Unshared Maneuvers of Special Needs Education (SNED) Teachers in Teaching Children with Challenging Behaviors

The study explored the unshared maneuvers of teachers who are teaching children with special needs by navigating the lived experiences of the SNED Teachers, particularly their descriptions of their current lives as SNED teachers, the teaching strategies they used in the conduct of their teaching and learning, the challenges they encountered in teaching SNED learners, and their future career plans ten (10) years after. It employed a phenomenological qualitative research design. Eight (8) SNED teachers were selected and participated in the study. These teachers taught SNED Classes in the Schools Division Office of Koronadal City during the School Year 2024-2025. To gather the needed data for the study, a methodology involving semi-structured interviews was utilized. Formal communication was sent to the DepEd XII Regional Director and the Schools Division Superintendent of Koronadal City for the study's approval. The inclusion criteria were strictly observed in identifying the participants. After the approval was attained, individual interviews were conducted. A set of well-defined questions was prepared before the actual interview to help guide the researcher. Experts validated the questions to ensure that the phenomenon under study will be explored well and the correct data will be generated to answer the research questions. A recording device was used to record the interview only upon the interviewee's approval. The recorded interviews underwent a meticulous review and were transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data was analyzed, and the themes and clustered themes were generated using a modified thematic tool analysis template. Four (4) themes were generated from the eight participants’ descriptions of their present life as a SNED teacher: professional teacher, possess a wide range of skills, fulfilled individual/teacher, and family-oriented person: multi-sensory approach, differentiated instructions, and performance-based learning.