In an attempt to provide educational services to students eligible to receive special education, school systems are using beginning out-of-field teachers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine which skills, knowledge, training methods, and support beginning out-of-field special education teachers identified as necessary to teach students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) in a private separate day school. Journal responses, questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews were used to understand the lived experiences of 9 beginning out-of-field special education teachers. Guided by Bandura's social learning/cognitive theory, which indicates that a great deal of learning happens within the social environment, and theory of self-efficacy, which holds that a teacher's self-efficacy is about what he or she brings to a student learning, the research questions focused on the type of teaching and coping methods beginning out-of-field special education teachers need to feel supportive and effective. Coded data were analyzed for themes. The findings indicated that beginning out-of-field special education teachers believe that in order to be effective teachers of students with EBD, they need time, experience, and continual professional development. The results also showed that being a teacher of students with EBD is a very detailed and complex task. This is a socially significant issue to educators and administrators who are concerned about the quality and training of teachers for students with EBD. The study will help teachers of students with EBD and other special education teachers to understand and develop the knowledge and skills necessary for students growth and achievement and educators overall professional development. [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://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]