Special Education Teachers’ Experiences in Times of Emergencies: A Narrative Inquiry

This study gained an in-depth understanding of the experiences of special education teachers in Iloilo who cared for children with special needs during emergencies. Their narratives included their experiences such as their difficulties and problems. This study explored teachers’ practices on the necessary soft skills of the 21st century. The participants were ten (10) public and private special education teachers in the city and province of Iloilo. They have been teaching for at least two years and have taught during the pandemic. A semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, and photo elicitation were utilized. Data analysis followed the thematic analysis. Data were transcribed and coded for patterns and themes. Narratives revealed experiences and practices during the time of emergency, which focused on the seven soft skills mentioned by Fernandes, Jardim & Lopez (2021): patience, understanding, flexibility, empathy, and creativity together with modalities: difficulties in the preparation of materials, technology, and assessments with a total of seven (7) themes. Creativity was also observed during the pandemic. The modular type prevailed in terms of teaching practices, although online learning was seen as ideal. Better logistics, better connectivity, lack of training on online modalities, and accurate assessment of pupils’ performance were highlighted as problems and challenges. Keywords: narrative inquiry, special education teachers, Iloilo, times of emergencies