Date of Award

Fall 2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership

First Advisor

Bryan McCoy

Abstract

Evaluating a person’s dispositions is complex and problematic, considering the affective nature of these invisible traits (Diez, 2006; Wilkerson & Lang, 2007). Teacher preparation programs are responsible for developing critical dispositions in their candidates and ensuring candidates have acquired them before recommendation for certification. Furthermore, school administrators must ensure that the teachers they hire have the right dispositions before placing them in a classroom with students. Valid and reliable instruments must be used to measure teacher and teacher candidate dispositions.

The purpose of this study was to identify a finite set of dispositions critical for an effective teacher and to describe expected levels of performance for each disposition. Additionally, descriptive evidence that could substantiate the existence of a given disposition within a teacher or teacher candidate was identified. Arthur Combs perceptual field psychology (1965) and the InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers (CCSSO, 2013) were used as a guiding framework for the development of a Teacher Dispositions Framework rubric. Combs’ four general areas of perceptions that differentiate effective from ineffective teachers were utilized to organize each of the 43 INTASC dispositions standards into a simplified rubric. Sixteen dispositional components resulted in a finished product that could serve as part of a larger teacher dispositions’ assessment protocol. A modified Delphi study using subject matter experts served to validate the content of the rubric.

Teacher preparation programs may use the rubric as a guide for dispositional-based assignments. Teacher candidates and practicing teachers may use the rubric as a self-evaluation instrument or as a guide in the development of a portfolio that could attest to their dispositions.

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