Crisis in Values or Values in Crisis: Experiences of Values Education Teachers in The New Normal

Crisis in Values or Values in Crisis: Experiences of Values Education Teachers in The New Normal

Dondon B. Buensuceso, Ph.D. and Ma. Dolores F. Bayocboc, MAEd
Don Bosco Technical Institute of Makati, Philippines

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to explore the lived experiences of Values Education teachers teaching elementary grades at Don Bosco Technical Institute of Makati. Value crisis in values education during online distance learning is evident. The practice of values education teachers starts deviating from the values we hold. This research is also intended to derive a framework for teaching values education in an online learning environment, describe the challenges encountered by the values education teachers and their coping mechanisms, and identify the phenomenon through investigation. It is essential for the Values Education teachers to have their insights and experiences shared for research and development.

Keywords: Values Education Teachers, Online Distance learning, Synchronous Learning, Asynchronous Learning

INTRODUCTION

John Maxwell once said, “When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused, and character is strengthened.”

What exactly are values? Values are a person’s or society’s beliefs about what is important and what is not. They are a set of guiding principles; what one considers to be correct and desirable in life, particularly in personal conduct. Values Education, which evolved into Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga, then changed to Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP) in the K to 12 curriculum, allows the teacher to guide students in the formation of their values, attitudes, and habits in order to become good citizens in the country (Wirihana, 2018).

A lot has changed since the pandemic. It influenced people’s lifestyles not only in our country but all over the world. It gave us the chance to examine how this affects us. Values education is a form of education that stresses the acquisition of living values by students. It inculcates universal and ethical values such as compassion, courage, honesty, tolerance, and truthfulness (Aggrawal, 1992).

There’s an increased valuing of self-direction, security, humility, caring, and universalism and a decrease in hedonism. (Bojanowska, Kaczmarek, et al. Changes in Values and well-being amidst the covid -19 pandemic in Poland, Sept 15, 2021)

Existing evidence demonstrates the importance of human values, and the extent to which they are shared by fellow citizens, for tackling the COVID-19 crisis. Individuals who attach higher importance to self-transcendence (e.g., responsibility) and conservation (e.g., security) values are likely to be more compliant with COVID-19 behavioral guidelines and to help others who are struggling with the crisis. (Lucas Wolf et al. The importance of (shared) human values for containing the COVID-19 pandemic)

Education must emphasize a child’s overall development. This includes values that aid in the development of children into individuals with strong character. It prepares them for their future responsibilities. As a result, moral and social values must be included in the educational system. When we teach students about values, we hope to instill values in them rather than simply teach them about values and their importance. We want them to put the values we taught them into action, not just know about them.

Values remain stable during normal times, but when a disturbance occurs, such as a pandemic, situational changes can affect the stability of these values. However, does this justify a shift in one’s or society’s values? For example, if an employee loses his job, is he justified to steal food to feed his family? Is it acceptable for a teacher to arrive at school unprepared?

Values are essential, especially in times of crisis. Leaders make decisions that affect everyone in their organization based on their own values, whether personal or institutional. Decisions that are in the best interests of all stakeholders. Indeed, we require values in times of crisis, or we will have a crisis in values. Values education teachers in this time of the pandemic also change the way they teach their students which greatly affects how they facilitate learning.

For Don Bosco schools, values integration and values education are two important aspects of the curriculum to make sure that students’ values are anchored on the core values of Don Bosco Educational Centers (DBEC). They are integrally part of Jesus My Best Friend Catechesis, with one of the three core values (Spirituality, Collaboration, and Integrity) being tackled at every term following the growing circles of relationships beginning with the widest, “God,” followed by “Others,” and then the “Self.” Four allied values, one allied value per lesson, support each DBEC core value. Allied values from the other learning areas may be added. The same set of values are proposed to the students every year, but every year presenting an ever-deepening appreciation following the catechetical spiral model.

The limited time when teaching values education, the insufficiency of knowledge on the strategies they can apply during online learning, the lack of understanding of the nature of the subject due to the irrelevant field of specialization, and the use of technology, are just a few of the concerns of values education teachers in the school where the researchers currently work.

With this, the study was conducted about the lived experiences of values education teachers and how the synchronous and asynchronous learning environments they utilized can help them cope with the challenges brought by the crisis in values or values in crisis.

Research Questions

This study aimed to describe the lived experiences of teachers teaching values education in online distance learning.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions.

1. What are the challenges experienced by the values education teachers during online learning?
2. How did they cope with the challenges they encountered during online learning?
3. What program can be developed based on the findings of this research?

Scope and Delimitations of the Study 

           This research covers a phenomenological study of values education teachers, and how they utilized synchronous and asynchronous learning for effective classroom instruction. The research is based on the participants’ experiences in teaching values education.

           The result of this study was derived from the participants’ responses through the interview that the researchers conducted, wherein they tackled about their experiences in teaching values education during the pandemic. The strategies they used were based on the student’s needs, the implications and difficulties they encounter in the classroom, and how they resolve or enhance their effectiveness in the classroom.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework focused on the lived experiences of values education teachers during synchronous and asynchronous classes and how the teachers cope with the challenges they have encountered.

Figure 1 Conceptual Framework

The diagram shows the interrelatedness of each variable wherein the diagram shows the connections of the variables conceptualizing a pedagogical model to the lived experiences of Values Education teachers during synchronous and asynchronous classes.

From the lived experiences of the participants, the challenges they encountered were also identified in online classes. their coping mechanisms. These factors perceived how the Values Education teachers’ coping mechanism could influence the student’s values. Also, how the proposed action plan can aid the values education teachers to become effective in an online learning environment.

METHODOLOGY

                        The researchers focused on phenomenological research, a type of qualitative research design. Giorgi (2009) believes that statements of lived experience are complex and need the utmost caution and conceptual clarity in their explanation through core components, considering their rich multi-contextuality in the situations of actual individual human beings. Furthermore, Frechette et al. (2020) stated that evaluating the lived experience is improved with the use of an interpretative phenomenological approach, for it enables an important research perspective. Moreover, with greater experiential learning and involvement, the interpretative phenomenological approach offers researchers characteristics of contemplation about their being in the world as researchers, their scope of relevance, and their embodiment.

In addition, the researchers used a semi-structured interview in which the participants answered based on their experiences in teaching values education during this time of the pandemic. This study sought to ascertain the lived experiences of value education teachers. Furthermore, the researchers were able to define the various difficulties encountered by values education teachers as well as how to resolve specific issues.

The study used purposive sampling. This enabled the researchers to filter whether the informants were relevant and met the study’s parameters. By gathering qualitative responses through purposeful sampling, the researcher gained a deeper understanding and produced more accurate research findings. As Etikan et al. (2016) stated, a researcher employs non-probability sampling techniques called purposive sampling to determine a selection of participants or subjects from one population. With this, the researchers compiled a set of possible participants in the study using one of the other purposive sampling techniques and then individually chose the necessary number of participants from the list. A homogenous purposive sampling technique was used to identify the informants of this study. It was used to gather a homogeneous sample. The researchers used the following criteria.

1. Teachers teaching values education at the elementary level.
2. Teaching values education for more than 2 years.
3. Teaching values education using online distance as the modality.

The informants of this study were the eighteen (18) values education teachers currently teaching in the elementary department of the Don Bosco Technical Institute of Makati. The informants were chosen based on the subject area they teach and the number of years they have worked at the school.

The researchers sent the letter to the chosen informants of this study and were permitted to conduct an interview about their experiences. After the approval, the informants had an interview with the researchers, where they asked questions regarding this study.

The researchers used a semi-structured interview in which the participants answered based on their experiences in teaching values education in this time of the pandemic. Also, the interview that the researchers conducted was recorded for data collection. Lastly, the researchers made sure that all information was confidential and used only in this study. The researchers analyzed the collected data using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method to gain a deeper understanding of how the selection of appropriate teaching strategies can be a factor in developing the listening and speaking competencies of students.

RESULTS

Thematic Analysis

DISCUSSION

1. What are the challenges experienced by the values education teachers during online learning?

Theme 1: Difficulties in Online Distance Learning

Difficulty in understanding Tagalog Difficulty in Expressing their thoughts and feelings in Tagalog Difficulty in terms of the schedule of synchronous classes

This question comes up with the themes of “Difficulties in Online Distance Learning” and “Independent Continuity of Learning”. The first theme reveals that the challenges encountered by the students were caused by their difficulty in understanding Tagalog. This was also mentioned by informant 18 “Also, some of the boys were having a hard time understanding the Filipino language” and informant 7 “Also, they are having difficulty speaking in Filipino language. This is evident whenever I let them read some sentences in the presentation.” Students are having difficulty in Values education class because they don’t understand the medium of instruction. They are English speakers. As mentioned by the teachers, students who are not performing well in values education are those who can’t speak tagalog and are having difficulty understanding it.  This concern was also related to the sub-theme “ Difficulty in Expressing their thoughts and feelings in Tagalog”. Those students who don’t understand tagalog are also having difficulty expressing themselves in tagalog. The cannot express their thought and feelings in tagalog because they are English speakers. Finally, the sub-theme “Difficulty in terms of the schedule of synchronous classes” also contributes to the difficulties encountered by the teachers in values education because they only meet the students once a week. They were not able to discuss the lesson thoroughly because of time constraint.

Theme 2: Independent Continuity of Learning

Clarification time and completion of requirements Students become Independent

Another challenge that the teachers encounter was “Independent Continuity of Learning”. This theme reveals that the use of asynchronous activities gave the students time for clarification and completion of requirement but most of the time students don’t ask questions to their teachers. They only do the activities themselves. The activities provide the flexibility necessary for students during values education class to participate, regardless of what time they do the tasks given to them. The teachers also expect to see contributions from their students who they might never have met in a synchronous online class. The students were also trained to be independent and responsible as mentioned by the informant 1 “P1 It’s a way of training the students to do other tasks/assignments at their own pace independently and responsibly”. Values education teachers needs to develop students who can learn independently without the teacher after their students. The students have to acquire information and judge its validity based on their thought processes. Processing as one of the important aspects of teaching was limited because of the lack of time to teach the students online.

2. How did they cope with the challenges they have encountered during online learning?

Theme: Teacher Capacity Building and Collaboration

Technology Training and availability of tech-supportUtilization of different learning activitiesBrainstorming and being resourceful

            The theme emerged in this question was “Teacher Capacity Building and Collaboration” with sub-themes “Technology Training and availability of tech-support”, “Utilization of different learning activities” and “Brainstorming and being resourceful”. This theme reveals that the teachers were able to cope with the challenges and difficulties in teaching values education because of the teacher training and webinars conducted by the school and the collaboration of the teachers with their colleagues. This was also mentioned by the informants during the interview. They said “P 5 If there are technical problems, seek assistance from your colleagues.” “P1 The teacher attended seminar workshops with accreditation.”  and “P4 They were always there helping me out with some technical difficulties that I have to go through. The full support of my immediate heads and other colleagues were most appreciated.” This shows that the technical supports from immediate heads and their colleagues are evident. They were able to cope with the technical difficulties because of the help of the technical support team. Moreover, attending webinars about teaching online and brainstorming with their co-values education teachers also helped them with their difficulties.

SOP 3. What action plan can be developed based on the findings of this research?

Emergent Conceptual Framework

The emergent conceptual framework presents the interrelation of variables conceptualizing an academic pattern and serves as the basis to determine how the values education teachers play an important part in developing the values of the students considering the action plan that will be developed based on the results of the study.

Emergent Conceptual Framework

CONCLUSION

This phenomenological study about the lived experience of values education teachers concluded that values education teachers shared both positive and negative experiences in teaching values education in an online learning environment. They experienced difficulties such as students having difficulty in understanding Tagalog because they are English Speakers. They described their experiences as Self-fulfilled because it is challenging but rewarding, enjoyable and relatable, and inspiring others. The teachers cope with the difficulties and challenges they have encountered by utilizing different learning activities for the students, technology training and brainstorming with their co- teachers.

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