Bridging the theory–practice gap for novice EFL teachers in Türkiye: Insights from scale development and critical incident reflections

This mixed-method study investigates the common challenges faced by novice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Türkiye. The research aims to bridge the gap between theory-laden teacher education and the realities of early teaching experiences. To this end, the research started with the development of a psychometrically valid scale titled the Novice EFL Teachers' Challenges Scale (NEFLTCS). The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a six-factor, 26-item model highlighting areas such as classroom management, instructional challenges, assessing students' progress, adaptation to school context, institutional support, and relationships with parents. The main data collection using the developed scale was carried out with 227 participants. The data were analysed using SPSS 22, and the results were discussed for overall and subscale patterns informed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Further, demographic variables were compared to observe potential differences across groups. The results suggested that Classroom Management and Instructional Challenges were particularly difficult for the participants. To complement the scale findings, the research incorporated written critical incident narratives from 20 novice EFL teachers. The narratives were analysed using MAXQDA 2020 to identify recurring challenges, coping strategies, and lessons learnt. At this stage, participant quotes and codes were utilised to contextualise and further enrich quantitative findings. Professional Identity Challenges and Emotional and Psychological Challenges emerged as two prominent areas not addressed as distinct categories within the NEFLTCS. Coping strategies coded in the data depicted the participating teachers' reflective growth, which transitioned from initial emotional reactions and inaction to resilience, awareness, and self-efficacy. Informed by the synthesis of both data sources, the design of a supportive undergraduate course, Teaching in the First Years, was sketched. Such a design, shaped around common challenges, coping strategies, and cases that are enriched by AI-created videos, was suggested to better prepare future teachers for the complexity of real school contexts. Overall, the study stresses the need for improved institutional support systems in alleviating reality shock and bridging the theory-practice gap embedded in novice EFL teachers' challenges. Furthermore, the study calls for embedding lived experiences of novice teachers into undergraduate contexts through multimodal cases, thus creating opportunities for reflective practices. Keywords: Novice EFL teachers, teacher challenges, critical incidents, reflective practices, scale development, teacher education, coping strategies.