Minding the challenges: exploring the meaning of practicum for development of student teachers' self-efficacy beliefs

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of student teachers, mentor teachers, and university supervisors about mentoring practices and their relevance to the level of student teachers' self-efficacy. The survey was conducted with a sample of 110 third-year student teachers. The survey completed was the TSES instrument. Interviews were conducted with five student teachers, five university supervisors, and five mentor teachers. The thematic analysis method was used for analysing qualitative data. Student teachers reported the lowest levels of self-efficacy beliefs in the classroom management domain. A total of 90% of students surveyed felt more effective in adjusting lessons to the proper level for students, while only 64% of them indicated that they can control disruptive behaviour in the classroom. Qualitative data reported that respondents valued regular student monitoring, providing feedback and an evaluation based on reflection and concrete tasks as the main promoter of student teachers' self-efficacy in teaching.