Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

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Abstract

The Covid–19 outbreak has brought critical changes in the educational context like the adoption of the flexible learning modality. This, among other educational changes, challenged learners, teachers, parents, and administrators in the performance of their functions. While various studies explored the lived experiences of students, teachers, and parents under the said modality, a dearth of studies ventured into the lived experiences of emergent administrators in rural places like the study’s context, the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College, Cervantes Campus, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Philippines; hence, this study. This employed the case study design to comprehensively understand the lived experiences of the emergent administrators in implementing the flexible learning modality. Findings revealed that emergent administrators have encountered several challenges which are sub themed as poor readiness for flexible learning modality, lack of resources to implement flexible learning, difficulty in monitoring/ supervising faculty, and lack of experience as administrators. However, it was also found that they have employed coping mechanisms against these challenges. These mechanisms are sub themed as continuing professional development, linkages, giving of constant reminders, and mentoring. Further analyses of these primary findings unleashed desirable attitudes sub themed as flexibility, resourcefulness, competence, and optimism. This means that because of the administrators` constructive attitudes, they were able to brave the challenges of flexible learning through their practical mechanisms. Hence, they survived and implemented flexible learning in the best way they can. These laid ways to the development of the framework dubbed as “Four Pillars of Resiliency” as a potential blueprint for emergent administrators whose context is similar to the study. The developed framework may be validated for utilization.

Full Article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56901/BFLG1997

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