The Lived Experiences of the Special Program in Journalism (SPJ) Students: A Phenomenological Inquiry

English Language Teaching

The creation of the Special Interest Programs of the Department of Education such as Special Program in Journalism was in response to meet the special learning needs of the students. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological research was to explore the experiences, challenges, coping mechanisms, and suggestions of the students enrolled in the Special Program in Journalism of Compostela National High School. Data and information were gathered using in-depth interviews. The 12 selected students enrolled in the academic year 2022-2023 were the participants of the study. The findings showed that the challenges encountered by the students include stress and pressure in meeting writing standards, problem with time management, low self-confidence, overflowing tasks and activities, and lack of resources and facilities. The mechanisms utilized by students to overcome these challenges include doing constant practice, avoiding negative thoughts, turning mistakes into motivations, interacting people with the same interest, and setting timetable. The findings also revealed that both teachers and students lack trainings and seminars. Thus, to address these concerns, an intervention program named as ‘Project JoG (Journalism on the Go)’ was developed to enhance the journalistic skills of the students, and improve the teaching methods of the teachers. This paper concluded with the recommendation that the findings from the students' experiences will assist school administrators and curriculum designers in determining the improvement programs that should be included in the Special Program in Journalism as well as the activities required to help students develop their skills and talents. Additionally, training on the integration of journalism across all learning areas must be given to all SPJ teachers to capacitate them with the techniques on how to integrate journalism in all subjects.

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