Making Sense of Support: Early-Career Teachers’ Experiences in Indonesian Public Schools

Abstract

Teacher professional development has become a central concern in educational research, particularly regarding the early career experiences of novice educators. Within this domain, the subjective perceptions of professional support during the first year of teaching remain underexplored, especially in culturally dynamic and policy-driven educational systems. While various induction programs have been implemented, little is known about how beginning teachers interpret and internalize the support they receive in real school contexts. This study addresses that gap by asking: how do novice teachers experience and make meaning of professional support during their first year in Indonesian public schools? Using an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), this research explores the lived experiences of nine novice teachers (5 females, 4 males) teaching in five urban and semi-urban public secondary schools across three provinces in Indonesia to uncover the emotional, relational, and institutional dimensions of perceived support. Participants were selected using purposive sampling based on their first-year teaching status in public institutions. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically using IPA procedures to identify key meaning units and overarching themes. The results revealed four major themes: feelings of unpreparedness, the significance of informal peer support, the ambiguity of institutional assistance, and personal growth through adversity. These findings illustrate that support is not simply delivered but experienced through a complex interplay of context, relationships, and internal meaning-making. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of teacher development and calls for more empathetic, context-sensitive approaches to mentoring and induction in educational policy and practice.