Abstract: Self‐Concept of Student Teachers Determines Their Creative Skills and Attitudes Toward Teaching

Abstract

The major hypothesis in this study was that the self-socialfeelings of 92 junior and senior students preparing to be teachers in elementary education would be predictive of their creative production and attitudes about teacher practices in the classroom. They were all administered the: (1) Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Figural); (2) Teacher Practices Observation Record (TPOR); and Me Scale.The TTCT were scored for originality, fluency, flexibility, and divided into seven categories. Two scores were preserved for analysis: (1) the teacher-centered view toward teaching practices, and (2) the child-centered view toward teaching. The Me Scale contained 50 variables. The respondent is asked to rate his feelings toward each item.Responses to the Me Scale were factor analyzed by the principal components with unities in the diagonal. Five factors were rotated to the varimax criterion. When a step-wise regression analysis was applied to the data, the elaboration score of the TTCT was significantly related to each of the five self-concept factor scores. When responses to the TPOR were scored, the view of the teacher as child-centered was significantly predictable from two self-concept factors.The major hypothesis was supported: namely, that self-social feelings of college students in teacher education were significantly related to creativity factors and to attitudes about teacher practices.