Struggles and Strategies in Constructing Professional Identity: The First-Year Teaching Experiences of Indonesian EFL Novice Teachers

Abstract

Several studies have recorded the increasing number of teachers who left the profession in the first year of teaching in recent years. The main cause is the difficulties over the first year of teaching and the unsatisfactory construction and growth of professional identity. This qualitative study attempted to reveal the struggles faced during their first year of teaching by EFL novice teachers working in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia and how they coped with those struggles regarding their development of professional identity. The struggles are split into internal and external struggles based on the result. The internal struggles are linked to how teachers controlled their emotions self-efficacy, and ability to teach, their jobs and their personal opinions. The external challenges related to the management of the classroom, the abilities, and attitudes of the students, the lack of resources and facilities in the school, the relationships with their colleagues and their salaries. This research is intended to provide more insight into the realities of teachers working in an underdeveloped province like East Nusa Tenggara, in particular how they establish their professional identity in a lack of facilities and learning resources.Keywords: East Nusa Tenggara; Novice Teachers; Professional Identity; Struggles and Strategies

Constructing Professional Identity: Investigating Stress Factors and Resilience Experienced by EFL Novice Teachers

“…Moreover, novice teachers might feel pressured due to the relation with experienced teachers. This finding is corresponding with Lomi and Mbato (2020) who reveal that a novice teacher has a negative relationship with her colleagues in which she was debated as she got more classes than the other senior teachers. A negative relation with colleagues will obstruct novice teachers' growth.…”

“…The participants of this study teach in accordance with their expertise yet one of the participants feels lacking of her proficiency. Novice teachers often perceive that they have inadequate language proficiency and teaching skills (Lomi & Mbato, 2020). The main reason is the language barrier.…”

“…For instance inadequate teaching resources, facilities or government support. Those factors happen in rural areas of Indonesia (Nurwidodo, Husamah, Rahardjanto, Mas'odi, & Mufrihah, 2017;Lomi & Mbato, 2020;Florida & Mbato, 2020). Study conducted by Nurwidodo, et al (2017) reveals that teachers in rural area are resilience to cope with insufficient situation.…”

“…Study conducted by Nurwidodo, et al (2017) reveals that teachers in rural area are resilience to cope with insufficient situation. The salary of private school teachers in rural area is often postponed since the students prefer to pay the school tuition at the end of the semester (Lomi & Mbato, 2020). Despite challenges and tough situation which can evoke stress, teachers are still willing to teach as they believe their contribution will help their students achieve a better future.…”

Novice teachers in a changing reality

“…The conscious and unconscious coping with these dilemmas offered the novice teachers challenges and opportunities to examine perceptions, values, positions and beliefs as they reconstructed their professional identity (Lomi and Mbato 2020;Skott 2015). Teachers are moral agents in classroom interactions, and daily involved in moral action, and dealing with dilemmas that shape the practice of teaching (Gutman.…”