From Failure to Acceptance: A Phenomenological Inquiry on the Lived-Experiences of Non-Passers of Board Licensure Examination for Psychometricians

Abstract

The practice of psychometry in the Philippines includes the licensure and registration of psychometricians to set standards for their practice. A phenomenological study was conducted using a qualitative research design to investigate the meaning of the experiences of psychology graduates who failed the BLEP. The data were collected from the six chosen participants using purposive sampling based on the inclusion criteria. These participants are psychology graduates who failed the Board Licensure Examination for Psychometricians (BLEP) during the August 2024 PRC schedule. Unstructured, in-depth interviews served as the data collection method, proceeding iteratively until saturation – the point at which no new insights were generated by participants – was reached. The resulting data were then analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), emphasizing a detailed examination of individual lived experiences. The study revealed that participants experienced psychological responses to failure, including enduring disappointment and diminished self-esteem. Also, the participants experienced diverse relational responses to failure, such as receiving encouragement from family and peers, having unshaken faith in God, comparing themselves to peers, and isolating themselves from others. But despite the failure, they embraced the experience by reaching the point of acceptance, moving forward positively, and perceiving failure as a challenge. The findings of the study offered valuable perspectives in the field of psychology and education.