Lived Experiences of Alternative Learning System Mobile Teachers in Lower Apayao, Philippines

Abstract

Alternative Learning System (ALS) mobile teachers work across community-based settings that require instructional flexibility, mobility, and sustained engagement with diverse learners. This descriptive phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of ALS mobile teachers in Lower Apayao during School Year 2023-2024 and examined how participants perceived these experiences as shaping their instructional practice and interpersonal relationships. Ten current ALS mobile teachers were purposively selected. Data were generated through semi-structured individual interviews and analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological procedure, including repeated reading, extraction of significant statements, formulation of meanings, clustering of themes, integration of findings, and participant validation. Four prominent experience domains emerged: commuting and transportation, security, finances, and community mapping. Participants described variable travel distances, difficult road and weather conditions, occasional safety concerns during community-based work, resource limitations and out-of-pocket instructional expenses, and challenges in identifying and enrolling prospective learners. They also described adaptability, resourcefulness, time management, community engagement, communication, empathy, and stakeholder collaboration as important responses to these demands. The findings reflect participant perceptions and should not be interpreted as an independent measure of teaching competence or learner outcomes. Overall, ALS mobile teaching in Lower Apayao involves substantial logistical and relational work in addition to instruction. Strengthening logistical support, professional learning, instructional resources, and collaboration with local stakeholders may help teachers sustain flexible and inclusive learning opportunities.