Preparing Inclusive Educators: The Impact of Fieldwork Experience on Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence in Working With Students With Disabilities

Authors

• Adrian Jung, California State University, FullertonFollow

Author ORCID Identifier(s)

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-1818

Keywords

Preservice teachers, confidence levels, evidence-based practice

Abstract

This study examined preservice teachers’ confidence in working with students with disabilities across Elementary (n = 44), Secondary (n = 43), and Special Education (n = 52) programs. Using a quantitative pretest–posttest survey design, participants completed an adapted version of the Special Needs Confidence Scale before and after student teaching. Descriptive statistics and Tukey post hoc analyses were conducted. Results indicated overall increases in confidence following fieldwork, with Special Education preservice teachers reporting consistently higher confidence than Elementary and Secondary peers. Findings highlight the role of targeted preparation and field-based experiences in supporting inclusive teaching readiness.

DOI

10.15760/nwjte.2026.1.3

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Jung, Adrian (2026) "Preparing Inclusive Educators: The Impact of Fieldwork Experience on Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence in Working With Students With Disabilities," Northwest Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 21 : Iss. 1 , Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2026.1.3