The Development of an Instrument to Measure Teacher Education Candidates\u27 Dispositions

This was a study that focused on the development of a quantitative instrument that measures the dispositions of teacher education candidates as articulated by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (1991). To examine reliability, the statistical analysis included intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach\u27s alpha correlation coefficient estimates. Validity evidence based on test content and internal structure was examined. The subject pool for each pilot test was formed from matched pairs of student teachers and their assigned college or university supervisors. The matched pairs attended a private, Christian liberal arts college located in central Illinois or public university located in southern Illinois. The student teachers were senior level undergraduate or graduate college students seeking Illinois teaching certification. The pilot test of the instrument included 23 student teacher candidates and their assigned college or university supervisors. The data collection phase of the study included 103 student teacher candidates and their assigned college or university supervisors. The following findings resulted from the study: 1. It is possible to develop a quantitative instrument that effectively and efficiently measures the construct of professional dispositions of teacher candidates. 2. The instrument developed produced reliable scores. 3. Validity evidence based on instrument content and internal structure supported the intended interpretations of the instrument scores