The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore two research questions around how novice special education teachers in the United States describe their experiences, obtained in formal preservice training programs or informal settings, that positively affected their self-efficacy to manage a classroom of students with complex support needs. Experiences obtained outside of preservice training programs with teachers who were already working in the field had not yet been evaluated as potential contributors to teacher self-efficacy toward managing classrooms of students with complex support needs. 13 special education teachers who had between one and three years of experience teaching students with complex support needs in the United States participated in the study. 12 interviews and two focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis resulted in 129 codes and five major themes. Participants described experiences imagining themselves in the role and establishing their professional identities through exposure to exemplars and non-examples, using trial-and-error as a classroom management strategy, and opportunities for autonomous classroom and behavior management with students with complex support needs as contributors to their self-efficacy toward classroom management in self-contained settings. Implications and recommendations include the development and implementation of preservice experiences that provide purposeful exposure to novice teachers, non-examples, and autonomy toward classroom and behavior management for special education teacher candidates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]