Ideal Teacher Concepts: Attitude Shift after Practice Teaching

Abstract

Gough, Durflinger, and Hill (1968) developed a scoring formula, based on California Psychological Inventory scales, that discriminated between student teachers rated good or poor by training supervisors. Cross-validation studies showed that the student-teacher scoring formula (STSF) predicted student success fairly well. The researchers also wished to identify personal characteristics related to high and low scorers on the STSF, and asked fraternity and sorority members to rate one another on the Gough's Adjective Checklist. The present study concerned the 12 adjectives most chosen by these Ss to describe high female scorers on the STSF: dominant, persevering, persistent, serious, opinionated, ambitious, demanding, logical, rigid, clear-thinking, determined, responsible. The 12 adjectives most chosen to describe low female scorers were: curious. affectionate. careless, easy-going, unconventional, dreamy, understanding, irresponsible, cheerful, natural, individualistic, thoughdul. The present study undertook to determine whether supervisors of elementary teachers would characterize ideal female elementarv teacher in a similar manner to the above-listed peer perceptions of high scorers, and whether students in practice teaching would be closer to supervisors' perceptions of this ideal than would students taking their first course in the teacher-training sequence. A 30-item forced-choice test was constructed of the 2 lists of adjectives, each pair consisting of an adjective from the high scorer's list and one from the low scorer's list. Pairing coupled positive adjectives with positive adjectives and negative adjectives with negative ones. The resulting list was administered to 16 female supervisors of elementary teachers, 16 female elementary student teachers, and 16 female smdents in educational psychology classes who were asked to select the adjective in each pair that best characterized the ideal elementary teacher. When responses were scored according to a key based on the high scorer's list, mean scores were: supervisors 15.3, student teachers 13.3, and educational psychology students 9.27. The corrected (Spearman-Brown) split-half reliability of the questionnaire was 34. Analysis of variance gave an F ratio of 5.66 (p = .02). Results suggest that ideal-teacher concepts held by practice-teaching supervisors are closer to the personality stereotype that emerges from the peer judgments of high scorers on the STSF than are the concepts held by students entering the teacher-education program. Students actually engaged in practice teaching, however, score closer to the supervisors' mean than those who have not had this experience. Such results are consistent with what one would expect from social learning theory in that exposure to a powerful model elicits imitation. It is also possible that experience with actual classroom problems led student teachers to change some of their preconceptions regarding the personal qualities needed to be an effective teacher. This should be studied.