Out-of-Field Junior High School Music Teachers in the Online Teaching of Music Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study is a transcendental phenomenology that explores the lived experiences of the out-of-field junior high school music teachers in the online teaching of music amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The out- of-field teaching phenomenon simply refers to teaching outside one’s qualifications and expertise. Through purposive sampling, nine participants from public junior high schools in Tacloban City, Philippines with out- of-field music teachers provided significant responses relative to their lived experience which was then treated with thematic analysis. The results suggest that the success in teaching music online based on the lived experiences of the out-of-field music teachers primarily depends on the issues of teacher qualification, support for adequate resources, and professional development training. Moreover, factors such as internet connectivity and the teacher’s competence are directly affecting the students’ interest to learn and the teachers’ morale towards their profession. Efficiency in teaching music online, on the other hand, as experienced by the out-of- field music teachers is attainable with their best practices in online music teaching. Therefore, out-of-field teaching must be alleviated since teaching music online entails a holistic approach to content mastery, support for online teaching, equipment, and training for professional development.