Assessing Teacher Candidates’ Dispositions

Abstract

Teaching is multidimensional in the sense that teachers must be effective managers and instructors in any grade level. In addition, their disposition to teach and be good role models must also be present throughout their teaching careers. However, a debate still exists as to whether dispositions should be assessed or not as a measurement of teacher quality. Opponents to this assessment caution that by incorporating dispositions in a curriculum or assessment system, a teacher education program is at risk of supporting a social or political agenda of indoctrination. Borko, Liston and Whitcomb (2007) stated that the debate is over two different claims, those based on values and those based on empirical measurement. The purpose of this article is to elaborate on some of the arguments of the debate and provide a rubric to help professors in higher education develop evaluation tools to cover the dispositions of teachers.