Resilience is the Key: A Concurrent Mixed Methods Study on Surviving the Challenges of COVID-19 among Philippine Schools Overseas

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges among schools across the globe, including the Philippine Schools Overseas (PSOs). Using a convergent mixed methods design, this study investigated the perceptions, views and experiences of the respondents to the unexpected occurrence of COVID 19. In this approach, quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used in parallel with each other. Datasets were analyzed separately and merged at the point of integration where they are arrayed side-by-side and by using a joint display. A total of eighty-eight participants from PSOs participated the survey, and nine respondents participated in the phenomenological interviews. The chi-square analysis revealed non-significant association between the respondents’ designation and their perceptions to surviving the challenges of COVID-19 in relation to challenges encountered, learning continuity, health and safety protocols, and lessons learned. Qualitative findings revealed that mitigating the challenges, pursuing learning continuity, observing stricter health and safety protocols, and learning from experiences are the best approaches to survive the challenges. The direct comparison of the quantitative and qualitative results allowed us to draw meta-inferences which were classified as confirming and expanding. The mixed methods analyses illuminated the overall aspects of how schools survived the COVID-19 challenges, thus creating a more complete picture of the phenomenon under study.