To Teach in a Foreign Land: The Lived Experiences of Non-Immigrant Cultural Exchange Filipino Teachers
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The study focused on the lived experiences of non-immigrant cultural exchange Filipino teachers in the united states (US). Particularly, the reasons for moving to the US to teach and leaving a permanent position at the philippine department of education (DepEd) were explored.
Methodology: A total of eight Filipino teachers currently teaching in the US served as participants in the study. These participants were chosen through the use of purposive and snowball sampling methods, with the following criteria taken into consideration: teachers from the Philippines who moved to the US to teach; DepEd being the previous employer; single; and holder of a J-1 visa. The descriptive phenomenological approach was employed to discover the underlying meanings of the participants’ experiences. Particularly, Collaizi’s descriptive-phenomenological method was used.
Main Findings: Through Collaizi’s descriptive-phenomenological method, six themes were identified. These themes were considerations, motivations, preparations, challenges, pleasant experiences, and future outlooks.
Novelty/Originality of this study: The study provided insights into the lived experiences of former basic education teachers in the Philippines who opted to work in the US as cultural exchange teachers. The themes identified in the study can serve as guide in better understanding the experiences of these teachers as they venture into the teaching profession in a foreign environment.
References
J. Smith and L. deCourcy, “The Pandemic has Exacerbated a Long-Standing National Shortage of Teachers,” Economi Polici Institute: Washington, 2022.
K, A. Matthew, Lyon, M. Arnold. “The rise and fall of the teaching profession: Prestige, interest, preparation, and satisfaction over the last half century,” American Educational Research Journal, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 1192-1236, 2024.
K. P. McVey and J. Trinidad, “Nuance in the Noise: The Complex Reality of Teacher Shortages,” Bellwether Education Partners: Nuance In the Nolse, 2019.
R. R. Rosales, “Unheard Voices of Filipino Immigrant Teachers in the United States,” University of Dayton, 2024.
O. Modesto, “A phenomenological study of Filipino immigrant teachers in South Texas,” The Qualitative Report, vol. 25, no.8, pp. 3149-3162, 2020. doi: 10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4225.
L. Bartlett, Migrant teachers: How American schools import labor. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2014.
F. Gogol, “Guide to Jobs for Filipino Teachers in the USA,” Stilt, 2023.
M. J. Hermoso, “Motivation of Philippine basic education teachers' migration to other countries,” Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 153-175, 2025, doi: 10.70838/pemj.440110.
A quick overview of Filipinos teaching abroad, “What a life,” 2020.
M. Aurelio and J. M. Gascon, “Teacher exodus alarms DepEd; Education cluster formed,” Inquirer.Net, 2024.
J. Malipot, Hernando, “Heart-breaking’: Group says more Filipino teachers apply for work abroad,” Manila Bulletin, 2022.
D. T. Cahilog, J. S. Sarong, and F. E. Arcila, “Exploring the Motivations and Challenges of Teachers Leaving DepEd for Overseas Opportunities,” Randwick Int. Educ. Linguist. Sci. J., vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 516–534, 2023, doi: 10.47175/rielsj.v4i3.754.
H. E. Lemana II, “Filipinos and Indians as english language teachers in the emirates: A Phenomenology,” Int. J. Qual. Res., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 2022, doi: 10.47540/ijqr.v2i1.480.
G. G. Sumalinog, “English language teachers in diaspora: A heideggerian phenomenology,” Int. J. Learn. Teach. Educ. Res., vol. 19, no. 11, pp. 283–295, 2020, doi: 10.26803/ijlter.19.11.16.
C. Y. Wright and P. C. Villaflor, “Diasporic queer in classroom: The resiliency of Filipino gay teachers in international schools,” Journal of Science, Technology, and Arts Research, vol. 4, pp. 2-12, 2018.
Keedy, L. John, “An assessment of school councils, collegial groups, and professional development as teacher empowerment strategies,” Journal of In-Service Education, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 29-50, 2001. doi: 10.1080/13674580100200141
USA Department of States-Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Waiver of the Exchange Visitor Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement.”
P. L. L. Fickey, M. L. Firm, “Top 6 States Hiring J1 Teachers: Statistics and Interesting Info,” 2022.
Graves, C. Alexa, “Faculty of Color Viewpoints Regarding Recruitment, Retention, and Academic Climate at Texas Community Colleges,” 2021.
A. G. M. Bautista and V. T. Tamayo, “life challenges of overseas Filipino workers,” OALib, vol. 07, no. 10, pp. 1–9, 2020, doi: 10.4236/oalib.1106854.
A. B. S. Pagatpatan-Aranda, “Migration experiences of Filipino teachers in native American reservation schools,” Int. J. Arts, Sci. Educ., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 11–29, 2023.
K. Leigh-Osroosh, “The Phenomenological House: A metaphoric framework for descriptive phenomenological psychological design and analysis,” The Qualitative Report, vol. 26, no. 26, pp. 3045-3057, 2021, doi: 10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4815.
J. W. Creswell, Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2013.
R. Morrow, A. Rodriguez, and N. King, “Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method,” The Psychologist, vol. 28, no. 8, pp. 643-644, 2015.
M. T. Arcillo, “Experiences of the Filipino teachers in the virgin islands: A phenomenological theory development,” Inernational Journal of Science and Research, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1560-1566, Feb. 2023, doi:10.21275/SR23226022624.
A. Elliot, & E. Archambeault, “The impact of mental preparation,” The Lancer Feed, 2019
Kentucky Counseling Center, “Mental Preparation Techniques: It’s all in the Mind,” 2021.
D. F. Da Costa, “Entangled in two Romance languages: Experiencing language barriers in higher education,” Aust. J. Appl. Linguist., vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 60–74, 2021, doi: 10.29140/ajal.v4n2.508.
American Psychological Association, “Discrimination: What it is and how to cope,” 2019.
H. Cho, D. Y. Pyun, and C. K. J. Wang, “Teachers’ work-life balance: the effect of work-leisure conflict on work-related outcomes,” Asia Pacific J. Educ., vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 1097–1112, 2025, doi: 10.1080/02188791.2023.2259113.
A. M. Abu-Tineh, M. H. Romanowski, Y. Chaaban, H. Alkhatib, N. Ghamrawi, and Y. M. Alshaboul, “Career advancement, job satisfaction, career retention, and other related dimensions for sustainability: A perception study of qatari public school teachers,” Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 5, p. 4370, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15054370.
Y. Chaaban, H. Alkhateeb, A. Abu-Tineh, and M. Romanowski, “Exploring teachers’ perspectives on career development: Q methodology research,” Teach. Teach. Educ., vol. 122, p. 103987, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2022.103987.
S. Lavy, “A meaningful boost: Effects of teachers’ sense of meaning at work on their engagement, burnout, and stress,” AERA Open, vol. 8, no.1, 2022, doi: 10.1177/23328584221079857.
S. L. Kachchhap and W. Horo, “Factors influencing school teachers’ sense of belonging: An empirical evidence,” Int. J. Instr., vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 775–790, 2021, doi: 10.29333/iji.2021.14444a.
J. W. Kang and M. C. G. Latoja, “COVID-19 and overseas Filipino workers: Return migration and reintegration into the home country the Philippine case,” ADB Southeast Asia Working Paper Series, vol.2, no.1, 2022. doi: 10.22617/WPS220002-2.
D. Bright and E. Heyting, “Exploring the motivations and career choices of expatriate teachers in international schools: Embracing personal growth, professional development, and teacher autonomy,” International Journal of Educational Reseach, vol. 127, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102426.
K. Bense, “International teacher mobility and migration: A review and synthesis of the current empirical research and literature,” Educational Research Review, vol 17, pp. 37-49, Feb. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.001.
J. B. De Oca and R. S. Malaga, “The diaspora of Filipino teachers leaving their home country for work in the United States,” Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, vol, 9, no. 5, pp. 172-186, May 2025, doi: 10.55214/25768484.v9i5.6811.
J. T. Virtudazo, “A phenomenological study of Filipino migrant teachers in the United States,” International Journal of Educational Contemporary Explorations, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 162-170, Sep. 2025, doi:10.69481/XTPZ9430.
S. Naul, “Eacher migration in the Philippines: Shifting the perspective from brain drain to brain circulation,” World Education Connect Multidisciplinary E-publication, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 182-187, 2025, doi: 10.65494/pinagpalapublishing.43.
C. Tantay, M. J. Montecillo, L. Matthew, and C. Derasin, “Navigating the experience of deped teachers' decision to work abroad: A phenomenological study,” Journal of Harbin Engineering Teachnology, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 67-72, 2024.
Copyright (c) 2026 Frances Rowena Mercado Samia, Glenn Medallon Calaguas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and acknowledge that the Journal of Basic Education Research is the first publisher licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work.
.png)
.png)
.png)
