Plowing Through Challenges: A Case Study of Tool and Equipment Unavailability in TVL Organic Agriculture

Abstract This case study aims to investigate the factors that contribute to the absence of tools and equipment in TVL organic agriculture in Sto. Niño High School, school year 2024-2025. Methods-wise, the researcher employed purposive random sampling and a set of criteria for the participant’s qualifications. Moreover, in the collection of data, the researcher used an interview guide with open-ended questions to elicit more ideas that can largely contribute to the development of the study. The collection of data anchored was in adherence to rigorous procedures such as member checking, audit trail, thick description, and reflexivity for credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability purposes. Personal interview was utilized for the teacher participant and focus group discussions for the student participants. To reach data saturation, the interview took 3 sessions and 4 sessions for the focused group discussions. Through thematic analysis, code and themes were generated and findings revealed that the lack of tools and equipment is caused by the lower priority of the school. The absence of the tools and equipment affects the psychological drive of the student participants such as fading interest and motivation to do practical applications in the field. This resulted in their views of tools and equipment incompetence. Despite this problem, the resourcefulness and initiatives of the TVL teacher paralleled the absence of the new tools and equipment. Thus, the study suggests that the school should prioritize purchasing tools and equipment for students and teachers to learn and be competent in their field. Keywords: Qualitative research; case study; unavailability of tools and equipment; tools and equipment incompetence