Examining Preservice Teachers' Teaching Practice Experience: The Benefits and Challenges

Teaching practice constitutes a critical component of teacher education, providing preservice teachers with opportunities to translate pedagogical theory into classroom practice. Despite its recognised importance, limited empirical studies have simultaneously examined preservice teachers' perceived benefits and challenges while investigating programme specialisation as a moderating factor. This study examined preservice teachers' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of their final teaching practice. It assessed whether the programme of study (STEM vs non-STEM) moderated the relationship between these perceptions. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed involving 95 preservice teachers from a public university in Ghana. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and moderated hierarchical multiple regression. Findings indicated that preservice teachers generally perceived teaching practice as highly beneficial, particularly for skill development, classroom management competence, and professional identity formation. However, moderate levels of instructional and personal challenges were reported. A small but statistically significant negative relationship between perceived benefits and challenges was observed, and programme specialisation significantly moderated this relationship, though with modest explanatory power. The findings highlight the importance of structured mentorship systems, targeted classroom management preparation, and programme-specific practicum support to enhance preservice teachers' practicum experiences.