Noxious Repercussions of Home Visitations for Teachers and Students in the Philippines

Abstract

This position paper analyzes the mandatory home visitation program for teachers in the Philippines, which aims to strengthen relationships among schools, students, and their families. Though home visitation programs came with good intentions, such as lessening the number of dropouts, this paper argues that their effectiveness in practice is more hassle and may negatively affect both teachers and learners. Home visitations as a requirement impose additional responsibilities on teachers, which include teachers rendering extra hours of work, financial expenses, and privacy matters. Knowing that the teachers are the average earners in the Philippines, who often work beyond their official hours, it is impractical for them to do home visits. This paper also emphasizes the compromise for students’ privacy – especially when their socio-economic statuses are exposed, and how such visits really influence their well-being and academic involvement. This position paper firmly stands to suggestions for the exploration of alternative strategies to achieve school-community linkages through technological advancements in communication - while considering the welfare of both the teachers and the students.

Keywords: Home Visitation, hazardous living situations (HLS)