Educational Alternatives, Volume 20, 2022

Abstract: Clinical practice for pre-service teachers provides an opportunity for learning through teamwork with educators while exposing them to new teaching practices, enabling them to examine their self-efficacy in their discipline and pedagogical field. At the time of the outbreak of Covid-19, pre-service teachers were required, to move from practicum settings of frontal teaching in the school face to face into long- distance teaching via zoom. The demands for rapid learning of new platforms for distance learning became challenging. This challenge required pre-service teachers to reconsider their self-efficacy as professionals. The study was performed among students studying in an Arab college in Israel and examined the impact on their sense of self-efficacy in their teaching. The findings were derived from a broad questionnaire distributed among 300 students. The findings indicated an increased sense of self- efficacy during distance learning. Five factors were identified as creating a high sense of ability in designing and executing lessons: Implementation of innovative teaching methods; Convenient classroom management via zoom; High quality of working conditions in distance learning; Good teamwork among all involved in designing the lesson; Gender and the geographical residence area. It is suggested to educational policymakers take into consideration the self-efficacy aspect of pre-service teachers as a factor that may improve or impair their teaching. It is recommended to examine a hybrid practicum model that combines face-to-face teaching as well as distance learning.