Exploring Science Teachers’ Lived Experiences of Professional Development: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry

Abstract

Professional development in science education is often represented through formal programs, yet teachers also learn through classroom demands, collegial relationships, reflection, and self-directed study. This qualitative descriptive phenomenological inquiry examined how six junior and senior science teachers from two Cavite School of Life campuses experienced and made meaning of professional development. Criterion-based purposive sampling identified teachers with relevant science-teaching experience. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face or online, audio-recorded with consent, supported by field notes and reflexive memoing, and transcribed verbatim. Colaizzi’s method guided movement from significant statements and formulated meanings to theme clusters, an exhaustive description, and a Fundamental Structure. Fourteen finalized themes portrayed professional development as collegial learning and shared practice; learner-responsive adjustment; practical science-teaching approaches; continued knowledge renewal; confidence amid uncertainty; learning within enabling and constraining conditions; iterative growth; professional self-reframing; personal meaning; attention to learner responses; formal learning and new pedagogies; adaptation to technology and new demands; growth through difficult responsibilities; and relational connection with learners. The Fundamental Structure characterized the phenomenon as continuing movement toward more capable, responsive, and reflective science teaching, shaped by everyday practice and variable conditions of time, workload, resources, support, and change. These findings informed the CARE Professional Development Framework for Science Educators, comprising collaborative professional learning, instructional adaptation and application, continuous knowledge renewal and reflective growth, adaptive professional resilience, and meaningful professional identity and learner connection. The framework is findings-informed and context-responsive but remains unimplemented and untested. The study offers a context-bounded account that can guide locally responsive professional learning while preserving differences among teachers’ experiences.