When the Child is not Born

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

2. 2 Do you have a baby now?

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

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

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

6. VOLUNTARY OR INVOLUNTARY CHILDLESSNESS 6

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

8. 8 childless lifestyle

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

10. 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. 11 In Ghana, childless couples were stigmatized and not allowed to handle leadership duties in the community. (Tabong & Adongo, 2013)

12. OBANDO FESTIVAL 12

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

14. 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

15. STUDY DESIGN Phenomenological Tradition 15

16. 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. 17 10 teachers participated (3 males and 7 females

17. PURPOSIVE 18

18. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION 19

19. ROLES OF THE RESEARCHERS Interviewers Transcribers Translators Analysts Interpreters Writers 20

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

21. TECHNIQUE IN WRITING RESULT Story-telling writing (Creswell,1998) 22

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

23. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Consent, use of codes 24

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

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

26. Pressures 27 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

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

29. 30 Economic & Personal Advantages Upsides of Childlessness

30. AVAILABILIT & COMMITMENT 31

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

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

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

34. Be thankful amidst the Situation “We do not have a child but it is not a hindrance for us to be happy.” 35

35. DISCUSSION 36

36. IMPLICATION 37

37. CONCLUDING REMARKS 38

38. 39

39. 40