Exploring the Lived Academic Experiences of First-time Filipino Graduate Students Teaching Abroad: Towards A Mindful Practice

Studying in other countries reinforce academic, intercultural, and scientific competence of students (Maharaja, 2018). But despite the many possible positive opportunities and experiences’ students from other countries, they may also encounter challenges and difficulties during their studies. This study explored the academic experiences and challenges of the Philippine Normal University (PNU) Bachelor in Early Childhood Education (BECED) alumni who are teaching abroad and decided to enroll at PNU for the first time to pursue Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education (MA ECE) through the Kaway Aralan sa Bagong Kadawyan in SY 2021-2022. This phenomenological research method purposively selected 15 participants. The data were collected through online survey questionnaire that included open-ended questions, individual, and focus group interviews. Participants lived experiences were considered, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. Findings from the study indicated that the students encountered challenges and pointed out how they addressed these challenges. The main themes that emerged include psychological readiness, practical method, and application (duties at work and studies, schedule at work and studies, learning management system, positive attitude) and functional social support. It is important to investigate the academic experiences of first-time graduate students who are based on other countries to provide the essential support and services for less hassle transition and to provide inputs to policy makers to create or enhance existing policies on admission and program delivery.