Background/Purpose The preservice teacher has several opportunities to witness an effective teacher, however the most candid and beneficial one is the final field experience or internship. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the preservice teacher's view of their final field experience to determine any possible areas of uncertainty or apprehension, thus allowing for the most beneficial and positive experience.
Method Participants were 13 undergraduate preservice teachers entering their final field experience. Data were collected through both (a) quantitative methods in which participants completed a pre and post-experience 15-item questionnaire related to their perceptions and (b) qualitative methods in which participants were interviewed and completed journals to further allow the researchers to listen to the voices of the preservice teacher's perceptions. Descriptive data from the questionnaire were calculated for all participants' responses, while the interview data and journals were analyzed using the constant comparison method.
Analysis/Results Results indicated an increase of confidence in the areas of content knowledge, rapport with students and maintaining high-quality socialization with other faculty from pre-experience to post-experience but indicated a decline in their perception of preparation and managing the classroom. Dominant themes from the interview and journal data indicate that (a) there were initial concerns regarding classroom management, (b) initial socialization concerns with their clinical supervisor were eased as the experience progressed and (c) being an effective teacher required more than initially expected.
Conclusions Understanding the preservice teacher's perceptions of their final field experience provides insight for teacher educators preparing students within their PETE programs.