Beyond the Classroom: Lived Experiences of Master of Arts in Education Students in Balancing Teaching, Graduate Studies and Personal Life at Northeastern College

Authors

  • Angie Flor Gano Professional Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64358/sih.v2i3.151

Keywords:

Keywords

Abstract

Abstract

The increasing number of teachers pursuing graduate education while maintaining professional and personal responsibilities has highlighted the importance of understanding work-life-learning balance among adult learners. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Master of Arts in Education (MAED) students at Northeastern College, Santiago City, Philippines, in balancing their teaching responsibilities, graduate studies, and personal life. Guided by Husserl's descriptive phenomenology, the study sought to examine the challenges encountered, coping strategies employed, support systems utilized, and personal and professional transformations experienced by teacher-graduate students. Using purposive sampling, fifteen (15) MAED students who were actively teaching while enrolled in the graduate program participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological method. The analysis generated five essential themes: (1) managing multiple professional and personal roles; (2) developing effective time management and self-discipline; (3) drawing strength from family, colleagues, and academic support systems; (4) cultivating resilience through challenges and lifelong learning; and (5) transforming teaching practices through graduate education. Participants described balancing teaching, academic requirements, and family responsibilities as demanding yet rewarding, enabling them to strengthen instructional competence, leadership skills, reflective practice, and professional confidence. Although they experienced workload pressures, physical fatigue, and emotional stress, participants demonstrated resilience through strategic planning, intrinsic motivation, and supportive interpersonal relationships. The findings underscore the need for higher education institutions to develop flexible graduate programs, responsive student support services, and learner-centered instructional practices that accommodate the unique needs of working teachers. Likewise, educational institutions are encouraged to foster organizational environments that support teachers pursuing advanced education. The study contributes to the growing literature on adult learning, teacher professional development, and work-life-learning balance by providing insights into the experiences of graduate students within the Philippine educational context.

Keywords: work-life-learning balance, Master of Arts in Education, teacher professional development, phenomenology, graduate education, adult learning, resilience, Northeastern College, Philippines

References

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2023). Building your resilience. https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience

Avalos, B. (2021). Teacher professional development in teaching and teacher education over ten years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 105, 103403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103403

Broadbent, J., & Poon, W. L. (2021). Self-regulated learning strategies and academic achievement in online higher education learning environments: A systematic review. The Internet and Higher Education, 27, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.04.007

Colaizzi, P. F. (1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In R. Valle & M. King (Eds.), Existential phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48–71). Oxford University Press.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(Supplement), S95–S120. https://doi.org/10.1086/228943

Credé, M., & Phillips, L. A. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Learning and Individual Differences, 89, 102036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102036

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2020). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.

Day, C., & Gu, Q. (2020). The new lives of teachers. Routledge.

Eisenberger, R., Malone, G. P., & Presson, W. D. (2020). Optimizing perceived organizational support to enhance employee engagement. Society for Human Resource Management, 1–22.

Greenhaus, J. H., & Allen, T. D. (2021). Occupational stress and work–family balance. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology (3rd ed., pp. 173–194). Wiley.

Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D., & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. John Wiley & Sons.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). Routledge.

Kossek, E. E., & Lee, K. H. (2021). Work-life balance and flexibility. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 255–278). American Psychological Association.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.

Macan, T. H. (2022). Time management: Test of a process model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(3), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.79.3.381

Morrow, R., Rodriguez, A., & King, N. (2015). Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method. The Psychologist, 28(8), 643–644.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. SAGE Publications.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). Education at a glance 2023: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/e13bef63-en

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Putnam, R. D. (2020). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community (Rev. ed.). Simon & Schuster.

Richardson, M., McKenna, S., & Fitzsimons, C. (2021). Work-life balance among higher education students: Challenges and coping mechanisms. Studies in Higher Education, 46(9), 1814–1828. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1716323

Saunders, B., Sim, J., Kingstone, T., Baker, S., Waterfield, J., Bartlam, B., Burroughs, H., & Jinks, C. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: Exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & Quantity, 52(4), 1893–1907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0574-8

Smith, B. W., Epstein, E. M., Ortiz, J. A., Christopher, P. J., & Tooley, E. M. (2022). The foundations of resilience: What are the critical resources for bouncing back from stress? In S. Prince-Embury & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), Resilience in children, adolescents, and adults (pp. 167–187). Springer.

Tinto, V. (2021). Completing college: Rethinking institutional action (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/

Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166–183. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207312909

Downloads

Published

2026-08-08

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 3 (2026): Studies in Interdisciplinary Horizons

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Studies in Interdisciplinary Horizons

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Under this license, you may not use the material for any commercial purposes.

The images or other third-party material in this article are included under the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.