To promote the advancement of teacher recruitment, retention, and reduce attrition, K-12 teachers need to be fully prepared for the complex nature of being in a classroom, a classroom filled with students of all types. There is a unique nature to education and one must recognize the complexity of each individual student. The context of this study explores early career teachers' perspectives on their preparedness for teaching. This research examines teachers' perspectives in their first to fifth years of teaching who graduated from a North Dakota college. Each participant answered 13 questions regarding their perspectives on the preparation they received from their education courses. The study also examined teachers' perspectives on challenges and successes in their own classroom. Results of the study indicated that early career teachers desire social-emotional courses to be imbedded within their teacher education preparation programs. Results of teacher participants' responses confirmed the importance of relationship building, understanding where each individual child is at, and creating a positive school culture. The continuous development and curriculum reviews of courses within teacher education preparation programs are critical to retain highly qualified teachers. [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.]