Assessing Dispositions in Teacher Preparation Programs: Are Candidates and Faculty Seeing the Same Thing?

Professional dispositions are an important component in teacher education programs. Therefore, it is important that teacher education candidates and teacher educators agree on what dispositions mean, understand how dispositions will be assessed, and agree on how they are portrayed. This study compared dispositional self-assessments from 248 undergraduate elementary education and special education candidates with their instructors over five semesters. Overall, results indicated that candidates and instructors shared similar perceptions. Specifically, candidates and instructors agreed that candidates were frequently tardy to class and submitted written work that did not meet program standards. However, candidates acknowledged displaying off-task behaviors during class that were not noted by faculty. Implications for teacher educators based on the data are included.