In 2016, the Philippine Congress enacted a law that added 2 years to the basic education cycle by implementing a new Senior High School (SHS) program. As part of this national reform effort, schools were required to recruit, orient, and train the first batch of SHS teachers to implement the new curriculum. This mixed methods study explored the microlevel effects of national education reform by analyzing the experiences of new SHS teachers at private schools in Metro Manila regarding new requirements, novel obligations, and increased uncertainties; these are collectively referred to as “perceived demand.” A convergent parallel design for mixed methods research was employed, and qualitative data from focus group discussions and quantitative data from a questionnaire revealed that several domains were related to perceived demand, including career plans, instructional tasks, and financial concerns. Quantitative data further indicated how heavy, career-related perceived demand was associated with less positive coping strategies and reduced self-esteem. The results demonstrate how the burden of career-related perceived demand relates to teachers’ coping mechanisms. The discussion focused on the viability of applying perceived demand caused by social change in analyzing the microlevel effects of reform on teachers, and possible strategies for implementation were discussed.

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APA Format	Bernardo, A. B. I., Wong-Fernandez, B., Enteria, C. M., Macalaguing, M. D., & Magat, H. G. (2021). Perceived demand experienced by new senior high school teachers in the Philippines: A mixed methods study on the microlevel novel obligations of national education reform. Journal of Research in Education Sciences, 66(2), 265-288. https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202106_66(2).0009