Navigating Through Difficult Roads and Terrains: Novice Teachers’ Challenges in Teaching in Remote Mountainous Settings in the Philippines

Abstract

In rural areas, the adaptation of urban-originating elementary teachers to remote mountainous school locations poses substantial challenges and necessitates innovative strategies. This study primarily explored the lived experiences of newly hired elementary teachers residing in urban areas but assigned to remote mountainous locations, specifically focusing on their adaptation processes, the challenges they encountered, and support mechanisms that influenced their teaching roles. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach and reflexive thematic analysis, this study involved in-depth interviews with nine newly hired urban-originating elementary teachers who were assigned to teach in rural schools in the Municipality of Santa Catalina, Basay, and Bayawan City, Province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. We generated four themes: resilience to combat challenging environments; difficulty in traveling due to treacherous roads and terrains; absence of basic necessities, instructional materials, and educational infrastructure; and school-stakeholders partnership. This study highlights the significant challenges novice elementary teachers assigned to remote mountainous areas face, including navigating treacherous roads, coping with harsh weather conditions, and managing limited basic necessities and educational resources. Overall, these themes highlight teachers’ critical challenges in remote mountainous regions and emphasize the importance of support structures to enable them to deliver quality education under difficult circumstances. Educators in these areas adapt by employing innovative strategies such as unconventional transportation methods like horseback and adjusting teaching approaches to meet localized educational needs. We conclude that enhancing support systems and improving infrastructure are crucial to ensuring quality education in rural settings.