The increase in enrolment of learners at both the primary and secondary schools has increased the demand for new teachers to make up for shortage of teachers in schools. As a result, universities and training colleges have had the responsibility of training and grooming new teachers. The objective of this study is to explore the perceptions of student teachers about their expectations, challenges, and opportunities during school-based experience. To explore student perceptions, the following research questions were used: (i) What were your expectations during school-based experience? (ii) What challenges were you confronted with that affected your practice in your school? (iii) What are the opportunities that school-based experience offers towards teacher development? The theoretical framework which underpins this study is the Behaviourism theory which was propounded by Skinner in 1930 and was further extended by James in 1938. The methodology used to explore this study was the qualitative approach with a case study design as a guide. From the cohort of 40, ten students were purposively selected for this study which used a semi-structured interview as a data collection instrument which required student teachers to reflect on their perceptions about school-based experience. Findings from the study indicated lack of support for students during teaching practice from their supervisors and the school. Contrastingly, it also found that teaching practice gave students an opportunity to apply theories they had learnt in the field during this period. The study concludes that the opportunities that student teachers get far outweigh the challenges. As such, the study recommended that supervisors, mentors and the schools should work collaboratively to improve school-based experience.

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