Five commonly used selection criteria were investigated to determine their relationship to nine teaching behaviors of 112 pre‐service teachers in laboratory preschools. Subjects com pleted two questionnaires to provide data relative to demographic information, academic background, work experience with children, and leadership ability. Trained observers rated each subject's teaching behavior during the last weeks of their preschool teaching practicum. Findings indicate that academic major, grade point average, motivation, and leadership ability have potential for predicting behavior in seven of the nine teaching behaviors. Ex perience with children was not related to any teaching behavior measured. Results indicate that the commonly used factors for selecting and hiring preschool teachers are moderately useful indicators of certain behaviors that comprise teaching.
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