verified by the participants.

Data Analysis

The data collected during the conduct of the study were analyzed to come

up with conclusions to resolve the problem of the study. Analysis of data in

research involved summarizing the mass of data collected and presenting the

results in a way that communicates the most important features (Hancock et al.,

2009 as cited by Harding 2013).

The data analysis was done after the process of transcribing the results of

the interview and the focus group was conducted among the participants. In this

study, the researcher used coding and thematic analysis in analyzing the

collected and gathered data. The data were organized into different categories

that have similar responses from different participants.

Thematic analysis was the method that was utilized in analyzing and

reporting the pattern of themes in this study. Braun and Clarke (2013) stated that

thematic analysis is a flexible data analysis plan that qualitative researchers use

to generate themes from interview data. In this study, the researcher underwent

processes for this purpose.

To ensure the reliability in generating themes, I used the six-step

framework of thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke (2013).

The first step is to familiarize the data. In any qualitative analysis is

reading, and re-reading the transcripts. You should be very familiar with your
 29

entire body of data or data corpus (i.e. all the interviews and any other data you

may be using) before you go any further. At this stage, it is useful to make notes

and jot down early impressions (Braun & Clarke, 2013). In this study I thoroughly

read the interview passes or listen attentively to the recording of all the gathered

responses coming from the participants and familiarized all of their responses to

discern well-founded themes to avoid confusion on the later part of the process.

Second step is to generate initial codes, in this phase we start to organize

our data in a meaningful and systematic way. Coding reduces lots of data into

small chunks of meaning. There are different ways to code and the method was

determined by your perspective and research questions (Braun & Clarke, 2013).

In this study, I coded each segment of data that was relevant to or captured

something interesting about my research question.

Third step is to search for themes, as defined earlier; a theme is a pattern

that captures something significant or interesting about the data and/or research

question. There are no hard and fast rules about what makes a theme. A theme

is characterized by its significance. If you have a very small data set (e.g. one

short focus-group) there may be considerable overlap between the coding stage

and this stage of identifying preliminary themes (Braun & Clarke, 2013). In this

study, I examined the codes and some of them clearly fitted together into a

theme. For example, I have several codes that related to perceptions of good

practice and what teacher-coaches wanted from feedback. I collated these into

an initial theme called the purpose of feedback.

 30

Fourth step is to review the themes, we read the data associated with

each theme and considered whether the data really did support it. The next step

is to think about whether the themes work in the context of the entire data set

(Braun & Clarke, 2013). In this study, I reread the themes that I discerned coming

from the responses of the participants to ensure also the validity of themes.

Fifth step is to define the themes. This is the final refinement of the

themes and the aim is to identify the essence of what each theme is about

(Braun & Clarke, 2013). All the themes that emerged from the informants in this

study were chunked into different definitions based on the essence of the themes

that were deciphered.

Lastly, the sixth step is the writing-up. It includes a range of examples of

articles, broadly in the area of learning and teaching, that we feel do a good job

of reporting a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013). All of the themes that

were analyzed from the responses of the informants were included on this study

and were part of this research endeavor.

Also, to strengthen the reliability of the data, I also tapped my data for

further verification of the information. Furthermore, I presented the findings and

interpretation of the data.

Trustworthiness of the Study

The trustworthiness of this qualitative research had incorporated

measures to ensure its rigor which includes credibility, dependability,

transferability, and confirmability as suggested by Shenton (2005).

 31

Credibility deals with the question on how congruent are the findings with

reality. It refers to the confidence in the truth of the findings. Lincoln and Guba

(1985) as cited by Shenton (2005) argue that ensuring credibility is one of most

important factors in establishing trustworthiness. In this study, I, the researcher,

adopted data triangulation, prolonged engagement, and member checking as

suggested by the authors mentioned above.

Triangulation, as suggested, may involve the use of main method, focus

groups and individual interviews, which form the major data collection strategies

for qualitative research (Brewer & Hunter, 1989).

Data triangulation was utilized as the source of data in this study for the

purpose of increasing credibility and validity of the result. Cohen and Manion

(1986) as cited by Carter et al. (2014) suggested triangulation as it attempts to

map out, or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of human behavior by

studying it from more than one standpoint.

To further address credibility, I employed prolonged engagement with the

participants in order to gain an adequate understanding of the teacher-coaches

under Special Program in Arts in Sto. Tomas National High School and to

establish a relationship of trust between us. In addition, I also used techniques to

help ensure honesty among the participants when contributing data. In particular,

each participant who was approached was given opportunities to refuse to

participate in my study so as to ensure that the data collection sessions involved

only those who were genuinely willing to take part and prepared to offer data

freely.
 32

Moreover, I also employed member checking to bolster my study’s

credibility. Checks relating to the accuracy of the data took place in which the

participants were asked to read any transcripts of dialogues in which they

participated with. In here, the emphasis is on whether the participants consider

that their words match what they actually intended. Thus, the data,

interpretations, and conclusions were shared to the participants. This allowed

them to clarify what their intentions were, correct errors, and provide additional

information if necessary. This would also confirm the truthfulness of the summary

that these are all their experiences (Streubert & Carpenter, 1995).

According to Trochim (2006) as cited by Zohrabi (2013), the participants

are the only ones who can justifiably examine the credibility of the results. Thus,

consistency in the study was observed on its dependability. This entailed

launching a believable result from the viewpoint of the participants in the study,

since it is the perspective of the participants where we can describe or

understand the phenomena of interest. Dependability is important to

trustworthiness because it establishes the research study’s findings as consistent

and repeatable (Patton, 2005).

To address dependability, I used “overlapping methods”, such as the

focus group and individual interview to have multiple data gathering procedures

using an interview guide as well as triangulation.

In addition, the processes in this study were reported in detail enabling a

future researcher to repeat the work. The researcher discussed the details of

what were done in the field in data gathering, and evaluating the effectiveness of
 33

the process of inquiry undertaken as in the reporting of assessment and

evaluation.

According to Crotty (2006) as cited by Cowling (2014), transferability

implies generalizability of the findings and results of the study to other settings,

situations, populations, and circumstances. Bassey (1981) proposes that if

researchers believe their situations to be similar to that described in the study,

they may relate the findings to their own positions. This was supported by Lincoln

and Guba (1989) and Firestone (1993) as cited by Shenton (2005) who suggest

that it is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that sufficient contextual

information about the fieldwork sites is provided to enable the reader to make

such a transfer.

To ensure transferability, I made sure that the research is well discussed

and in full description on the implementation of Special Program in Arts so that

interested readers and researchers specifically the MAPEH teachers will be

given enough references should they do to transfer data.

Lastly, Lincoln and Guba (1985) as cited by Shenton (2005) posit that

confirmability is a measure of how well the inquiry’s findings are supported by

the data collected in which it has defined neutrality.

To address the issues of confirmability, I, the researcher in this study,

made sure that the findings were the product of the focus inquiry and not of my

biases. In addition, I used audit trail in which showing how the data eventually

leading to the formation of recommendations was gathered and processed during

the course of the study. It reviewed raw data such as recorded voice tapes and
 34

documents. The transcription through printed texts was given back to the

participants for authentication and verification. As a proof that they have verified

the transcript, they signed the participants’ certification.

Moreover, I kept all the records regarding what were done in the conduct

of the study so other personnel such as the research panel and the adviser could

check to see if the interpretations and conclusions could be traced to legitimate

sources.

Ethical Consideration

This study was responsible in following the ethical principles as

established by Bryman and Bell (2007) which focuses upon harm to the

participants, lack of informed consent, invasion of privacy, deception, data

management, copyright, reciprocity and trust, affiliations and conflicts of interest;

and by Data Privacy Act of 2012 or RA 10173 which emphasizes on the

anonymity of the research participants.

As enshrined in the Belmont’s Report, the expression "basic ethical

principles" refers to those general judgments that serve as a basic justification for

the many particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions.

Moreover, legal and ethical issues form an important component of modern

research (Yip et al., 2016). Three basic principles are particularly relevant to the

ethics of research involving human subjects such as the principles of respect of

persons, beneficence and justice.

 35

Since the participants of this study were the teacher-coaches under the

implementation of Special Program in Arts, I, the researcher, followed the ethical

standards as enshrined in Belmont’s Report to preserve the trust they gave.

The first principle, respect for persons, asserts that research participants

should be treated as autonomous individuals- that means they are independent,

self-governing, capable of making decisions for themselves as long as they are

given sufficient information to make those decision. This principle forms the basis

of informed consent (Creswell, 2007).

To establish respect for a person, I asked permission from the Schools

Division Superintendent to conduct the study. After which, I also sent a letter to

the school head of Sto. Tomas National High School where the assigned

participants were asked for their approval.

In addition, I had the written consent before the conduct of the study

where the research participants were given full information about the research,

both risks and benefits, and allow them to make the decision for themselves if

they would participate or not. As part of the consent, I included the participants’

right to withdraw from the study, the focus of the study and methods to be

employed, statements surrounding confidentiality, and a signature of both the

researcher and the participants. Furthermore, I ensured that my research

participants participated voluntarily or without coercion.

The second principle, the principle of beneficence, refers to making efforts

to secure the well-being of research participants, or to minimize the possible

benefits of the research and minimize its possible harm. The key to this principle
 36

is, since all research has both risks and benefits, to make sure they balance.

Benefits to research might develop friendship with the researcher or other

participants, knowledge or education gleaned from participation or the

opportunity to do well for society or receive the esteem of others (Creswell,

2007).

In this study, I used coding, specifically IDI and FGD, to ensure

confidentiality of their responses and their personal identity through anonymity. In

addition, I ensured that the outcome of the research would be positive and

beneficial to my research participants especially to the teacher-coaches under

Special Program in Arts of Sto. Tomas National High School for them to be

prioritized by the Department of Education with the resources and facilities they

need in their school as to the implementation of the Special Program.

Finally, the third tenet of Belmont Report is the principle of justice. All

classifications of people (race, gender, ethnicity, age, etc.) should be equally

subjected to the risks and benefits of research, and people should be included or

excluded only for reasons that have to do with research questions or hypothesis

(Adams, 2008).

I also ensured the data protection in accordance with the Data Privacy Act

of 2012 or RA 10173 for the participants by using codes for their names and

maintaining anonymity on their responses as they were collected and analyzed.

As suggested, I ensured that all the principles were addressed to protect

the rights of the participants. I made sure that the participants would not spend

any amount for I acknowledged their contribution to complete my study. The

 37

participants were provided with snacks or meal depending on their available time

and accommodated properly for the completion of my study. The participants of

this qualitative research were given due credits for all the contributed time, effort

and wisdom. Lastly, the result of this study was presented to the participants to

give them awareness and to give justice of their participation.

 38

Chapter 4

RESULTS

This chapter presents the results of the lived experiences of teacher-

coaches on the implementation of Special Program in Arts.

When I approached the participants individually, I was really glad because

all of them gave rich information that I really needed. They answered the same

set of questions. I gave them a letter specifying that they are my target

participants before the conduct of the interview. I also gave them the freedom to

express their answers in any language they will be comfortable using with. After

a short orientation of what and how they could participate in this study, they

started to provide ideas and made sense on their experiences, and produce

interesting data.

When the participants were asked with the research questions, they

answered it in detail relating it to their experiences. The fourteen (14) participants

have shared their views and lived experiences with regard to the implementation

of the Special Program in Arts. I gathered the data through in-depth interview

with seven (7) SPA Teacher-Coaches and focus group discussion with seven (7)

SPA Teacher-Coaches. Out of the given data, the themes were drawn out.

During the in-depth interview, it was conducted in their preferred place

where they felt comfortable in answering the queries. On the other hand, the

participants from the focus group discussion were gathered in a place where they

can interact and collaborate ideas. The participants have variety of experiences

towards the implementation of Special Program in Arts. They were all responsive

in answering the open-ended questions. I used audio recorder as well as a piece

 39

of paper and pen for note taking as our instruments. Before it formally started, I

allowed them to read and understand the consent form. When all the

clarifications and concerns were made, the interview started.

Before analyzing the data, transcribing and translating the answers of

each participant were all done.

Lived Experiences of Teacher-Coaches on the Implementation of

Special Program in Arts

On the first question posed, the participants viewed their different

opinions, experiences, and even challenges regarding the implementation of the

Special Program in Arts differentiated using the validated interview guide.

Table 1 shows the major themes and core ideas on the lived experiences

of teacher-coaches data collected, four (4) major themes emerged such as:

insufficient instructional support, great opportunity for learning, unreadiness for

the curriculum implementation and recognition and gratitude.

Table 1

Themes and Core Ideas of the Lived Experiences of Teacher-Coaches on

the Implementation of Special Program in Arts

Major Themes Core Ideas

 Limited availability of classroom facilities
and equipment
 Lack of fundings and financial resources
Insufficient Instructional  Lack of appropriate and available
Support instructional materials
 High cost expenses for buying students’ art
materials and instruments
 Opportunity to educate and impart
Great Opportunity for knowledge and skills to students
Learning  Acquisition of new knowledge about SPA
related topics
 Enhancement of skills
 40

 Less understanding of the curriculum

Unreadiness for the
Curriculum Implementation
Recognition and Gratitude
 Limited number of available SPA teachers
 Bringing recognition to school
 Winning and being acknowledged in
competitions
 Receiving words of gratitude from students

Insufficient Instructional Support

On the implementation of the Special Program in Arts, teacher-coaches

experienced insufficiency in the instructional support such as the limited

availability of classroom facilities and equipment.

In fact, it was validated by the experience shared by IDI-02:

“Of course…. Sa implementation noh …. Naa gyud

dinha ang lacking of classrooms, facilities.”

(Of course on the implementation, there are always

the lack of classrooms and facilities.)

On the implementation of the special program, teacher-coaches

experienced limited availability of classroom facilities and equipment, lack of

fundings and financial resources, lack of appropriate and available instructional

materials and high cost expenses for buying students’ art materials and

instruments these. This was validated by IDI-03 who stated that:

“Kulang og kulang sa kanang mga facilities gani like

room, like sa amoa Grade 8 man ko nga visual arts
wala mi classroom.”

(There are lacking of facilities like rooms. Like for me,

since I am assigned in Grade 8 Visual Arts, we do not
have classroom.)
 41

IDI-03 added:

“…. Wala man jud mi classroom… noh? Wala jud koy

ma turing jud nga facilities.”

(We do not have any classroom. I could not say that I

own that classroom because I do not have one.)

FGD-01 also said:

“In terms sa mga facilities especially ang rooms wala

jud mi kaugalingong rooms kada specialization.”

(In terms of facilities especially the rooms, we really

do not have our own rooms for our specializations.)

FGD-01 also added:

“Okey so ang mga challenges jud pag implement sa

kanang SPA first is kanang kuan equipment, mga
facilities, mao jud na siya. Mga rooms, mga
laboratories, mao jud na siya nga challenges kaayo
sa amoa na as teacher.”

(Okay so the challenges on the implementation of

SPA is first the equipment, the facilities. The rooms,
the laboratories, these are the challenges we face as
teachers.)

This theme was validated also by FGD-02 who stated that:

“Okay in terms of negative experiences nga akoang

na encounter as specialist is the .. of course na
mention ni ______ ganina, ang facilities, ang
classrooms ..”

(Okay, in terms of negative experiences that I have

encountered as specialist is of course as what
______ have been mentioned, the facilities, the
classrooms.)

FGD-06 also said:

“Bale kay para pud sa akaoa … ang mga negative

experiences nako nga na encountered diri sa
implementation of the special program in the arts
 42

unang una gyud kanang theatre building, dugay na

kaayo ba, trese ka tuig wa jud.”

(For me, one of my negative experiences here on the

implementation of the special program in the arts is
first the theatre building, it has been thirteen years
already, still there is none.)

IDI-07 further added that:

“Ang kakulangan lang nato ani isa wala tay dance hall
nuh mga … isa lang kabauok dance hall.”

(What is lacking here is the dance hall; we have it but

only one.)

Some of the teacher-coaches also experienced lack of funding and

financial resources which is validated by IDI-04 who stated:

“Usually …. Kulang ta og fundings.”

(Usually we do have insufficient funds.)

IDI-07 added also:

“… Unya kung naa man lang galing competitions

outside

the school dili jud siya ingon nga ma suportahan, lack

of budget.”

(If there are competitions outside the school, the

support is not that much because of the lack of
budget.)

IDI-07 further stated:

“Okay so challenges oy basta teacher-coach ka ….

Limited budget …. Insufficient fund, mao gyud na
siya.”

(Okay, so challenges, if you are really a teacher-

coach, there is really a limited budget and insufficient
fund.)
 43

In addition, IDI-06 said that:

“Okay so challenges oy basta makaingon ko sir nga

insufficient ang fund sa school kay gani dili lang ang
akoang specialization ang present diria sa school so
inga-ana sir.”

(Okay, the challenges that I can really say is that the

funds here in school are insufficient because my
specialization is not the only one that is being
provided.)

On the implementation of the Special Program in Arts, teacher-coaches

also experienced the lack of appropriate and available instructional materials

which IDI-05 mentioned:

“Isa gyud, number one jud na negative experience na

akong na encounter is kay wala koy kining exact gyud
na materials.”

(One certain negative experience that I encountered

is that I do not have the exact materials.)

IDI-07 further discussed:

“Wala tay LM kay unsaon man nila pag identify ana

nga steps kung wala tay mapakita.”

(We do not have LM [Learning Materials], so how can

they identify the different steps if we could not provide
it.)

FGD-03 agreed:

“Kana lang jud is wala silay kanaya kanyang laptop.”

(It is just that they do not have their [students] own

laptops.)
 44

The high cost of expenses for buying students’ materials and instruments

is one of the lived experiences also of the teacher-coaches on the

implementation of the Special Program in Arts as shared by FGD-01:

“First disadvantage kanang kuan jud noh

disadvantage sa pag implement sa SPA .. gasto jud
siya diria.”

(The first disadvantage here in SPA is that it is very

costly.)

FGD-02 also added:

“Yes, ang gasto jud sa.. ang isa jud sa disadvantage

sa SPA is gasto jud siya of course sa area sa
instrumental arts, sa pag palit sa instruments’
maintenance, pag palit sa strings.”

(Yes, it is really expensive here. That is one of the

disadvantages in SPA. Of course in the area of
instrumental arts, the maintenance of instruments and
buying of strings, that is expensive already.)

It was also said by FGD-04 that:

“The same time naa gyud siyay.. expensive jud siya

… sa mga materials nga kailangan sa mga bata, na
kailangan nila iprovide.”

(At the same time, it is really expensive for students to

provide the materials they need.)

Great Opportunity for Learning

Teaching and coaching on the Special Program in Arts provides the

teachers great opportunity to educate and impart knowledge and skills to

students.

This was supported by IDI-01:

“Gitagaan man gud kog opportunity not only to impart

but also to educate.”
 45

(I am also given the opportunity not only to impart but

also to educate students.)

FGD-01 also added:

“Positive experience is maka share ka sa imuhang

mga knowledge nga gikan sa imuhang seminars. Ma
impart nimo sa mga bata..”

(Positive experience is that I can share my knowledge

that I got from seminars to kids.)

FGD-02 also experienced:

“Ang positive experience nga akong na encounter is I

was able to impart to my students the skill needed.”

(The positive experience that I have encountered is I

was able to impart to my students the skill needed.)

In addition to the above mentioned experience, FGD-04 said that:

“Ang akong greatest accomplishment is ma impart sa

mga students ang akoang mga very significant
experiences.”

(My greatest accomplishment is that I can impart to

my students those very significant experiences.)

Teacher-coaches also experience the acquisition of new knowledge about

SPA related topics as further discussed by IDI-01:

“It gives another opportunity for me to learn new …

new genres.”

(It gives another opportunity for me to learn new

genres.)

IDI-03 also added:

“Isa ana is naka learn ko og bag-ong kanang art syle

aside sa katong akoang… as teaching … kay maka
learn pud ka.”
 46

(One of it is that I have learned also new art styles

aside from my art style. In teaching, you could also
learn.)

The theme was also validated by IDI-05:

“Ang positive experiences kay daghan ko og na learn

sa pag tudlo nako sa SPA kay sa akoa as dili man jud
ko major sa music kay mathematics major man ko.”

(The positive experience is that I have learned a lot of

things when it comes to music when I started teaching
here at SPA, since I am not a music major because I
am a mathematics major.)

Likewise, teacher-coaches also use their teaching opportunity in the

program to enhance their skills.

For this, IDI-02 gave light to claim that:

“Positive experiences nako diri is dri na hone akong

kahibalo gamay sa music, pag sulod nako diri dili ko
ing-ana ka maayo in terms of notes.”

(My positive experience here is that my knowledge in

music was honed because the time when I was hired
here, I am still not that good in terms of notes.)

In the same manner FGD-02 experienced also being honed and enhanced

their skills in the program by saying:

“Because of the seminars and trainings ma enrich pa,

ma develop pa ang akoang knowledge sa music.”

(Because of the seminars and trainings, my

knowledge in music was being enriched and
developed.)

Unreadiness for the Curriculum Implementation

Less understanding on the curriculum is one of the things that teacher-

coaches experienced and FGD-01 elaborated that claim:

 47

“Challenge pud nga ibutang ka ana nga o diha ka sa

dance nga wala ka hanaw.”

(It is a challenge also that you are assigned in the

dance that you do not have knowledge about it.)

Also, IDI-01 also validated this claim that the curriculum is too vague to

understand by saying:

“Of course negative man gud because some of the

teachers do not understand the side of the curriculum,
they do not understand also because they could not
fathom. Mao man jud ang mga negative nga na
encounter namo.”

(Of course, it is really negative because some of the

teachers do not understand the side of the curriculum,
they do not understand also because they could not
fathom. Those are the negatives that we have
encountered.)

IDI-1 further discussed it by stating:

“Disadvantages? Naa, marami. In terms of kanang

the proper implementation also of the curriculum kasi
nga bisag kami we could say nga unsa diay dapat?
Lisod siya sabton ang competency”

(There are a lot of disadvantages. In terms of proper

implementation also of the curriculum, we sometime
ask if what is really the right thing to do. The
competencies are hard to understand.)

IDI-01 added up:

“Ang amoa lang jud noh kanang too broad man gud
kaayo ang curriculum.”

(For us the curriculum is too broad.)

With the teacher-coaches experiencing a lot in the Special Program in

Arts, there is also limited number of available SPA teachers on the

implementation.
 48

This statement is supported by FGD-03:

“Isa pud sa mga challenges na na encounter as

teacher-coach kay kana gung sa multi-grade kay pila
man sila kabuok, 12 man sila tapos ako ra isa.”

(One of the challenges also that I have encountered

as a teacher-coach is that in the multi-graded
specialization, there are lot of students and I am the
only specialist for that.)

FGD-04 also claimed that:

“As what I have observed sa mga problems nga na

encounter as teacher-coach, first is lack of teachers,
Makita nako na sa isa ka classroom, sa vocal arts kay
daghan kaayo sila unya isa lang ka teacher.”

(As what I have observed to the problems that were

encountered as a teacher-coach, is first the lack of
teachers. I can see that one classroom, for example
in the vocal arts, there are a lot of students but they
have only one teacher.)

IDI-02 further stated:

“Ang mga challenges nako ani when there are a lot of

enrolees… kuntahay for Grade 7 sa una katong wala
pa koy kauban ako ray isa tapos akong klase is 70
plus or almost 80 plus tapos ako ra isa nag klase so
mao nang mga challenges.”

(The challenges for me is when there was this time

when there are a lot of enrolees. For example for
Grade 7 before, I still do not have another teacher
that can help me out and I do have 70 students or
almost 80 students and yet I am the only teacher for
that class.)

Recognition and Gratitude

 49

With the implementation of the Special Program in Arts, a lot of teachers

experienced bringing recognition and gratitude to their schools and also to

themselves.

IDI-02 made a statement to support this theme:

“Ang reward is that our school was recognized.”

(The reward was that our school was recognized.)

IDI-02 further elaborated that through their competitions, they were able to

give pride to the school by saying:

“Naa tay mga daog sa competitions sa division, naa

pud sa region, mga jingle competitions, every year
mana siya so last 2017 ata to nga nag national level
mi.”

(We also have winnings in competitions in the division

level, we have also in the region, some are jingle
competitions, it is every year, I think that was last
2017 when we competed in the national level.)

Moreover, IDI-04 said that:

“Kanang ma recognized pud mi sa kuan kanang win

mi ana nga competition, ana lang.”

(We are being recognized also that we won in that

competition.)

IDI-06 elaborated the claim by saying:

“Akoang greatest achievement gyud is kanang ….

Makaapil sila, maka adto sila sad sa division, ma
qualifier sila, ma abot pa jud og region and national.”

(For me, my greatest achievement is that my students

can be able to join, go at the division level, they can
be qualified. They can also qualify in the region and
national level.)
 50

Also, IDI-07 shared:

“Recognition… nga ma recognize ta, matagaan tag

certificate unya ma acknowledge ta.”

(Recognition. That we can be recognized, that we will

be given certificates and we will be acknowledged.)

Some of the teacher-coaches’ experience also are students giving their

words of gratitude to them.

The above-mentioned statement was supported by IDI-01 who stated:

“Aside from winning awards, the greatest

accomplishment that I have is to see my students na
kanang mo go back to me and they would say nga
salamat sir for teaching us.”

(Aside from winning awards, the greatest

accomplishment that I have is to see to my students
come back to me to say “thank you sir for teaching
us”.)

Some of their students came back and showed gratitude to them and this

claim was supported by IDI-06 who said:

”As a teacher-coach, isa pud sa akong mga

achievements kay kana ganing muabot silag college
tapos mo balik sila sa imoha.”

(As a teacher-coach, one of my achievements is that

even though my students are already in college still
they will come back to me.)

Based on the result of the interview conducted to the teacher-coaches in

the first question, it was found out that there are positive experiences such as it

gives them opportunity for learning and they receive recognition and gratitude.

However, there are also negative experiences such as there is insufficient

instructional support and unreadiness for the curriculum implementation.

 51

Ways in Coping with the Challenges on the Implementation of the

Special Program in Arts

On the second question posed, the participants shared their ways to cope

with the challenges they encountered on the implementation of the Special

Program in Arts.

After the interviews, transcription, and careful analysis of the documented

data, the following themes emerged: having sense of passion, having time

management, having supportive stakeholders and utilizing available resources.

Table 2 presents the major themes and core ideas on how teacher-

coaches cope with the challenges on the implementation of Special Program in

Arts.

Table 2

Themes and Core Ideas on How Teacher-Coaches Cope with the

Challenges on the Implementation of Special Program in Arts

Major Themes Core Ideas

Having Sense of Passion
Having Time Management
Having Supportive
Stakeholders
 Being responsible and reminding oneself
about the real purpose of work
 Having passion on doing arts, dance,
music and writing
 Being motivated to produce new artists
 Extending time to prepare for upcoming
competitions
 Arranging work schedules
 Alternating time schedule for doing
activities for students
 Accepting suggestions from colleagues
 Receiving support from students’ parents
especially on spending money for
costumes
 Being mentored by others
 Receiving musical instrument sponsored
by LGUs’
 Being provided by Homeroom PTA with
 52

Utilizing Available Resources
Having Sense of Passion
TV and Speakers
 Buying own equipment to be used in
instruction
 Spending personal budget for costumes
 Utilizing classrooms that are used in
regular subjects

Based on the interview conducted, teachers expressed that they should

be should responsible in a lot of things for them to be able to do their work

effectively and efficiently, they should remind themselves also about the real

purpose of their work. This claim was supported by FGD-03 who claimed that:

“Unang una trabaho mani nuh so mao jud to siya kay

trabaho mani siya awh himuon.”

(First of all, this is work and since this is work so I will

do it.)

It was also supported by FGD-04 who said:

“You have to keep reminding yourself about.. why are

you doing this ana gud. Kailangan nimo huna-hunaon
kung nganong ginabuhat nimo ni siya. Trabaho nimo
siya.”

(You have to keep reminding yourself on why you are

doing this. This is your job.)

This claim was also verified by IDI-06:

“Always nako gina butang sa akong mind unsa akong

purpose why I’m here.”

(I always put in my mind my purpose why I am here.)

Furthermore, IDI-07 said that:

“Of course ang atong huna hunaon na lang is unsa

atong purpose ani diba o nganong naa ta diri, unsa
may purpose nga nag tudlo ta ani.”
 53

(Of course, we should think about our purpose here,

why are we here? What is our purpose why are we
teaching this?)

Also, passion is one of the things that keep the teachers motivated. IDI-04

said that:

“Okay, because of love and passion. Passion sa

dance, og passion sa arts. Oo, bisan mo spend og
kuan basta love nimo imo trabaho.”

(Okay, because of love and passion. Passion for

dance and arts. Yes, even though we spend a lot as
long as you love your job.)

This idea was also supported by IDI-05 that says:

“Sa akoa, personal lang jud ganahan ko og music

aside nga dili ko music major ganahan ko og hilig ko
og kanta.”

(For me, personally, I really like music, aside from the

fact that I am not a music major, I still do like singing.)

In fact, IDI-06 asserted that:

“My passion and akong love sa writing.”

(I have passion and love for writing.)

IDI-01 also added that:

“I think it’s the passion, yun talaga.”

(I think it is the passion, that is really it.)

It was mentioned also by IDI-07 that:

“Of course, ako man pud siyang gusto diba. Passion,

love…”

(Of course, I also want this. Passion and love.)

FGD-06 said that:

 54

“Ano lang, passion and love.”

(It is just passion and love.)

Teacher-coaches also are being motivated in eyeing talented students

that will be produced as new artists.

This idea was mentioned by IDI-03 who stated that:

“Isa jud sa akong motivation nako kay kanang kuan

maka produce ko kanang bag-ong artist gani, sa art
na siya.”

(One of my motivations is that I can produce new

visual artists.)

IDI-01 also mentioned that:

“We can find a new artist in visual, a new artist as a

singer, theatre artist, kanang daghan man gud good
students that could do more.”

(We can find new artist in visual, a new artist as a

singer, theatre artist, there a lot of good students that
could do more.)

Having Time Management

Teacher-coaches considered time as one of the essential elements that

should be considered in fulfilling duties especially under the special program.

Based on the interview conducted having time management plays an important

role on the trainings of the students. This theme was strongly supported by IDI-

04 whose idea pointed about teacher-coaches extends time to prepare for

upcoming competitions who said:

“Usually naga extend gyud ko og time so amoa kuan

diri is up to four o’clock pero pag naa mi competition
naa mi kinahanglan tiwason, mo beyond na jud ko
mga 5:30pm or 6:00 pm.”
 55

(Usually I extend my time. Our classes here is just up

to four o’clock but if we do have competitions and
there are some things that we need to finish, I will
really go beyond our dismissal time, around 5:30 pm
to 6:00 pm.)

IDI-06 also supported the claims as he said:

“Especially sa akong specialization is creative writing

sa pag especially naay mga competitions maka
render ko og beyond ana nga oras, pag naay
competition.”

(Especially in my specialization which is Creative

Writing, if we have competitions, I can really render
time beyond our class hours.)

IDI-06 further elaborated:

“Mo go beyond man ko pag naay mga competition.”

(I go beyond time schedules if we have competitions.)

Adding up to the claims, IDI-06 affirmed:

“Sa time, mo go beyond jud ko siyempre.”

(In terms of time, I will really go beyond it, of course.)

IDI-02 supported that:

“Kung naa mi mga competitions mo go beyond mi sa

among given time.”

(If we have competitions, we really go beyond in our

given time.)

By arranging the work schedules properly, it can help the teacher-coaches

on their time management, in which IDI-06 said:

“Gina arrange na lang nako ang akoang schedule.”

(I arrange my schedule properly.)

 56

Alternating time schedule for doing activities for students might be an

effective way in having time management as what FGD-01 claimed:

“Sa specialization is only two hours lang jud siya so

as a teacher kailangan akong gina buhat karon na
day kailangan mag workshop ko pagka ugma kay 2
hours lang man jud siya pagka ugma kay mag
practice sila pag sunod, application dayun then
perform.”

(In specialization, the only intended time is two hours,

so as a teacher, what I should do on the first day is to
have their workshop, then the day after that should be
intended for their practice and after that day will be for
their application and right after should be their
performance.)

This was also supported by the statement of FGD-02 who said:

“Alternating siya, one day is for music theory, pag ka

next day is application then next day na pud is music
theory.”

(It should be alternating, this day should be intended

for music theory, then the following should be for
application, vice versa.)

Having Supportive Stakeholders

Accepting suggestions from colleagues are helpful in finding way to solve

some challenges and this statement was supported FGD-06 who mentioned:

“Accept ta sa mga unsa pay suggestion sa mga

kaubanan ug inubanan sa akong SPA family.”

(I accept the suggestions from my colleagues

together with my SPA Family.)

IDI-01 also expressed:

“Kana ganing cooperation and unity within the group

na kuntahay ako nay problema sa ing-ani na activity
nagatabang sila to address the issue.”
 57

(It is the cooperation and unity within the group, if

when there are issues on the activity, they are there
to help address the issue.)

Parents play a vital role on the learning of the students and receiving

support from students’ parents especially in terms of spending money for

costumes is what IDI-05 affirmed:

“Sa parents, like for example naa ta’y mga recital

actually mu support man sila sa ilahang costume og
recital sila jud ang mo gasto.”

(For the parents, like for example there are recitals,

actually they will support. They will shoulder the
expenses for the costume and recital fees of the
students.)

Being mentored by others is a necessity as what FGD-01 claimed:

”Mentoring, kailangan pud na siya ang mentoring.”

(Mentoring, we really need that mentoring.)

FGD-02 claimed that mentoring in this field is essential as he said:

“Mentoring, actually mentoring is really essential in

this field because …. Lisud kaayo mag grow kung dili
ta mag mentor. I always ask for advice sa akong
mentor pud.”

(Mentoring in this field is really essential. It is very

hard to grow if we are not going to mentor. I always
ask advice from mentor also.)

FGD-07 agreed also that mentoring is very important and stated that:

“Okay, sa akoa kay mentoring.”

(Okay, so for me mentoring is important.)

On the other hand, the support of stakeholders is a great help also for the

program as what IDI-02 claimed:

 58

“Sa mao ni siya, kanang piano nako that was

provided by the LGU, local government, sponsored na
siya nga gihatag sa among school.”

(That piano was provided to us by the Local

Government Unit. It was sponsored by them for the
school.)

Parents also continue to support their children as FGD-03 said that:

“Katong mga T.V and speaker kay provided man to

siya sa Homeroom PTA.”

(That TV and speaker were provided by the

Homeroom PTA.)

Utilizing Available Resources

Teacher-coaches sometimes experienced spending their own money to

be used in instruction.

As what IDI-01 experienced, he expressed:

“I buy my own equipment and facilities para ma gamit

pud namo during our classes.”

(I buy my own equipment and facilities so that I can

use it also during our classes.)

IDI-04 further added that:

“Sa specialization usually kinahanglan nga naa mi

speaker, among music so kadaghan na jud ko nag
palit og speaker.”

(In the specialization usually I need speaker. In our

music, for many times, I bought speakers.)

IDI-07 experienced also the same frustration as she stated that:

“Mga speakers, naa jud times nga ang teacher jud

ang ma ka provide ani.”

(For the speakers, there are times that teachers will

really have to provide it.)
 59

Due to lack of available resources, IDI-04 sometimes spents personal

budget for costumes as she claimed that:

“Sa dance, ang costumes, so provide our own, ing-

ana.”

(In dance, we have to provide on our own. That is it.)

IDI-01 also said:

“I have been a coach in dance so naka gasto ko og pang costume.”

(I have been a coach in dance and I’ve also

experienced spending my own money for costume.)

Classrooms are problems also in different specializations; as a result

FGD-01 claimed that:

“Mag gamit lang mig rooms kung asa nag vacant

kung unsa tong rooms gigamit sa every subject sa
mga bata.”

(We utilize vacant rooms during the specializations.

These are rooms that are unused during
specialization time.)

As the result of the second question, the participants shared their ways on

how to manage their challenges they encountered on the implementation of

Special Program in Arts. Moreover, it was observed that having sense of passion

for their craft, efficient time management, having supportive stakeholders and

utilizing the available resources helped them to deliver their instruction to the

students.

The Insights of Teacher-Coaches on the Implementation of

Special Program in Arts
 60

On the third question posed, the participants shared their opinion and

suggestions regarding the implementation of Special Program in Arts. After

the interviews, transcription and critical analysis of the documented data, the

following themes emerged: SPA for Holistic Development, More Instructional

Support, and Maintain Positive Attitude.

Table 3 shows the major themes and core ideas on the insights of

teacher-coaches on the implementation of Special Program in Arts.

Table 3

Themes and Core Ideas of Teacher-Coaches’ Insights on the

Implementation of Special Program in Arts.

Major Themes Core Ideas

SPA for Holistic Development
More Instructional Support
Maintain Positive Attitude
 SPA enables students to become well-
rounded.
 SPA hones talents of students.
 SPA helps students to improve their
skills.
 SPA molds students to be competitive
 Provision of separate classrooms for
each specialization.
 Addition of more teacher specialists to
handle SPA enrolees.
 Provision of more instructional and
learning materials.
 Need for specifying the curriculum guide.
 Stay happy and positive.
 Be prepared always.
 Work hard as a teacher.
 Be patient in teaching.
 Always pray and be humble.

SPA for Holistic Development

Special Program in Arts enables the students to become well-rounded.

This idea was supported by IDI-04 who said that:

 61

“Makita nako nga well-rounded ang bata because of

this special program.”

(I can see that the students will become well-rounded

because of this Special Program.)

IDI-06 implies also that students’ talents will be honed because of this

program as she said that:

“Matagaan og chance ang bata nga ma hone jud og

maayo iyang talent.”

(Students are given the chance to hone more their

talents.)

IDI-07 added:

“It enhances the capability as well as the talents of the

students.”

(It enhances the capability, as well as the talents of

the students.)

Another idea that emerged is that the SPA program helps students to

improve their skills.

The above-mentioned claim was supported by IDI-07 who said:

“Dako jud siyag tabang sa mga bata. Makatabang ni

siya sa ilahang specialization og unsa ilahang forte sa
ilahang skills.”

(This is a big help for the students. It can help them

for their specialization and their skills.)

FGD-01 also added:

“Sa mga bata pud, dako pud siya kaayog mahatag sa

ilaha nga madevelop ilang skills.”

(For the students also, it is really a big help for them

to develop their skills.)

This claim was further supported by FGD-02 who said:

 62

“Students are given the opportunity to enhance their

skills.”

FGD-06 also mentioned that:

“Og mo enroll sila sa SPA mas mahimo pa jud ilahang

skills .. musamot pa jud silag ka hawd.”

(If they will enroll in the SPA their skills will be

developed and honed.)

FGD-07 further discussed that:

“Sa SPA ma enhance ang mga skills sa mga bata.”

(In SPA, students’ skills will be enhanced.)

Another idea that emerged in the interview is that the SPA molds students

to be competitive. With this, FGD-07 said that:

“SPA is quite a big help in molding the student to be a

competitive person.”

FGD-05 mentioned also that:

“So competitive ang mga estudyante diri sa akoang

subject na gina handle especially pag naay task na
ginahatag.”

(My students in this subject are very competitive

especially when I will give them tasks.)

More Instructional Support

Provision of separate classroom for each specialization is one of the

suggestions that emerged on the interview which was mentioned by FGD-04:

“Dapat unta kanang nay kanang classrooms para sa

isa aka specialization ay lisud man gud kay dance diri
sa pikas vocal arts dili mi magkadunganay man gud.”

(There should be one classroom for each

specialization because we are having a hard time
during the specialization time.)
 63

IDI-02 also added that:

“So we, sa vocal arts, sa voice students nako, we

really need music room.”

(So we, in vocal arts, we really need a music room.)

It was further discussed by FGD-02 that:

“There are instances man gud especially sa

perfroming arts nga kinahanglan jud og separate
space sa classroom.”

(There are instances also especially in performing

arts that we really need a space in the classroom.)

FGD-06 expressed the same sentiment and said:

“Dapat unta to ma experience pud sa mga bata kung

unsa ng tiatro nga building.”

(I hope the students can also experience what is a

theater building.)

One of the ideas also that emerged is the addition of more teacher-

specialists to handle SPA enrollee as elaborated by IDI-03 who said:

“Isa sa mga suggestions nako kay naga daghan man

gud ang mga bata nga naga enroll sa SPA so dapat
dungangan jud gani ang specialist kay naga daghan
jud.”

(One of my suggestions is that, since the number of

enrollees for the program is growing, there should be
also additional teachers to be added up in the
program.)

Teachers also are hoping to have provision of more instructional and

learning materials as what IDI-05 said:

“Akong ma suggest no .. akoa lang is siguro dapat

kompleto ang materials nila especially the references
 64

gani like lessons nila dapat ang teacher available jud

ang mga books.”

(I can suggest that references and materials should

be made available for the teachers and students.)

There is also a need for specifying the curriculum guide. IDI-01 mentioned

that:

“Sa akoa lang unta, sana there is a specific

curriculum guide that would help us.”

(I hope that there should be a specified curriculum

guide to be used by the teachers.)

IDI-06 also added up:

“Sa curriculum, I specify lang siguro og maayo kay

ideal ra kayo ang naa sa CG.”

(The curriculum is so ideal and it should be specified.)

Likewise, IDI-07 shared that:

“Ang ma suggest lang gyud nako for their

recommendation unta nu ang CG, ispecified dapat
ang curriculum guide para ang teacher guided jud
sila.”

(I can suggest that the curriculum guide should be

specified so that the teachers will be really guided.)

Maintain Positive Attitude

Maintaining positive attitude in every situation that the teacher-coaches

face is necessary to effectively deliver the classes and deal with different

situations.

FGD-04 said that:

“Stay happy and be positive para ang atoang

outcomes are positive pud.”
 65

(We should remain happy and positive so that the

outcome will be the same also.)

Preparedness is also the key as IDI-02 affirmed that:

“You have to prepare jud sa imong kaugalingon.”

(You really need to prepare for yourself.)

Working hard is pre-requisite for the profession and this was mentioned by

FGD-04 as she said that:

“You have to really work hard as a teacher.”

(As a teacher, you need to work hard.)

Teachers also claimed that patience is needed as what FGD-05

mentioned:

“Maging ano lang jud maging patient lang sa atong

estudyante hantud sa makatuon ra jud pud.”

(We should be patient in teaching our students until

they learn.)

Lastly, FGD-06 said that:

“Always lang ta humble and then always pray ta sa

Ginoo para tagaan tag maayong panglawas para ma
katudlo.”

(We should remain humble and prayerful so that we

will be given good health for us to teach effectively.)

The result of the last research question reveals the insights, hopes, and

suggestions of the participants regarding the implementation of Special Program

in Arts. Most of their responses articulated their hopes and suggestions of the

learning resources and curriculum guide for the Special Program in Arts. Aside

from the resources, they also gave their insights on the teachers to be prepared
 66

always, have patience in teaching and be positive all the time for them to deliver

their instruction effectively and accurately.

Chapter 5

DISCUSSIONS

This chapter presents the discussions with the thoughts and concepts

from different authors and conclusions drawn from the results of the study,

implication for teaching practices and recommendation for further research.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and

discover the lived experiences of teacher-coaches under Special Program in the

Arts in Sto. Tomas National High School, their challenges on the implementation

of the program and how they cope with it. This study could also guide the

teacher-coaches to recognize their role as teachers under arts program, to see

how teacher-coaches employ their instruction of the specialized subjects and

deal various parts that will not only affect students’ routine under the arts

program but also their involvements.

The data from the individual in-depth interviews and focus group

discussion conducted to the participants served as the most significant data I

used to come up with answers to the questions for this study.

The Lived Experiences of Teacher-Coaches on the Implementation of

Special Program in Arts

The following themes emerged from the results of the first question posed

about the lived experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation of Special

 67

Program in Arts: insufficient instructional support, great opportunity for learning,

unreadiness for the curriculum implementation, and recognition and gratitude.

Insufficient Instructional Support

Special Program in Arts is an avenue for the students to enhance their

skills and talents. The program enables them to choose what particular

specialization they will be studying for enhancement and development. Teachers

as much as possible need to be fully equipped in a lot of aspects in order for

them to teach their specializations effectively and must use the necessary

materials for their instruction. However, based on the interview conducted, there

is an insufficient instructional support for the teachers to use for their classes.

Furthermore, with the demand given by the program, there is really this

high cost of expenses for buying art materials and instruments that are not

available in the school. In terms of classroom instruction, teachers also should

have an access on various classroom facilities intended for their respective

specializations. Moreover, with the help of instructional materials, teachers will

have wider options for their instruction and students will not limit their capabilities

if they have the sufficient materials or instruments to be used on their

specializations.

In this sense, according to Abdullahhi (2010), instructional materials are

tools locally made or imported that help to facilitate the teaching-learning

process. Barbra (2006) also added that the facility which in poor condition will

give high rates of teacher absenteeism, reduce effectiveness on teaching, low

morale and reduce job satisfaction. Also, based on Adesua (2016), the physical
 68

facilities can help students to enhance their motivation on learning. The physical

facilities like laboratory, library, toilet facilities, canteen, classrooms, field and

computers may increase students’ interest to learn in many ways.

Great Opportunity for Learning

Teachers do not just merely teach when they are inside the classroom;

they also learn things that can be helpful on their instruction. Also, not all

teachers on the program do have the vast knowledge of their specialization,

some of them are just assigned there and some of them do have the skill but not

enough knowledge on how to teach it. Being able to teach on the program

enables them to learn new skills and widen their knowledge for their

specialization and its instruction.

Gilakjani (2012) states that students need a starting place for thinking

about and understanding how they learn. This will allow students to become

more independent as learners and play an active role in their own learning.

Unreadiness for the Curriculum Implementation

Curriculum implementation should be understood by the teachers for the

sake of effective instruction to the students’ specialization. Teachers do have

limited understanding of the curriculum. Also, there is limited number of teachers

and this has a great effect on the curriculum implementation.

According to Stenhouse (1979), there is a need for research and

evaluation in order to achieve quality curriculum implementation. This includes

 69

teacher development in the implementation process that refers to specific local

conditions and to process experiences of the persons involved. Moreover,

Ornstein and Hunkins (1988) pointed out that curriculum implementation is often

overlooked as a crucial stage. They also emphasized that in order for curriculum

implementation to be successful, it is necessary to define the important stages of

implementation even during early curriculum development.

Recognition and Gratitude

Based from the result of the interview conducted, teacher-coaches

experienced being motivated by bringing recognition to the school, because they

participate in a lot of art competition they can be able to bring the name of the

school in every competition they will join. Being able also to win in competition is

one of the achievements that they can be proud of, since the student are trained

to compete as well, they have the capacity most of the time to join with different

competitions. Moreover, receiving words of gratitude from their students is

another recognition they consider and it is one of the recognition that they

treasure most.

As what Baron (2000) said, motivation is divided into three main parts.

The first one is the part that emphasizes the drive, or energy that contributes to

the individual actions. Peoples’ interest guides them in creating good impression

on others, doing interesting work and succeeds on their endeavors. Second

refers to peoples’ choices and which direction their behaviors will take. The last
 70

part refers to the maintained behavior of the people that clearly defines their

persistence in achieving their goals. Motivation can be intrinsic and extrinsic.

Coping with the Challenges on the Implementation of Special

Program in Arts
The following themes emerged from the result of the second question

posed on the lived experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation of

Special Program in Arts: having sense of passion, having time management,

having supportive stakeholders, and utilizing available resources.

Having Sense of Passion

Teacher-coaches must have the sense of responsibility and to always

know the purpose of their work. Moreover, passion and motivation can always

help the teacher-coaches in doing their job accurately and efficiently.

Luthan (1998) defines motivation as a process that begins with the

physiological scarcity or a need that triggers a behavior or a drive that has a goal

requirement. Furthermore, Chughtai (2008) states that the motivational process

increases or influences the job performance and other work outcomes of an

individual that can reach to the employees’ outmost performance and even their

jobs satisfaction.

Having Time Management

It is undeniable to affirm that time management is a substantial entity to be

considered in teaching. Teacher-coaches do consider a lot of events in their day

to day work. Aside from getting inside the classroom, teacher-coaches in the
 71

Special Program in the Arts do need to do a lot of things also which resulted to

them having good time management.

According to Underwood (2001), time management is managing the time

of self and the time of others. One may need to struggle to overcome one’s own

personality. If one is sort of person who tends to put off tasks until the very last

minute, he/she is going to have to make immense efforts to change the way of

working. Richardson and Rothestein (2008) have highlighted time management

strategies consisted of goal-setting, scheduling, prioritizing tasks, self-monitoring,

problem-solving skills, delegating, discussing, and as well as conflict resolution.

Having Supportive Stakeholders

Stakeholders are one of the most important people in a school. In the

Special Program in Arts the support that the teacher-coaches received are

overwhelming since they always help the students in terms of instructional

support; it could be the Parents, the Local Government Unit, or even their

colleagues.

Stakeholders’ contribution adds a lot to the successes of the students and

the competitions they are joining. The support of the latter goes beyond the

school setting and this support means a lot to the holistic development of the

students. Being able to have supportive people and environment around a

teacher-coach will also boost their motivation in facing adversities in their job.

As cited by Gross and Godwin (2010), educations’ stakeholders are

parents, students, alumni, administrators, employers and communities. These

 72

stakeholders in education have various designs on the outcome of schooling and

the purposes of learning, thus affecting how they structure educational

institutions, define learning and understand the nature of the student.

Utilizing Available Resources

Due to the lack of instructional materials available in the school, the result

affirmed that teacher-coaches are buying their own equipment and spending their

own money for their resources and materials on their instruction. With the

scarcity of classrooms also, they utilized some vacant classrooms for their

specializations.

Moreover, this shows that teacher-coaches under the Special program in

Arts are resilient in terms of facing challenges under the program.

Resourcefulness is one also of their techniques in improvising ways to effectively

deliver the instruction.

According to Etiubon (2015), resourcefulness is a teacher’s continuous

response to changes in learners’ needs to better prepare them to overcome

emerging educational challenges. In other words, resourcefulness is a result of a

teacher considering his learners as assets and giving them opportunities to be

involved in bringing about creative and usable ideas for better living. It hinges on

the teacher having a constant flow of ideas to re-invent study, learning and work.

The Insights of Teacher-Coaches on the Implementation of

Special Program in Arts
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The following themes emerged from the third question posed about the

lived experiences of teacher-coaches on the implementation of Special Program

in Arts: SPA for holistic development, more instructional support, and maintain

positive attitude.

SPA for Holistic Development

Special Program in Arts is a great program by the department that hones,

develops, help and showcases students’ talents and skills not only within the

school but also encourages them to go beyond school ground. With that being

said, it shows that this program holistically developed the students.

Teacher-coaches attested that a lot of students from the program had a lot

of development the moment they graduate. According to Laitsch et al. (2005),

arts may play an integrating role in the school curriculum; through drama studies

learners can develop literacy skills and practice creative writing; music education

can be linked to temporospatial perception and to the reasoning skills that

underlie Mathematics. In all, aesthetic education improves motivation for learning

and may play an important role in the structuring of certain attitudes, perceptions

and behaviours

More Instructional Support

Teacher-coaches hope that with the number of enrolees growing there

should be strengthening of the provision of instructional support that would be a

great help for the teacher-coaches in the delivery of their instruction. They hope

also that there will be construction of new classrooms and facilities that are

needed for their specializations.

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Moreover, teacher-coaches appealed also that the curriculum guide will be

specified and narrowed-down for the purpose of achieving the objectives

realistically based on the availability of the resources in the school. There should

also be an add up also to the teacher-coaches on the program since the

population of the students is rising, that leaves the teachers in scarce.

Tennant (2015) stated that according to the hierarchical model of social

support that was developed, support comes from an intricate network that

encompasses multiple sources (e.g., parents and the community), and can be

distinguished into four major types, including emotional, informational,

instrumental, and appraisal. Linking this model to the context of teaching and

learning means that teachers can also provide different forms of social support to

students, with each uniquely influencing students’ attitude and behaviors.

Maintain Positive Attitude

Teacher-coaches face a lot of things on their daily basis that enable them

to have a positive outlook on everything they do. That is also very important as

they guide students in both their academic and artistic journeys; they know how

to deal with the challenges with preparedness and resiliency.

They also take positive attitude in consideration as a substantial way of

teaching effectively. Teacher-coaches affirmed that they should be holistically

positive to go on with their work and train students to become fully-developed on

their skills and talents. According to Fehintola (2014), a professional teacher

must possess excellent attitude in teaching. It must be viewed that teachers

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should demonstrate an attitude that will help students transform positively in

terms of the three domains of learning i.e cognitive, affective and psychomotor

areas. Professional teacher must also illuminate good attitudes such as

intelligence, neatness, and admirable traits.

Implications for Teaching Practices

Catering the students’ different need is one of the most important missions

of the school. Special Program in Arts caters creative students and skillful

students in the field of arts, music, and dance. It is a great avenue for the

students’ talents to be developed and honed in a specialized program. Thus, this

program is also an implication of the concept of Education for All, in which it

gives the students the freedom to grow and learn according to their artistic

endeavors.

For the school administrator, this study may be of help for them to be

aware of the teachers’ experiences and able to help them provide with solutions

to the problem about the factors affecting their teaching performance like

providing them with lacking facilities, equipment for the different specialization,

and instructional materials such as books, references, etc. In addition, it is also

suggested that they will hire an additional teachers for the program since there

are a lot of enrollees already and give opportunities for the teachers to join

seminars and workshop that can help them improve their ability to teach their

forte.

Lastly, the DepEd may use this study to know the reality and be aware of

the situations of the Special Program in Arts, thus, improving the curriculum that
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the program is following and improvising it into a more realistic and attainable

way for the teachers to deliver to their students. In addition, the DepEd may also

open up trainings and workshops for the teachers to indulge them for their pursuit

of professional development that is helpful in the delivery of their instruction.

Moreover, the school may also be given additional teachers for the Special

Program in Arts to minimize students’ ratio per specialization, so that the

teachers will have conducive environment in teaching-learning process for the

students to learn effectively.

Recommendation for Further Research

Since the findings presented were limited only on the lived experiences of

teacher-coaches, ways on how they cope with the challenges, and their insights

on the implementation of special program in arts, the implication of this study

suggests that further research study should be made to validate all the answers

of the teachers using a larger sample size and/ or greater number of

respondents. The results of this study may not be the same with all other

teacher-coaches in the division. The researcher may also suggest that this study

will be made institutional to other schools offering Special Program in Arts.

Concluding Remarks

When I heard thesis writing, a lot of things are going through my mind that

motivates me but as well as hinders me in pursuing this post graduate study. I

have always been encouraged and amazed on how a thesis is made, it is one of

my sought-after endeavor to make a thesis yet, I also knew that this will demand

much of my time, effort, patience, finances and energy which I have experienced
 77

it throughout with my quest of finishing my masters’ degree journey. There are

times that I wanted to just give up and not finish this whole thing because of

some other struggles that I am facing but with the help of some few good people

around me, I managed to finish it with my worth and sanity still in-tacked. I surely

knew that this would demand so much of my time, effort, patience, hard work,

and financial matter as well which I truly experienced when I reached this point of

this voyage.

By making those struggles beneficial for me and knowing how to manage

my own doubts, I have managed to grasp the importance of arts and teaching in

molding students’ interest, passion, and of students’ holistic development. From

this research, I understand that teaching is never an easy task. Teachers must

not focus on one aspect of learning only and must understand the different

interests and skills that students have. This research made me realize on the

struggles of the teacher-coaches in the Special Program in Arts and the

resiliency and adaptability they have in teaching art education as a curriculum.

That support from all types of organization is an integral part to effectively

implement of this program. Moreover, this research is an eye opener to the

Department of Education on the resources needed for some schools offering

special program in arts in the Philippines.

Based on the results of this study, I can conclude that the implementation

of Special Program in Arts is beneficial in bringing out the skills of the students

and it is the best program implemented to hone them, which is observed through

the responses of the participants when asked about their experiences.

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However, challenges are faced by the teacher-coaches on its

implementation but it is in the teachers’ initiatives on how to deal and cope with

these challenges. The teachers are resourceful enough to be flexible with the

challenges brought by the implementation of the Special Program in Arts.

Lastly, teachers can never surpass the challenges they might experience

in the process without the help of their administrators and stakeholders who can

be of great help in nurturing the minds of the students. They can certainly offer

their support by using their influence and brilliant ideas in addressing the needs

of both the teachers and the students.