Summary: | 碩士 === 臺北市立大學 === 教育行政與評鑑研究所碩士在職專班 === 106 === Case Study of Experiences with the Unpaid Parental Leave System for Educators in Junior High Schools in Taipei
Abstract
This study examined educators of junior high schools in Taipei, Taiwan who were eligible to apply for unpaid parental leave (hereinafter referred to as “leave”). The study delved into topics such as reasons determining whether the educators applied for leave, the educators’ experiences during periods of leave and others’ perceptions of the educators’ experiences during said period, and workplace challenges encountered and adaptive measures adopted by the educators after they returned to work. This study employed in-depth interviews to interview eight teachers who were eligible to apply for leave; four of the teachers applied for leave, whereas the other four did not. The teachers were asked to share their experiences and the results were analyzed as follows:
1. The most common reason influencing whether the educators applied for leave was to provide their children with optimal care. The educators who did not apply for leave required more reasons to convince themselves that applying for leave was the optimal option.
2. During the leave period, the educators who applied for leave were faced with numerous challenges and conflicts, from which they developed the wisdom to overcome these obstacles and experienced a sense of satisfaction. However, others only observed the satisfaction that the educators experienced.
3. After returning to work, the educators who applied for leave adapted favorably to the workplace as long as they prepared for it. However, regardless of how well they prepared to handle family matters, they required time to adapt to them.
According to the study results and discussions, this study proposed concrete suggestions for leave policies to serve as a reference for government policymakers, those responsible for revising leave policies for educators, and future research.
Keywords: unpaid parental leave, role transition, adapting to the workplace after return to work
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