The first years of teaching are widely recognised as a formative yet demanding stage in teachers’ professional development. During this period, novice teachers must translate theoretical preparation into classroom practice while simultaneously adapting to institutional expectations, classroom realities, and workload pressures. This study investigates the emotional experiences of novice teachers and examines how these emotions influence their pedagogical practices and classroom climate. The study draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with ten novice teachers working in ten different schools in Saudi Arabia. The analysis identified a set of institutional and professional triggers shaping novice teachers’ emotional experiences, including supervisory observation, classroom management challenges, perceived professional inadequacy, gaps in subject-matter knowledge, and heavy workload. These conditions generated four key emotional responses: fear, anxiety, embarrassment, and emotional exhaustion. The findings show that these emotions significantly influenced teachers’ classroom practices. Fear associated with supervisory observation often led to performance anxiety and reduced confidence, encouraging authoritarian classroom approaches. Anxiety related to classroom management prompted avoidance of direct confrontation with students. Feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment, particularly when teachers perceived gaps in their knowledge, led to the avoidance of student questioning and reduced opportunities for open classroom discussion. Finally, emotional exhaustion resulting from heavy workload diminished teachers’ pedagogical energy and capacity for sustained engagement. Collectively, these emotional challenges shaped classroom interactions, instructional decisions, and the overall emotional climate of learning, with implications for student engagement. The study highlights important implications for educational policy and practice, including the need for induction programmes.

Authors:
Wesal Maash, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Wesal Maash is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the College of Education, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmaash/

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