Philippine E-Journals

Teaching in a Highly Political Academic Environment: Narratives from a Local University in the Philippines

Zaldy C Collado

 

Abstract:

The article examined the relationship of faculty members’ workplace well-being to their commitment to stay in their current teaching jobs. The study involved seven faculty members of a local university in the Philippines. Local universities and colleges (LUCs) are run by the local government units (LGUs). Through key- informant interviews, qualitative data were obtained and then were thematically analyzed. Results revealed lower levels of workplace well-being among faculty members owing to their poor employment status, inadequate compensation, and deficient faculty development program within a highly political environment of their workplace which contributed further to decreasing workplace well-being. However, faculty members refused to leave their posts. The paper argued that the non- experience of workplace well-being does not predict workplace commitment in a student-teacher career environment. The article hoped to affect new policy directions that save these learning environments from deep political entanglement to protect teachers’ development.