浴火重生： 一位新進老師第一年的教學歷程

Abstract

很多的研究者(Bullough, 1989; Hebert & Worthy, 2001; O’Connell Rust, 1994)認為老師們的第一年教學經驗非常重要是因為這一年的歷程對於她們日後的教學以及專業的發展上面有著很大的影響。因此國外有很多針對初任老師們第一年教學經歷的研究(e.g., Bullough, 1989; Scherff, 2008; Worthy, 2005)，然而這類的研究偏重於英語為母語的環境當中，卻少見於英語為外國語的環境中，例如台灣。此外，在探討 台灣相關的初任老師的研究當中，發現到相關的研究多數是以量化研究為主，並且相對較少聚焦在英文老師身上。因此本研究的發現在於貢獻對英語為外國語的(EFL)英語教師的了解。 此研究目的在於了解初任教師的第一年教學經歷並且聚焦於初任教師的工作困擾、工作壓力的因應歷程、以及對於初任老師該提供的支持。本研究為一質性研究，採用個案研究方式探討，使用的資料收集方式包括半結構式訪談、參與觀察、教師敘說、文件檔案資料、研究者的日記的分析來收集資料以求完備。本研究的對象是一位 剛畢業就考上公立國中的英文老師，化名叫做Amy，而研究的重點則在上述提及的議題中。 本研究結果顯示Amy的工作困擾可區分為個人(personal)、專業 (professional)、社會(social)三大類，其中發現歸類於教學方面的課室管理是Amy困擾最大項目。至於Amy她的壓力因應方法，大致而言Amy尋求三方面的協助，分別是心理(psychological)，教學方面(instruction-related)、及醫療方面(medical)。最後從研究發現，下列三項是初任老師應獲得¬而沒有獲得的支持(1)教學輔導教師(mentor)的帶領 (2)符合初任老師需求的研習以及(3)足夠次數的諮詢輔導。此外更深入的探討發現，多種的因素的糾葛如Amy先前的求學經歷、學校工作環境、以及Amy的個性導致Amy經歷了“不愉快”的第一年教學生活。 最後依據本研究結果，分別向下列這些像是職前教師、初任教師、師資培育機構、學校系統、教育行政機關及未來研究提出建議。

Many researchers (Bullough, 1989; Hebert & Worthy, 2001; O’Connell Rust, 1994) suggest the first year of teaching is a crucial career phase for teachers since this career phase has long-term implications for teacher future development as well as subsequent teaching practice. Therefore, despite previous research (e.g., Bullough, 1989; Scherff, 2008; Worthy, 2005 ) which has shown a growing interest in novice ESL (English as a second language) teachers’ first-year employment, limited studies, if any, explored novice EFL teachers’ first-year employment. This study seeks to contribute to the emerging understanding of novice EFL teachers. Specifically, this case study aims to depict the first year teaching experience of one novice English teacher in Taiwan and to explore the difficulties which she encountered during her first year of employment. How the participant coped with working stress was also under investigation in this study. Multiple data collection methods were adopted in order to reveal rich data, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, teacher narratives, document inspection, field notes as well as researcher journals. Results revealed that the participant encountered into three areas of difficulties: personal, professional, and social. The support she sought for was classified as three dimensions, including psychological, instructional-related, and medical support. The participant proposed three supports respectively based on her first-year experience, namely, the guidance from mentors, the seminars catering for novice teachers’ needs, and the adequate times of consultation service. A further analysis of the data revealed that interplay factors such as the personality of the participant, her previous learning experience in teacher preparation program, the social and political environment of her school, and lack of initial support from her school as well as government contributed to Amy’s unpleasant experience during her first-year teaching. Some future modifications for per-service teacher preparation institution, school authorities, and the governmental organization are suggested in order to improve future preparation of English teachers.