Teaching Outside Science Specialism: Plight of Public-School Science Major Teachers in Montevista District

The intent of this study was to describe the experiences, coping mechanisms and insights of the public school science teachers who encountered problems and challenges in teaching subjects outside from their field of specialization which answered the three fundamental research questions on what are the experiences of science teachers teaching subjects which is outside from their field of specialization, how do science teachers cope with their challenges, and insights of science teachers. The study utilized the qualitative phenomenological design with two data collection techniques, the in-depth interview and focus group discussion. There were 14 participants in this study who were science teachers from secondary schools in Montevista district. Triangulation was addressed through gathering of data from more than one source to gain a fuller perspective of the study. Essential themes were generated on the experiences of teachers, coping mechanisms and insights of science teachers. Previous endeavor cited mainly on the problems that the teacher encountered from teaching beyond the science specialism like Biology in major teaching and preparing lesson in the field of Physics and other science related areas. However, I have not come across various studies that deal with the challenges or problems of the science teachers teaching outside their science specialization.