The Effect Of School-Based Experience On Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs

This research examined preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs immediately prior to and after the final practicum for an undergraduate three-year primary education teaching program. The primary purpose of the study was to explore the effect of the capstone practicum experience on the students' teacher self-efficacy beliefs. A secondary objective was to compare the utility of two established measures of teacher self-efficacy. A cohort of preservice teachers from New Zealand (N = 75) completed the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy (long form) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and the English version of the Norwegian Teacher Self Efficacy Scale (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007), before and after their final practicum placements. Results indicated that the participants' self-efficacy beliefs increased from pre to post. Further, the NTSES and the TSES were both found to be useful measures for assessing preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, with the NTSES providing more differentiated evaluation. These results are discussed in the context of how capstone practicum experiences can enhance preservice teachers' teacher self-efficacy beliefs.