New Zealand vs Philippines: A Filipina’s Take on Work-Life Balance | SCMP

A Filipino academic researching early childhood education in Novel Zealand describes a markedly different work-life balance compared to her previous position in the Philippines. Kathleen Keisha Constantino, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman currently on study leave, finds Auckland offers a pace and infrastructure that allows for a fuller personal life.

Constantino, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Global Childhoods at the University of Auckland, begins her day at 7 a.m., prioritizing a relaxed start before her duties as a teaching assistant, and researcher. She divides her workday between research, writing, and grading, followed by exercise at the university gym. “My evenings are sacred. I don’t take home any work at all. All the work that I do is in the office,” Constantino stated.

The contrast with her experience in the Philippines is significant. Constantino explained that her role at the University of the Philippines involved responsibilities beyond teaching and research, including unpaid thesis advising. Commuting was also a substantial drain on her time, hampered by traffic congestion and limited public transportation options. In Auckland, her commute is a 15-minute walk, a stark difference she attributes to the city’s walkability and efficient transport systems.

Constantino’s research focuses on early childhood education policy. She previously worked with the Early Childhood Development Action Network in Washington, D.C., developing an ECCD Responsiveness LGU Assessment Tool, and her current doctoral project explores decolonial education in early childhood within Filipino families, according to her profile at the University of Auckland and a bio on a University of the Philippines website.

Her publications include a 2022 article in the Philippine Journal of Public Administration examining ECCD structures and service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 “Early Childhood Care and Development Responsiveness Local Government Unit Assessment Tool” (ERLAT). She is also co-authoring a forthcoming work, “Rethinking Social Justice in Early Childhood in the Philippines,” with Erickson Maclid, C.R.S. Saamong, and J.L.F. Jamero, scheduled for publication by Bloomsbury.

Constantino’s research interests encompass early childhood development, early childhood governance, and decolonial early childhood education, as detailed on her Google Scholar profile, which notes she has been cited 3 times in academic publications. She is scheduled to continue her doctoral studies at the University of Auckland.