Adaptation Challenges and Strategies of Beginning Teachers under China’s Double Reduction Policy

Quality education, as a core part of the “Double Reduction” policy, necessitates agreement to lessen students’ academic load while improving teachers’ professional competence. To satisfy the profession’s increasing standards, teachers with few working years of service will face several hurdles. This research aims to understand beginning teachers’ adaptation after implementing the “Double Reduction” policy and investigate possible techniques for teachers by using grounded theory. A qualitative method was applied to realise teachers’ perspectives and practices, and then developed an adaptation model for beginning teachers in a “Double Reduction” policy. The adaptation model of beginning teachers consists of two nested loops. First, beginning teachers adapt to achieve the requirements of efficient design to ensure the full participation of students. To meet the teaching goal of students’ all-round development, new teachers will improve their capacity within the inner circle by following three key paths: practical reflection, active collaboration and psychological adjustment.