Disruption and the Quality of Instruction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of a Catholic School in Hermosa, Bataan, Philippines

Abstract

This study determined whether there was a significant difference in the academic performance of students in a case Catholic school in Hermosa, Bataan, Philippines in the year immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic (SY 2019-2020) and during the first two years of the pandemic (SY 2020- 2021 and SY 2021-2022). It also identified the strategies or measures implemented by the school which influenced the students’ performance. Data were gathered through an online survey and interviews of the school’s teachers, officials, and staff. The results of the paired samples t-test of weighted average grades revealed no significant difference in the academic performance of students between the first year of the pandemic and the year immediately before the pandemic. However, their academic performances in the year prior to the pandemic and during the second year of the pandemic were found to be significantly different. The school implemented several strategies or measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, including shifting to blended learning delivery mode, providing printed modules to students with poor or without internet connection, and close monitoring and following-up of students’ learning. These strategies or measures were primarily guided by government memoranda during the said period. The instructions from the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines and the Diocese of Balanga served only as secondary guides. The findings of the study highlight that in the case of a Catholic school under a pandemic context, the formal educational management model takes precedence over the cultural model of educational management.