Perceived quality of professional experience placement and teacher self-efficacy among pre-service teachers: a latent profile analysis

Professional experience placement is a major influence on teacher self-efficacy (TSE). Most previous studies have examined isolated placement interventions, limiting systematic understanding of the consistent influence of teaching placement design on TSE, and a unifying framework is lacking. Also, various design features may operate simultaneously, a possibility that variable-based models cannot capture. Drawing on a sample of 16,526 final-year pre-service teachers in China, this study examined perceived quality of professional experience placements and TSE using a five-domain framework. Using a person-centred latent profile analysis, the study identified eight profiles and found active learning to be the lowest-rated dimension across profiles. TSE for both school activities and classroom teaching differed across profiles. Only university type significantly predicted profile membership. The findings highlight the importance of active learning and collaborative participation in professional experience placement design and demonstrate the value of a five-domain framework for evaluating placement quality.