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Dispositions and Teacher Assessment

The Need for a More Rigorous Definition

Stanford University

This article discusses the use of dispositions as a basis for evaluating candidates for teaching credentials. It begins with the assumption that any evaluation process must rely on clearly defined constructs that cannot be interpreted in open-ended ways to suit the subjective biases of the evaluator. It then argues that present uses of the disposition construct in teacher education risk this kind of biased application. It makes the point that fairness in assessment procedures requires rigorous and unambiguous definitions of assessment standards by criteria drawn from science and other systematic areas of scholarship. A definition of disposition drawn from the behavioral sciences is offered, and principles for using dispositions as a standard in teacher assessment are offered.

Key Words: personality dispositions • teacher assessment • subjective bias

References

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Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 58, No. 5, 365-369 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0022487107308732


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Damon, W. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?