FROM CHALK DUST TO JOB SEARCH: VOICES OF UNEMPLOYED TEACHERS

Abstract

Teacher unemployment has emerged as a persistent concern that challenges assumptions about teaching as a stable profession, particularly in contexts where the supply of licensed graduates exceeds available positions. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of unemployed teachers with the aim of understanding how they experienced unemployment, constructed meaning around professional identity and hope, and articulated insights for policy and support systems. Using Colaizzi’s method, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with unemployed, licensed teacher graduates and were analyzed through the identification of significant statements, formulation of meanings, and clustering of themes. Findings revealed that teacher unemployment was experienced as persistent emotional turbulence marked by anxiety, frustration, and psychological distress, alongside a prolonged state of waiting characterized by uncertainty and life suspension. Economic insecurity intensified these experiences, while unemployment was also perceived as a blocked professional calling that undermined dignity and self-worth. In terms of meaning-making, professional identity became fragile in the absence of institutional affiliation but was actively reconstructed beyond formal employment by some participants. Fluctuating hope strongly shaped interpretations of career trajectories, and meanings of unemployment were found to be socially and culturally constructed through family expectations and societal norms. Participants emphasized the need for transparent and fair hiring practices, emotional and psychological support, peer and mentorship networks, transitional employment programs, and shared institutional and government responsibility. The study highlights teacher unemployment as a structural and human issue and calls for coordinated, humane, and evidence-based policy responses aligned with decent work and sustainable education systems.