Expectations and Lived Experiences of Newly Hired Teachers in Public Elementary Schools of Bataraza, Palawan, Philippines

This qualitative study focuses on the expectations and lived experiences of the newly hired teachers in public elementary schools of Bataraza, Palawan, which was conducted between March to August 2022. The data were gathered through unstructured face-to-face interviews and transcribed using Colaizzi's method. Six (6) participants in their first to the third year in service were involved in this study through purposive sampling. The findings revealed that the participants had high and low expectations before they were hired as public school teachers. However, upon entering their working stations as beginning teachers, their experiences somewhat differed from their expectations on school locations, working with colleagues and administrators, relationship with the stakeholders, paperwork, teaching and classroom management, and salary. Therefore, it is recommended that the Department of Education look at the teachers’ well-being and strengthen the existing program that supports newly hired teachers.