Supporting Young Learners in Volcanic Crisis: Lived Experiences of Child Development Workers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19045771Keywords:
young learners, volcanic crisis, lived experiences, child development, phenomenologyAbstract
This phenomenological study investigates how Child Development Workers (CDWs) in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, supported young children’s psychosocial recovery during the June 2024 Canlaon volcanic eruption. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Disaster Vulnerability Theory, it examines CDWs’ roles within disrupted ecological systems and heightened vulnerabilities. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with five CDWs and were analyzed thematically. Results show that CDWs provided emotional support through calm self-mastery, physical reassurance, and child-centered activities such as storytelling, games, and play, while simultaneously managing camp operations, relief distribution, and coordination with parents to sustain learning and community events. Participants reported major disruptions, including daycare and school closures, modular learning, absenteeism, and communication breakdowns due to ashfall and evacuations, alongside emotional strain from balancing fear, family responsibilities, and expectations of cheerfulness amid overcrowding, water shortages, and policy gaps (unequal aid, unrepaired daycare centers). CDWs coped through faith-based practices, peer support via informal debriefings and shared duties, and resilience reinforced by children’s visible recovery. Institutional assistance from DSWD, LGU, and NGOs provided essentials, psychosocial activities, trainings, and mobility support. The study argues for localized disaster preparedness, sustained psychosocial capacity-building, and responsive policy reforms that recognize CDWs as frontline actors in early childhood disaster response.
References
Bautista, R. (2022). The implementation of the “Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act” (Republic Act 10821) towards enhancing local DRRM plans. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.23989.96488
Bird, D. K., Jóhannesdóttir, G., Reynisson, V., Karlsdóttir, S., Gudmundsson, M. T., & Gísladóttir, G. (2018). Crisis coordination and communication during the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. In C. J. Fearnley, D. K. Bird, K. Haynes, W. J. McGuire, & G. Jolly (Eds.), Observing the volcano world: Volcano crisis communication (pp. 271–288). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/11157_2017_6
Choumert-Nkolo, J., Lamour, A., & Phélinas, P. (2021). The economics of volcanoes. Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, 5(2), 277–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41885-021-00087-2
Early Childhood Care and Development Council. (n.d.). National Early Learning Framework (NELF). ECCD Council.
Freire, S., Florczyk, A., Pesaresi, M., & Sliuzas, R. (2019). An improved global analysis of population distribution in proximity to active volcanoes, 1975–2015. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 8(8), 341. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8080341
Lassa, J., Petal, M., & Surjan, A. (2023). Understanding the impacts of floods on learning quality, school facilities, and educational recovery in Indonesia. Disasters, 47(2), 412–436. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12543
Lunga, P., Esterhuizen, S., & Koen, M. (2022). Play-based pedagogy: An approach to advance young children’s holistic development. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v12i1.1133
Mendoza, D. A., Reales, J. M., & Ballesteros, S. (2024). Effects of volcanic eruptions on the mental health of exposed populations: A systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1475459. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1475459
Monilla, M. J. A. G. (2022). Disaster and mental health. C & E Publishing, Inc.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. (2025). Kanlaon Volcano eruption (2024) (SitRep No. 39 for Kanlaon Volcano Eruption (2024); p. 32). National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. https://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/4276/SitRep_No._39_for_Kanlaon_Volcano_Eruption_2024.pdf
PHILVOLCS. (2025). Kanlaon Volcano summary of 24hr observation 16 June 2025 12:00 AM. https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/volcano-hazard/volcano-bulletin2/kanlaon-volcano/31805-kanlaon-volcano-summary-of-24hr-observation-16-june-2025-12-00-am
Rahman, M., Van den Broeck, P., & Parra, C. (2020). Post-disaster recovery as socio-ecological and socio-political construction: Responses to the 2010 Merapi eruption as a case study. Proceedings or report title.
Republic Act No. 10410, Early Years Act of 2013. (2013). An act recognizing the age from zero (0) to eight (8) years as the first crucial stage of educational development and strengthening the early childhood care and development system of the Philippines. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
Republic Act No. 10821, Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act. (2016). An act providing for the children’s emergency relief and protection program. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
Schachter, R. E., Jiang, Q., Piasta, S. B., & Flynn, E. E. (2022). “We’re more than a daycare”: Reported roles and settings for early childhood professionals and implications for professionalizing the field. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(7), 1183–1196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01252-8
Second Congressional Commission on Education. (2024). Miseducation: The failed system of Philippine education, EDCOM II year one report. Second Congressional Commission on Education. https://edcom2.gov.ph/media/2024/02/EDCOM-II-Year-One-Report-PDF-022924.pdf
UNICEF. (2025). Learning interrupted | UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024
Yu, Z. (2023). Exploring the role of children’s social workers-Take B Children’s Service Station in City A as an example. SHS Web of Conferences, 179, 04002. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202317904002
Zorn, M. (2018). Natural Disasters and Less Developed Countries. In S. Pelc & M. Koderman (Eds.), Nature, Tourism and Ethnicity as Drivers of (De)Marginalization (Vol. 3, pp. 59–78). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59002-8_4
