Introduction
The problem of the study is related to its importance in the context of novice teachers facing issues in Saudi Arabia. The first years of teaching present enormous difficulties that cause new teachers to leave the profession (Alhamad, 2018). School communities sometimes fall short of giving new teachers the assistance they need to adjust to their brand-new professional contexts (Alhamad, 2018). The attrition of new teachers in Saudi Arabia is a serious issue that impedes the growth of the system of education (Alhamad, 2018). The objectives of the study are to identify specific issues faced by novice female teachers in Saudi Arabia and the solutions to these issues adopted in other countries. This will allow to development of recommendations on what is necessary to address the problems of these teachers.
Discussion
There are various studies in Saudi Arabia, Gulf countries, and the Middle East that discuss and research the issues of novice teachers in their practice. According to the findings, new teachers’ development is hampered by the difficulties they face (Alhamad, 2018). The mentorship program, according to participants of another study, helped foster an environment where helpful connections could develop and allow teachers to learn from each other (Shukhri & Leil, 2017). In addition, the mentorship program assisted participants in developing their teaching, which raised their sense of security. They were able to learn more about the teaching methods and how to deal with challenging situations by seeing more seasoned mentor teachers in the classroom.
The effect of mentoring is crucial for novice teachers as well. The study mentions that in terms of educational program creation and implementation, beginner teachers would tremendously benefit from working with more seasoned educators (Alghamdi, 2017). According to the results of a study on the use of information and communication technologies by Saudi novice female teachers, there are significant issues regarding such implementation (Al Mulhim, 2014a). Regarding ICT use, another study’s findings showed that the key features of related education for novice teachers must include both technical and pedagogical content (Al Mulhim, 2014b). Researching the issues that are the reasons for poor ICT implementation showed that it is related to many barriers and challenges that novice teachers face, including insufficient access to technology, training, and time (Al Mulhim, 2013a; Al Mulhim, 2013b). The study on the assessment skills of these teachers showed that they are inadequate (Alsamaani, 2014). The reason for that is their development at the workplace instead of them being included in education.
The issues related to the satisfaction of the pedagogical abilities are significant for the teaching efficacy. A study related to researching how novice teachers position themselves regarding this topic showed that the problems are dependent on politics and power (Aljehani, 2020). The study on methodological approaches of novice teachers showed that they still tend to work in traditional forms of education, rather than centering it around students and making it collaborative and cooperative (Hussain et al., 2019). The lack of mentoring and induction of novice teachers leads to many of them leaving teaching (Ibrahim, 2012). There are significant gaps in teacher preparation programs, which lead to the subjective teaching competencies being low, and changes need to be made (Qadhi et al., 2020). The teaching quality is not affected by certification requirements, and therefore there is no need to make them stricter (Wiseman & Al-Bakr, 2013). The effectiveness and need for induction of novice teachers are common in the UAE as well (Gallagher, 2019; Dickson et al., 2014). This is related to many other novice teachers’ issues.
The challenges faced by novice teachers can be broadly classified as instructional, relational, infrastructural, and adaptational. Such classification provides the opportunity to better specify further modifications of work conditions for novices (Kozikoglu, 2017; Öztürk & Yildirim, 2013; Çakmak et al., 2019). It is crucial that many attributes of novice teachers are common both in European and Middle Eastern countries, which allows for implementation methods of improving the work environment in other cultures (Klassen et al., 2019). It is identified that it is necessary to address the feeling of belonging to the community of novice teachers (Al Seyabi, 2020). This strongly affects the efficiency of teachers and the probability of them not leaving the profession.
Considering the findings in the literature, the recommendations should primarily address the issues related to mentoring and induction of novice teachers, assessment, ICT, and methodological training. Providing suitable, pre-service education programs that are grounded in the reality in which they will be teaching is crucial for training. According to experiences adopted earlier in Gulf and Middle Eastern countries, implementation of such programs is possible by providing additional qualifications at workplaces, as well as including these areas in learning (Klassen et al., 2019). Equipping all remote public schools with the essential, needed resources to support teaching and learning is necessary.
Conclusion
The lack of access to technology is present and is the reason for issues related to the lack of ICT implementation by novice teachers. In terms of training, providing teachers with sustainable teacher learning opportunities through different ways such as courses, conferences, and workshops is needed as well. Addressing mentoring and induction has been successful in terms of results, as appropriate communication with experienced colleagues helped novices faster adapt and fill the gaps in their knowledge (Gallagher, 2019; Dickson et al., 2014). This should be done through encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing between novice and experienced teachers.
References
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