When the Child is not Born The Sensitive

When the Child is not Born The Sensitive World of Filipino Childless Teachers Randy A. Tudy Ida Gauran- Tudy Macro. Journals Conference on Business and Social Science: New York 2015*** Dec. 28 -29, ‘ 16, New York Hilton

Do you have a baby now? 2

3 The phenomenon of childlessness has gained interests among sociologists and demographers throughout the world.

Dramatic change in the patterns of childbearing since the post Second World War (Sobotka, 2004). 4

5 Women do not want to have a child (Gillespie, 1999; Hakim, 2004; Mencarini & Tanturri, 2005).

VOLUNTARY OR INVOLUNTARY CHILDLESSN 6

7 To prepare in having a child a number of socioeconomic factors must be first in place (González & Jurado-Guerrero, 2006).

8 childless lifestyle

*POORER QUALITY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS *LESSER INCOME than fathers (Dykstra & Keizer, 2009). 9

In India, a study among rural childless couples found out the prevalence of social culture which largely influences the psychological state of these couples. 10

11 In Ghana, childless couples were stigmatized and not allowed to handle leadership duties in the community. (Tabong & Adongo, 2013)

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13 The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the life experiences of childless teachers in Davao del Sur, Philippines.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the life experiences of childless teachers in the workplace? What insights and suggestions can they share to other childless teachers and to the academe, in general? 14

STUDY DESIGN Phenomenological Tradition 15

STUDY PARTICIPANTS Married teachers who have no children either by choice or circumstance Married for 2 -20 years, eager to participate and willing to sign the consent letter. 10 teachers participated (3 males and 7 females 17

PURPOSIVE 18

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION 19

ROLES OF THE RESEARCHERS Interviewers Transcribers Translators Analysts Interpreters Writers 20

INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA Experiential-theoretic transition model (Piantanida and Garman, 2009). 21

TECHNIQUE IN WRITING RESUL Story-telling writing (Creswell, 1998) 22

TRUSTWORTHINESS Fenton and Mazuwelics (2008) Credibility – member checking Transferability – dissemination of results Dependability- shared experience of the participants Confirmability – audit trail 23

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION Consent, use of codes 24

EXPERIENCES OF THE CHILDLESS TEACHERS IN THE WORKPLACE “A little bit embarrassing especially when teachers talk about the number of children they have. ” 25 EMBARRASSMENT

INCOMPLETENES A picture of blissful families, with parents happy with their children, made the informants felt jealous and insecure 26

Pressures Not having a child was a constant question they received 27

Escapism and Defense They tried to divert topics. Most of the time they ignored the talk. 28

OPTIMISM “I love my work but it is better to have a child. ” 29

30 Economic & Personal Advantages Upsides of Childlessness

AVAILABILIT & COMMITMENT 31

INSIGHTS TO OTHER CHILDLESS TEACHERS AND TO THE ACADEME IN GENERAL Accept the reality, be tough & remain positive 32

Spend Quality Time with Spouse “Although I do not have a child, I am still grateful to God. I have a strong relationship with my husband. ” 33

Be Sensitive Avoid childlessness as the topic specially there were others who are insensitive. 34

Be thankful amidst the Situa “We do not have a child but it is not a hindrance for us to be happy. ”

DISCUSSION 36

IMPLICATION 37

CONCLUDING REMARKS 38

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