Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Work-Life Balance Among Female Public School Teachers (K-12) In The Cayman Islands

<p>This study explored how female public-school teachers (K-12) in the Cayman Islands experienced and managed work-life balance within the intersecting contexts of gender, culture, and institutional demands. Guided by phenomenological principles and framed through role theory, the study examined how participants defined work-life balance, the challenges they encountered, and the strategies they employed to sustain equilibrium between their professional and personal responsibilities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female teachers across the public education system, allowing their lived experiences to inform the analysis. Findings revealed that work-life balance was perceived as a continuous process of negotiation rather than a static state. Participants reported excessive workloads, administrative pressures, and cultural expectations of women as major challenges compounded by the interconnected nature of small-island communities. Despite these barriers, teachers demonstrated resilience through adaptive strategies, including boundary-setting, prioritization, reliance on faith, and seeking support from family, colleagues, and institutional resources. This study contributes to the global and Caribbean discourse on teacher well-being by highlighting how female teachers in small-island contexts navigated complex role expectations. This underscored the need for systemic reforms that address workload, promote flexibility, and strengthen well-being initiatives. Ultimately, the study enhanced the understanding of how cultural, gendered, and structural factors collectively shaped work-life balance for female teachers in the Cayman Islands, offering valuable insights for policy, practice, and future scholarship.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Author dc:creator

• Chambers, Kimone P

Contributors dc:contributor

• Alyson Manion
• Patrick Hutchinson

• work-life balance
• female teachers
• Cayman Islands
• role theory
• teacher well-being
• Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/64

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dune.une.edu:edu_diss-1068