Abstract
As part of an evaluative study of the impact of the year in which initial classroom teaching experience occurs, a sample of 768 students in concurrent and consecutive teacher education courses responded to test-retest administrations of a set of professional self perception scales and a measure of commitment to teaching. Reliable individual changes over the eight month period of the study were observed on commitment and the seven dimensions of self perception measured, and the relationships between these two facets of variables were found to be stronger at posttest than at pretest. Additionally, significant concomitant changes in self perception and commitment occurred. The results suggest that professional self perceptions become more central to the commitment of student teachers during training and that self perception and commitment to teaching are dynamically interrelated. It is concluded that course and practicum experiences during the year of professional experience have a major impact on the two facets of professional socialization studied.