Before Student Teaching: How Undergraduate Students in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs Describe Their Early Classroom-Based Experience

Classroom-based experiences, alternatively known as practica, are an integral component of undergraduate teacher preparation programs, which provide students essential opportunities to apply knowledge in practice. Though much is known about student teaching, much less is known about students' earlier classroom-based experiences. This qualitative study explores how early childhood care and education students describe their early classroom- based experience. Thirty-four students enrolled in a teacher preparation program participated in interviews, submitted journals, and responded to survey questions about their early classroom- based experience. Results are presented in terms of how students talk about their experiences-belonging or not belonging in the classroom-and what students talk about when discussing their experiences, including communication, support, freedom, new learning, and "the children." These themes are discussed in terms of students' experiences in the classroom and implications for undergraduate teacher preparation in early childhood education.