Author(s)

Arneil G. Gabriel, Honorato P. Panahon

Department of Public Administration, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Cabanatuan City, Philippines.

The study draws the line between sexual harassment act and socially acceptable behavior. Through symbolic interactionism and gender-power configuration theories, defining features of sexual harassment are drawn from the perspectives of 160 teacher education students—participants from four universities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The socio-psychological, legal and lay approaches to the study of sexual harassment guide the data gathering. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of awareness of the group samples as evidenced by a computed t-value of 1.936 less than the tabulated t-value of 2.447. The study argued that legal approach to the study of sexual harassment is insufficient to prevent it. Thus, standard of behavior must be set within the demarcation line both by public and private learning institutions while intensified awareness campaign must be undertaken to ensure safe and conducive learning environment the students rightfully deserve.

Sexual Harassment, Teacher-Student Relationship, Case Study, Teacher Education, Theory of Interactionism

Gabriel, A. and Panahon, H. (2017) Drawing the Demarcation Line: An Analysis of Sexual Harassment in Selected Learning Institutions in Nueva Ecija, Philippines Using Blumer’s Interactionism Model. Open Access Library Journal, 4, 1-15. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1103328.