Many beginning generalist teachers are responsible for the delivery of integrated arts education as part of their curriculum. This responsibility is dependent on their own beliefs about their competence, school context, pressures of the curriculum and benefits of the arts for students. These beliefs operate as a key factor in a generative system of human competence (Bandura, 1997), leading to the assumption that they are powerful influences on the overall teachers' effectiveness with students. Little is known about the impact of personal experiences on pre-service teacher beliefs and confidence levels for arts education. Greater recognition of confirming and disconfirming experiences that shape teacher engagement with the arts is necessary. This paper provides insights into a research project that attempts to contribute towards filling this void, in order to improve teacher effectiveness within the arts domain in the middle years. It is part of a bigger study exploring beliefs of beginning generalist teachers. This study explores the life stages of 15 generalist pre-service teachers undertaking a graduate diploma in education. Each participant's life stage was analysed before being compared to their level's of teacher self-efficacy for arts education. Results indicated that negative arts experiences at school and little engagement with the arts during each life stage informed teachers' beliefs for their future teaching practice. The study reveals important information that informs teacher training and induction programmes about pre-service teachers experiences within the arts domain.