CHALLENGES FACED BY NOVICE TEACHERS IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING

Annotasiya

First year of teaching is broadly recognized as one of the most critical and professionally challenging years in a teachers’ career.  Per-service training and the complex reality of the classroom often faced by novice teaches, lead to experiences described in the literature as “reality shock” and “transition shock”. This research examines challenges faced by beginning teachers during their first year of professional practice, such as classroom management difficulties, excessive workload, lack of institutional support, and the disconnect between theoretical preparation and real school environments. The study relies on qualitative data from semi-structure survey interviews with novice teachers, aged 20-25 who study, work and live in Uzbekistan, as well as findings from international studies carries in Turkey, Vietnam, and Qatar. The research contains three core interview questions guided the data collection: challenges and their effects on confidence, strategies of classroom management and workload, and the nature of institutional support received. The findings foster the urgent need for structured mentoring programs, more practice-oriented per-service preparation, reduced administrative burdens on first-year teachers and reveal common patterns across diverse contexts. The study offers practical and effective recommendations for educational institutions and policymakers.