To Investigate the Challenges for New Teachers in Cameroon Secondary Education and Coping Strategies
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ProIndex Publishing House
Abstract
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This article examines the challenges for new teachers in Cameroon secondary education and their coping strategies. The study was carried out through descriptive survey. The study population included newly recruited secondary school teachers in Cameroon. From this population. Samples of 100 new teachers that are 10 from each region were drawn using purposive sampling technique from the Center Region, Littoral and Southwest Region and the rest of the seven regions of Cameroon. The instruments used for data collection were: a questionnaire and classroom observation checklist. Descriptive statistics namely: frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study showed that, majority of the new secondary schools teachers teaching in Cameroon secondary schools lack the competency of teaching first year of a teacher’s career and can determine their longevity within the field of education. The issues of first year teachers were analyzed through a grounded theory qualitative research analysis. The results of this study indicate that a first year teacher may feel stress, lack appropriate support, and may feel unprepared to handle behavioral and academic issues among their students. Based on the literature review, the implementation of mentoring programs between new and experienced teachers not only benefited novice teachers but guided them to cope and face the anxieties during the first year in the classroom. Further implications are presented in the regarding some mentoring programs and the impact for first year teachers when not implemented due to limited funding and/or lack of administrative support.
Keywords
Stress, Attrition, Coping, Teaching practice, First Year Teacher, Challenges