METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The study employs a descriptive phenomenological approach with the goal of

depicting scenarios classified as lived experiences through direct exploration, analysis,

and description of a phenomenon as freely as possible.

Edmund Husserl's (1859-1938) descriptive phenomenological approach

emphasizes that phenomenological investigations at a later time guide a way to the

idea of doing a philosophy that closely relates to the corresponding movement. It

employs a variety of techniques to investigate the structural features of experiences

and things as experienced. It is, first and foremost, a descriptive discipline that includes

causal, explanations, and accounts of the nature of experience in a way that is

essentially independent of scientific.

It focuses on exploring the lived experiences of the teachers on the

implementation of the catch-up plan, and the coping mechanisms with the challenges of

the implementation of the program. These are the phenomenological occurrences that

prompted the investigator to look into them. As a result, the descriptive

phenomenological qualitative research design is based on Edmund Husserl and Maurice

Merleau-phenomenological Ponty's approach, as the study investigates participants'

perceptions, feelings, and lived experiences.

The researcher only needs the presence of the public elementary school teachers

in Digos City. Online procedures will be utilized in the conduct of this study. The

researcher will conduct interviews through online platforms such as via messenger call

and Google Meet. Furthermore, the researcher aims to gather public elementary school

teachers of four (4) from Balabag Elementary School, four (4) from Mahayahay

Elementary School, and three (4) from Pedro V. Basalan Elementary School of Digos

City Schools.

Participants / Informants

Twelve public elementary school teachers are chosen from the various

elementary schools in Digos City's Schools Division. When determining the sample size

of the participants, Morse (2000) stated that, depending on the nature of the study, five

individuals are sufficient to saturate the data. If there is an immediate need, additional

participants are recruited to adequately saturate the data. To summarize, number

twelve is chosen to ensure that all gray areas of the subject under consideration are

adequately covered.

Sampling Design
 The informants for the study are public elementary school teachers in Digos

City's Schools Division. Because their activities are similar, the informants were chosen

using a homogenous purposive sample strategy. They are dealing with the same issues

and may only differ in terms of school size, teacher count, demographic location, and

other job-related responsibilities.

Data Collection

The researcher will first pass the proposal defense, after passing the defense,

the Ethical clearance from the HCDC-REC will be secured. After securing the certificate,

permission from the Graduate School office and from the VPAA will be secured. After

securing permission, and seeking endorsement from my locale, the Informed Consent

Form will be administered. To gather the data, the participants will be interviewed

through the interview guide questions in an Individual online interview and Focused

Group Discussion where in conducting this qualitative research, the presence of the

psychologist or guidance counselor will be on standby to address emotional turmoil if

ever the occurrence of it is evident.

Ethical Consideration

This section describes the precise ethical considerations and guidelines that the

researcher will follow and put into effect throughout the study. Ethics is critical in

research because it guarantees that studies are carried out in a respectful, fair, and just

manner for all parties involved, including research participants, researchers, and society

as a whole. Following that, the researcher will follow the Philippine Health Research
Ethics Board's (PHREB, 2017) ethical rules. The procedures that the researcher will

follow, the nine ethical considerations, are consistent with the goals of the PHREB and

the HCDC-REC. The researcher will preserve and respect the rights and roles of the

respondents, as well as maintain a balance between the two parties.

This study will explore the lived experiences of the teachers toward the

implementation of the catch-up plan, determine the coping mechanisms employed by

the teachers in the implementation of the catch-up plan, and gain insights into the

implementation of the catch-up plan for the intensification of the learning of our dear

learners. Additionally, this paper could be a guide for the teacher’s attitude in handling

catch-up activities with the learners. More so, it will enlighten.

Confidentiality and prior and informed consent are prerequisites to the data

collection. The investigator must respect the participants and obtain their permission

before conducting the interview in order to collect the necessary data for the study. The

participants will be informed of the study's title, objectives, benefits, and confidentiality.

The study is entirely voluntary, and participants can opt out of being key

informants at any time. The investigator will keep the participants' information and

interview transcripts confidential, and they will only share them with members of the

panel if necessary; however, names should not be revealed. Only the codes and

pseudonyms assigned will be visible.

The work has always been focused on the participants' well-being, protection,

and respect. Undoubtedly, the shared experiences would be kept as private as possible.
To protect the participants' identities, their names are hidden using axial coding. If it is

necessary to identify the participants for member verification and the performance of

the audit trail to establish dependability and reliability, the names are kept confidential

and confirmability. Because the principal investigator is a teacher, prolonged exposure

to the topic ensures the study's credibility. The process of intentionally selecting

informants is one technique for demonstrating that the study has achieved

transferability (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

The primary goal of this endeavor is to ensure that ethics is followed during the

time spent completing the study. In-text and reference citations are correctly used to

credit the authors of the numerous sources that support the topic under consideration.

The informants would be debriefed prior to the online meeting to ensure that they are

fully aware of the investigation and that all pertinent information is handled.

In the presentation of the results, it would be revealed but their names are not

mentioned in the manuscript.

Credibility. To establish the study's reliability, the researcher uses the

triangulation technique to collect data from informants. The collected data is compiled

to see the informants' specific comments on the study.

Transferability. By defining the study environment, qualitative research implies

transferability. The investigator will generate or provide tangible proof so that the

research study is clearer and easier to replicate from one person to the next.

Dependability. First, the investigator must determine whether it is appropriate

to conduct interviews with their participants. The investigator will then ask their

questions and inquire about the audit.

Confirmability. This investigator focuses on qualitative research and contains

an audit trail that incorporates data analysis techniques. It contributes to the

researcher's study by accurately depicting the emotions of research participants.

Research Instrument

An online interview with open-ended interview guide questions is to be

conducted to collect relevant data for the study. Follow-up questions are provided to

supplement the guiding questions in order to elicit specifics about the participants'

experiences, allowing them to recount their tales or experiences while dealing freely

and thoroughly with the implementation of the catch-up plan. To conduct the online

interview with the participants, online platforms such as Messenger, MS Teams, Zoom,
or phone calls are used for at least 45 minutes and up to two hours if the data must be

thoroughly saturated. The interview guide sample is provided below.

What are your lived experiences in the implementation of the catch-up plan in

your school? Can you tell us more about your problems? How did you address the

challenges encountered in the implementation of the catch-up program of DepEd? What

else can you share? How did you find fulfillment in your endeavor to implement the

catch-up plan for your students? What sacrifices did you make just to be able to

succeed and be victorious in the implementation of the program?

Data Analysis

The Colaizzi process for phenomenological data analysis will be used to analyze

the data. The following procedure will be used (Sanders, 2003; Speziale & Carpenter,

2007). Each transcript should be read and reread in order to gain a general

understanding of the entire content. Significant statements about the phenomenon

under investigation should be extracted from each transcript. These statements must be

documented on a separate sheet, with page and line numbers. These significant

statements should be translated into meanings. The formulated meanings should be

categorized, and clustered into themes, and themes themselves. The study's findings

should be incorporated into a comprehensive description of the phenomenon under

investigation. The phenomenon's fundamental structure should be described. Finally,

validation of the findings should be sought from the research participants, who should

be asked to compare the investigators' descriptive results with their own experiences.