Examining Factors Facilitating Career-Changing Teachers’ Adaptation to Change and the Challenges They Encounter

Authors

Abdullah ÇETİN, Faculty of Education, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam UniversityFollow
Fatma SADIK, Faculty of Education, Çukurova UniversityFollow

Abstract

The present case study was designed to examine factors that facilitate the adaptation process of science teachers who were appointed or transferred to state schools, the challenges they encountered, and how they coped with these challenges. It was carried out with the participation of six science teachers (three males, three females) working at state middle schools in Turkey. The data were gathered through interviews with the teachers and analyzed through content analysis using the NVivo program. The research results reveal that the prominent factors that facilitate teachers’ adaptation to school environments are their professional love, interest in students, effective communication, self-confidence, and empathy. It is also revealed that they encounter challenges with regard to teaching processes and teaching programs (e.g., incompetence in using instructional methods and techniques within the framework of the constructivist approach), the legislation/regulations by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE; e.g., extensive paperwork), school environment (e.g., physical inadequacies of the school), and discipline (e.g., establishing and maintaining classroom management). Finally, the findings indicate that teachers endeavor to overcome these challenges through cooperation with school administrators, colleagues, guidance counselors, and close relatives, and by accessing the needed information on the Internet (e.g., downloading annual and weekly plans).

Keywords

Change, Adaptation, Sciences, Teacher Training, Case Study

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Abdullah Çetin obtained his PhD in curriculum and instruction from Çukurova University. He currently works as an assistant professor in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Turkey. He has published several articles and presented papers on teacher training, curriculum, science teaching and education of the gifted students. He has been lecturing graduate and undergraduate courses on these subjects for the last three years. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to abdcetin46@gmail.com.

Dr. Fatma Sadik obtained her PhD in educational sciences from Çukurova University. She currently works as an associate professor in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, Çukurova University, Turkey. She has published articles and book chapters on teacher training, curriculum and instruction, educational sciences, classroom management. She has been lecturing graduate and undergraduate courses on these subjects for more than two decades. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to fsadik@cu.edu.tr.

Acknowledgements

This particular study has been generated from an unpublished doctoral dissertation entitled “A case study on primary school science teachers appointed to public schools from private teaching institutions” (Thesis Number 485620), submitted to Çukurova University, Turkey.

Publication Date

5-16-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3766

Recommended APA Citation

ÇETİN, A., & SADIK, F. (2020). Examining Factors Facilitating Career-Changing Teachers’ Adaptation to Change and the Challenges They Encounter. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1302-1322. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3766