Investigating the First Year Experiences of Novice EFL Teachers in Public and Private Schools

This study was conducted to investigate the first year experiences of novice English teachers in public and private schools. Since there is almost no literature comparing novice teachers working in private schools and most current studies focus on the first year experiences with the challenges of language teaching of novice teachers, this study- as we stressed above- aims to shed light on the first year experiences of novice English teachers depending on a comparative and longitudinal basis. Covering an educational year (2017-2018), the study was carried out through a case design with four participants, two of whom are from state schools, and the other two of whom are from private schools. The data collection tools of the study are reflective journals and interviews. The data for the study was collected on a longitudinal base and analyzed monthly. Necessary and important excerpts from novice teachers’ experiences were investigated and coded. The findings of the study revealed that the experiences and challenges of the novice teachers who were within their first year in profession were different to the extent that socio-economic conditions of the regions affected the schools and the pedagogical processes.