Open Access Library Journal 2017, Volume 4, e3328 ISSN Online: 2333-9721 ISSN Print: 2333-9705 DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1103328 January 22, 2017 Drawing the Demarcation Line: An Analysis of Sexual Harassment in Selected Learning Institutions in Nueva Ecija, Philippines Using Blumer’s Interactionism Model Arneil G. Gabriel, Honorato P. Panahon Department of Public Administration, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Cabanatuan City, Philippines Abstract The study draws the line between sexual harassment act and socially accepta- ble behavior. Through symbolic interactionism and gender-power configura- tion theories, defining features of sexual harassment are drawn from the pers- pectives 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 re- vealed 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 ta- bulated 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 en- sure safe and conducive learning environment the students rightfully deserve. Subject Areas Education, Social Issues and Public Policy, Sociology Keywords Sexual Harassment, Teacher-Student Relationship, Case Study, Teacher Education, Theory of Interactionism 1. Introduction 1.1. Definition of Sexual Harassment What is sexually harassing to one person may not be the same to another. The How to cite this paper: Gabriel, A.G. and Panahon, H.P. (2017) Drawing the Demar- cation Line: An Analysis of Sexual Harass- ment in Selected Learning Institutions in Nueva Ecija, Philippines Using Blumer’s In- teractionism Model. Open Access Library Journal, 4: e3328. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1103328 Received: December 23, 2016 Accepted: January 19, 2017 Published: January 22, 2017 Copyright © 2017 by authors and Open Access Library Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access