Development of a scale for measuring the factor of first-year teachers’ reality shock

Abstract

“Reality shock” is defined as the discrepancy between an individual’s expectations established prior to joining to an organization and their perceptions after becoming a member of the organization. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure factors leading to reality shock in first-year teachers, and to confirm its reliability and validity. A scale was developed based on factors leading to realty shock, and a survey was conducted on 219 first-year teachers (90 men, 129 women, mean age 25.18 years). Structure analysis based on factor analysis revealed that this scale consisted of four factors; “inter-personal relations in the workplace”, “lack of experience”, “relationship with students or parents”, and “pressure at work”. Given that high scores of the scale were associated with negative changes in perceptions of work, we showed that the scale was concurrently valid. Multiple regression analysis showed that realty shock significantly influenced stress responses, and that it had particular positive effects on anxiety and depression. Future studies will need to elucidate factors that buffer the effects of reality shock, and develop interventions to prevent worsening mental health in first-year teachers.