Higher Education Research 2020; 5(2): 44-51 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/her doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200502.12 ISSN: 2578-9341 (Print); ISSN: 2578-935X (Online) Ship to Academe, Seafaring to Teaching: Seafarer Teachers in Maritime Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines Emeliza Estimo Research and Development Center, John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation, Bacolod City, Philippines Email address: To cite this article: Emeliza Estimo. Ship to Academe, Seafaring to Teaching: Seafarer Teachers in Maritime Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines. Higher Education Research. Vol. 5, No. 2, 2020, pp. 44-51. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20200502.12 Received: February 20, 2020; Accepted: March 6, 2020; Published: April 23, 2020 Abstract: Years of working onboard vessels as marine officers to teaching in maritime schools as full-time instructors entail a big transition and a sharp turn of events in a seafarer’s role and way of life. Translating expertise in the field into a flexible classroom discourse using appropriate pedagogical methods to ensure efficient and effective delivery of instruction is a far cry from supervising and training a team of ship’s crew in a structured, hierarchical environment onboard. This descriptive study aims to measure the level of commitment of seafarers-turned-maritime instructors on their roles as educators as well as to determine their level of competence as based on their self-assessment in reference to Lloyd’s list of key attributes for maritime educators, namely, subject knowledge and technical skills, communication skills, pedagogy, and soft skills. Data that were taken from a survey with 58 deck and engine instructors revealed that the seafarers-turned-teachers have a promising potential as mentors as they help mold future seafarers. The commitment to teaching is there, and the competence to transfer to knowledge and skills is also in place. However, to be able to maximize their teaching skills, they need to constantly be abreast of the continuing developments in the maritime industry to be able to provide up-to-date inputs and to make the teaching and learning process become more realistic and relevant. As maritime instructors, they should possess the passion to perform their multifaceted roles not just to deliver the goods but to deliver them well to inspire and to create a positive attitude among their students. This study was also able to identify the challenges that seafarer teachers experience in their transition from being marine officers into maritime educators. A customized set of training courses for professional deck and engine instructors was proposed as an offshoot of this study to address the gaps that have been identified. Keywords: Maritime Education and Training, Higher Education, Seafarer Teachers, Maritime Instructors, Teaching Competence, Soft Skills, Pedagogical Skills, Descriptive Design 1. Introduction In maritime higher education institutions, sea experience can provide for the question of what to deliver to students through instruction. However, while technical knowledge of the field is necessary, it is also equally essential that a maritime instructor must have the ability and capability to deliver this technical knowledge to influence positive learning [1]. Maritime institutions should employ qualified instructors and lecturers with sufficient experience and who meet the required level and standards of competence [2, 3]. The demand for students who desire to be future seafarers continues to increase. It was reported that there are 95 accredited maritime education institutions averaging an annual enrollment of 71,200 students from 2006 to 2010 and the number continues to grow [4]. However, while the demand for students increases, the supply of qualified maritime instructors dwindles. To sustain the production of highly skilled seafarers, seafarer teachers are recruited among seafarers [5]. New initiatives are required to enhance the professional expertise of seafarers who opt to shift to teaching. Most of these seafarer teachers have either retired from the industry or have considered land-based job options because, for some reason, they have decided to quit seaboard practice or have been forced to quit due to varied circumstances. The rest of them may simply want a