BETWEEN TWO WORLDS:  INDONESIAN NOVICE EFL TEACHERS’ TENSIONS AND NEEDED SUPPORTS DURING PANDEMIC

Alberik Ryan Tendy Wijaya; Anastasia Nelladia Cendra

doi:10.15639/teflinjournal.v34i1/157-175

Authors

Alberik Ryan Tendy Wijaya
alberik@ukwms.ac.id
Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Indonesia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8492-4312
Anastasia Nelladia Cendra Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Indonesia

Vol. 34 No. 1 (2023)

Articles

Downloads

PDF

Abstract
How to Cite
Metrics
References

The abrupt changes in the situation and policy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic might dwindle novice teachers’ well-being and add more pressure to their minds that are already clouded with uncertainty. If left untouched, it is more than likely that they would quit teaching entirely. Nevertheless, while challenges, struggles, and tensions experienced by novice EFL teachers have long been studied and well-documented, the novice EFL teachers’ tensions experienced during the pandemic and the supports they need have not been examined. By analyzing guided reflections and interviewing five Indonesian novice EFL teachers, the present research is to answer two questions: 1) What kinds of tensions are experienced by Indonesian novice EFL teachers during the time of the pandemic? 2) What kind of supports do they need to stay in the teaching profession? The result shows that novice teachers experience tensions related to pedagogical-technical, a sense of belonging to the teaching profession, and culture-relationship, which are caused by the abrupt shift to online learning and excessive workload. To mitigate and ease these tensions, needed supports from the government and policymakers, school and school leaders, or colleagues are also discussed.

Wijaya, A. R. T., & Cendra, A. N. (2023). BETWEEN TWO WORLDS: INDONESIAN NOVICE EFL TEACHERS’ TENSIONS AND NEEDED SUPPORTS DURING PANDEMIC. TEFLIN Journal, 34(1), 157–175. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v34i1/157-175

Download Citation

Appana, S. (2008). A review of benefits and limitations of online learning in the context of the student, the instructor, and the tenured faculty. International Journal of E-Learning, 7(1), 5–22.

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C., & Razavieh, A. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Wadsworth.

Beutel, D., Crosswell, L., & Broadley, T. (2019). Teaching as a ‘take-home’ job: Understanding resilience strategies and resources for career change preservice teachers. Australian Educational Researcher, 46(4), 607–620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00327-1

Bozkurt, A., & Sharma, R. C. (2020). Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to CoronaVirus pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1–6. http://www.asianjde.com/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/447

Bülow, M. W. (2022). Designing synchronous hybrid learning spaces: Challenges and opportunities. In E. Gil, Y. Mor, Y. Dimitriadis, & C. Köppe (Eds.), Hybrid learning spaces: Understanding teaching-learning practice (pp. 135–163). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88520-5_9

Camp, A., Zamarro, G., & Mcgee, J. B. (2022). Changes in teachers’ mobility and attrition in Arkansas during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/edrepub/138

Cendra, A. N. (2019). Indonesian novice English language teachers’ identity construction: getting along with tensions. Indonesian Journal of English Teaching, 8(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.15642/ijet2.2019.8.1.41-53

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed., Vol. 4). Pearson.

Daar, G. (2021). English language learning and teaching in Indonesia in the period of Covid-19 outbreak (challenges and opportunities). In S. Menggo, Y. S. Lon, F. Widyawati, A. P. Yuliantari, & R. Rahim (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Education, Humanities, Health and Agriculture, ICEHHA 2021, 3-4 June 2021, Ruteng, Flores, Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.3-6-2021.2310712

Dabrowski, A. (2021). Teacher wellbeing during a pandemic: Surviving or thriving? Social Education Research, 2(1), 35–40. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37256/ser.212021588

Daud, A. (2021). Becoming an English teacher: An autobiographical narrative inquiry. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 13(1), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v13i1.405

Dumford, A. D., & Miller, A. L. (2018). Online learning in higher education: Exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(3), 452–465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-018-9179-z

Dvir, N., & Schatz-Oppenheimer, O. (2020). Novice teachers in a changing reality. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 639–656. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1821360

Fullard, J. (2021). The pandemic and teacher attrition: An exodus waiting to happen? https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-pandemic-and-teacher-attrition-an-exodus-waiting-to-happen/

Gándara, P., Maxwell-Jolly, J., & Driscoll, A. (2005). Listening to teachers of English language learners: A survey of California teachers’ challenges, experiences, and professional development needs. The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.

Hanušová, S., Píšová, M., & Kohoutek, T. (2019). Novice teachers of English as a foreign language in the Czech Republic and their drop-out intentions. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 7(2), 51–77. https://doi.org/10.2478/jolace-2019-0011

Hughes, G. D. (2012). Teacher retention: Teacher characteristics, school characteristics, organizational characteristics, and teacher efficacy. Journal of Educational Research, 105(4), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2011.584922

Kim, L. E., Oxley, L., & Asbury, K. (2022). What makes a great teacher during a pandemic? Journal of Education for Teaching, 48(1), 129–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1988826

Kusuma, I. P. I. (2022). EFL teachers’ online teaching in rural schools during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from Indonesia. Studies in English Language and Education, 9(1), 203–221. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v9i1.21239

Kwon, M., & Choi, Y. (2022). Exploring categories of self-development of novice physical education teachers through teacher learning community activities. Sustainability, 14(7), 3718. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073718

Lomi, A. N. K., & Mbato, C. L. (2020). Struggles and strategies in constructing professional identity: The first-year teaching experiences of Indonesian EFL novice teachers. Journal of English Education and Teaching, 4(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.33369/jeet.4.1.1-19

Marshall, D. T., Shannon, D. M., & Love, S. M. (2020). How teachers experienced the COVID-19 transition to remote instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 102(3), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721720970702

Mecham, E., Newell, E. J., Reina, L. J., & Stewart, C. (2021). Navigating pandemic schooling for novice teachers. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 32(1), 90–96. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1288160.

Nazari, M., & Seyri, H. (2021). Covidentity: Examining transitions in teacher identity construction from personal to online classes. European Journal of Teacher Education, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1920921

Nguyen, X. N. C. M., & Dao, P. (2019). Identity exploration and development in TESOL teacher education: A three-dimensional space narrative inquiry perspective. TESOL Journal, 10(4), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.492

Nugroho, A., Haghegh, M., & Triana, Y. (2021). Emergency remote teaching amidst global pandemic: voices of indonesian EFL teachers. VELES Voices of English Language Education Society, 5(1), 66–80. https://doi.org/10.29408/veles.v5i1.3258

Pillen, M., Beijaard, D., & den Brok, P. (2013). Tensions in beginning teachers’ professional identity development, accompanying feelings and coping strategies. European Journal of Teacher Education, 36(3), 240–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2012.696192

Pravita, A. R., & Kuswandono, P. (2021). Exploring English novice teachers’ identity transformation influenced by community of practice. IDEAS: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 9(1), 429–442. https://ejournal.iainpalopo.ac.id/index.php/ideas/article/view/1865

Pressley, T., & Ha, C. (2021). Teaching during a pandemic: United States teachers’ self-efficacy during the COVID-19. Teaching and Teacher Education, 106, Article 103465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103465

Rahayu, R. P., & Wirza, Y. (2020). Teachers’ perception of online learning during pandemic Covid-19. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan, 20(3), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.17509/jpp.v20i3.29226

Santamaría, M. D., Mondragon, N. I., Santxo, N. B., & Ozamiz-Etxebarria, N. (2021). Teacher stress, anxiety and depression at the beginning of the academic year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Global Mental Health, 8, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2021.14

Seabra, F., Teixeira, A., Abelha, M., & Aires, L. (2021). Emergency remote teaching and learning in portugal: Preschool to secondary school teachers’ perceptions. Education Sciences, 11(7), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070349

Seyabi, F. Al. (2020). Values and dispositions of Omani novice teachers as perceived by school principals and assistant principals. Higher Education Studies, 10(4), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v10n4p25

Sokal, L. J., Trudel, L. G. E., & Babb, J. C. (2020). Supporting teachers in times of change: The job demands-resources model and teacher burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Contemporary Education, 3(2), 67. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijce.v3i2.4931

Sydnor, J. (2017). “I didn’t realize how hard it would be!”: Tensions and transformations in becoming a teacher. Action in Teacher Education, 39(2), 218–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2016.1226202

Tan, A.-L., Chang, C.-H., & Teng, P. (2015). Tensions and dilemmas in teacher professional development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1583–1591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.808

Tarabini, A. (2022). The role of schooling in times of global pandemic: a sociological approach. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 31(4), 427-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2021.1966825

UNESCO. (2022). Education: From disruption to recovery. UNESCO.ORG. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

Whalen, C., Majocha, E., & Nuland, S. van. (2019). Novice teacher challenges and promoting novice teacher retention in Canada. European Journal of Teacher Education, 42(5), 591–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2019.1652906

White, I., & McSharry, M. (2021). Preservice teachers’ experiences of pandemic related school closures: Anti-structure, liminality and communitas. Irish Educational Studies, 40(2), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2021.1916562

Wulandari, M., & Pasaribu, T. A. (2020). Technology for English language learning. Sanata Dharma University Press.

Xu, H. (2013). From the imagined to the practiced: A case study on novice EFL teachers’ professional identity change in China. Teaching and Teacher Education, 31(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.01.006

Xun, Y., Zhu, G., & Rice, M. (2021). How do beginning teachers achieve their professional agency and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic? A social-ecological approach. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47(5), 745–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1945415

Yayli, D. (2017). Coping strategies of pre-service teachers of Turkish with tensions in achieving agency. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 17(68), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2017.68.10

Zhu, G., Rice, M., Rivera, H., Mena, J., & Van Der Want, A. (2020). ‘I did not feel any passion for my teaching’: A narrative inquiry of beginning teacher attrition in China. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(6), 771–791. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2020.1773763