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The Effect of Strengths Intervention on Pre-Service Teacher Dispositions During the Student Teaching Experience

Abstract

Although accrediting institutions have mandated the assessment of teacher dispositions in teacher candidates, there is a need for the purposeful development of the dispositions of an effective teacher throughout teacher education programs. A quasi-experimental study was designed to assess whether talent identification or talent development interventions differed significantly in their effect on the development of teacher candidate dispositions in a sample of teacher candidates during their 12-week student teaching semester. Data analyses revealed no significant differences in post disposition scores for any of the curricular interventions. However, a significant increase between pre and post-assessments results was detected signifying that teacher candidates’ disposition scores increased during their student teaching but the increase was not significantly dependent upon the type of curricular intervention. The study of dispositions in teacher education programs is important because the profile of personal traits or dispositions that enable one to teach is the most important resource of an effective teacher (Serdyukov & Ferguson, 2011; Singh & Stoloff, 2008). Although knowledge and skills are competently assessed in a variety of ways, such as Praxis II examinations, professional portfolios, and clinical evaluations, dispositions are more elusive to evaluate objectively. Katz and Raths (1985) were the first educators to have the insight that some teacher candidates had the necessary knowledge and skills but lacked the dispositions to use them well. This realization prompted the organizational leaders governing teacher education to include the assessment of dispositions in their standards. Focusing on the improvement of teacher preparation programs will, in turn, help to ensure only the best candidates qualify for a teaching license.

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