Significant Issues in Defining and Assessing Teacher Dispositions

Social Networking Postings: Views from School Principals

“…Though dispositions represent attitudes and as such are difficult to assess directly (Henerson, Morris, Fitz-Gibbon, 1987;Oosterhof, 2010), education agencies are requiring colleges/schools of education to assess the professional dispositions of teacher candidates (CCSSO, p.31;GaPSC, 2009;NCATE, 2010). Another challenge in assessing dispositions is that there is not general agreement on the definition of the term (Singh & Stoloff, 2007;Stooksberry, Schussler, & Bercaw, 2009;Thornton, 2006;Welch et al, 2010), and from an assessment perspective, it is impossible to assess that which is not clearly defined (Welch et al, 2010). Furthermore, legal findings (Board of Education of the Warsaw Central School District, 1994;Dixon v. Clem, 2007;The Gallatin County Board of Education v. Mann, 1998) make it clear that teacher behavior does matter.…”

“…Furthermore, legal findings (Board of Education of the Warsaw Central School District, 1994;Dixon v. Clem, 2007;The Gallatin County Board of Education v. Mann, 1998) make it clear that teacher behavior does matter. Dispositions are typically assessed using behavioral indicators (NCATE, 2010;Welch et al, 2010) and the information found on SNS is just one behavioral indicator that might point to underlying professional dispositions and attitudes. Media reports indicate that employers are examining SNS as they make hiring decisions (Alfonsi, 2006;Amburgey, 2006;Bergstrom, 2008;Bock, 2008;Fuller, 2006;Jannsen, 2009).…”

Dispositions for Critical Social Justice Teaching and Learning

“…Because there is little consensus in the research literature on the meaning of the term "disposition," much debate has swirled as to how dispositions might be defined, cultivated, and assessed (Welch, Pitts, Tenini, Kuenlen, & Wood, 2010). Burant, Chubbuck, and Whipp (2007) explained that definitions of dispositions in the research literature cluster into three categories: (a) dispositions as beliefs and attitudes; (b) dispositions as unchanging personality traits; and (c) dispositions as inferred from observable behaviors.…”

“…Scholars who believe that dispositions are defined by a person's beliefs and attitudes argue that dispositions are not innate or unchanging, but instead are "learned and developed at anytime" (Cummins & Asempapa, 2013, p. 103). Others have defined dispositions by observing the actions of an individual, such as Welch et al (2010) who claimed that dispositions are "patterns of observable behavior that become predictable" (p. 181). Alsup and Miller (2014) bridged this divide between belief and observable behavior and argue that "dispositions are the context and culturally specific embodied manifestations of one's beliefs, values, and judgments about all practices related to the teaching profession" (Alsup & Miller, 2014, p. 199).…”

“…Due to the addition of dispositions in the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards and the rise of accreditation requirements in teacher education, the research literature focused on developing teacher dispositions is robust (Burant et al, 2007;Villegas, 2007). Many scholars have focused on how to best measure and assess teacher dispositions as required by the NCATE (Burant et al, 2007;Duplass & Cruz, 2010;Villegas, 2007), others have sought to clarify the meaning of the contested term and suggest practices for cultivating desired dispositions (Carroll, 2005;Schussler, 2006), and still others have attempted both (Welch et al, 2010). However, literature focused on cultivating dispositions specific to social justice teaching and learning is relatively scarce (Neumann, 2013).…”