Abstract
Several studies show that EFL novice teachers often feel stress as they encounter shock from the rapid shift of a student to a teacher. Stress experienced by EFL novice teachers occurs because of internal or external factors. Stress which cannot be regulated will result in teacher burnout that can lead them to leave the profession. This qualitative study intended to investigate EFL novice teachers’ stress factors and coping strategies which influence their professional identity construction. The data was obtained by conducting an in-depth interview with three EFL novice teachers. The findings showed that EFL novice teachers experienced stress because of three factors, namely, personal, interpersonal, and organization factors. Despite feeling stress, EFL novice teachers demonstrated their abilities to cope with the circumstances. The participants elaborated how they cope with the situations as well as how stress factors influenced their identity as teachers. This study provides some suggestions for future researchers and EFL novice teachers.
Highlights
Teaching is one of the challenging vocations as teachers have always to be ready for the abrupt hindrance in the teaching and learning activities
The following discussion intends to answer the research questions, namely: (1) what are the sources of stress faced by EFL novice teachers during their professional identity construction? (2) how do stress factors affect their professional identity construction? Based on the data collection, there were three major findings drawn in this study: (1) EFL novice teachers encountered stress due to personal, interpersonal, and organizational factors (2) EFL novice teachers are able to bounce back from difficult situations by demonstrating different coping strategies (3) stress experienced by EFL novice teachers support their professional identity construction, in cultivating their teaching skills
Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that the stress factors of EFL novice teachers were because of personal, interpersonal, and organizational factors
Summary
Teaching is one of the challenging vocations as teachers have always to be ready for the abrupt hindrance in the teaching and learning activities. Teachers bring their own beliefs and assumptions when they confront challenges in the classroom. Novice teachers seem to experience the disconnection between their personal and professional identity. It happens as they encounter shifting from student teachers into real teachers. Teachers encounter challenges in navigating themselves in the journey of constructing their professional identity. Novice teachers tend to leave the job early since they could not alter challenging situation into positive experience (Meijer, de Graaf, & Meirink, 2011). Understanding resilience is pivotal to rebound from the difficult situation
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