Effects of workplace teaching experience on first-year student teachers’ practice self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is a central concept in teacher education as it impacts student learning processes and outcomes and vice versa. The study investigates the effects of workplace experience with teaching and teaching-related practices) on seven dimensions of first-year student teachers’ practice self-efficacy (measured with the Practice Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, PSEQ), as 1) the cross-sectional effect of workplace experience prior to starting teacher education and 2) the longitudinal effect as changes in practice self-efficacy across a work placement experience during the first semester of teacher education. Results confirmed our expectation that students with workplace teaching experience prior to starting teacher education had higher practice self-efficacy. Results partially confirmed our longitudinal expectations, as directions of changes in practice self-efficacy over the course of three months with eight single days of workplace experience were as expected for six of seven practice self-efficacy, though for four dimensions effect sizes were very small. Two dimensions showed a medium effect size, on one dimension for all students, on the other dimension only for students without workplace teaching experience prior to starting teacher education. The last dimension showed no change. The study is the first to study the effect of workplace teaching experience before and during the first year of teacher education on student teachers’ practice self-efficacy.