Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2013

Journal Title

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

Volume

3

Issue

3

First Page

72

Last Page

84

Abstract

The practice of assessing the dispositions of pre-service educators has gained increasing attention among institutions of teacher preparation. Current debate often centers on the needs and views of P-12 children, researchers, and policy makers, at the expense of a forgotten voice—teacher candidates. In particular, this study examines the multicultural portion of the larger dispositional debate. Education majors (N=420) from a Midwestern metropolitan university were asked to rate the viability of 13 selected multicultural dispositions as a training tool. Utilizing a 9-point Likert Scale, respondents gave strong support for multicultural dispositions not only during the posttest (M=8.38) but also the pretest phase (M=7.89). Significant pretest (M=7.89, SD=0.84) to post-test (M=8.38, SD=0.73) change in mean scores was shown (t(419=-11.70, p<.0005) with a medium effect size (d=.63). When given a chance to delete individual items, respondents chose to retain all 13 dispositions. In addition, students gave high ratings for their personal (M=7.89) and professional (M=8.01) growth. These results demonstrate that (1) students are not intimidate by well-constructed multicultural dispositions, (2) critical instructional efforts over the span of a semester can help students reach higher levels of multicultural awareness, and (3) dispositions can be used to assess changes in student perceptions across a program of professional preparation, which allows them a better opportunity to determine whether or not education is an appropriate professional match.

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