ASSESSING TEACHER DISPOSITIONS USING THE Q-SORT METHOD ** KIM CALDER STEGEMANN & WILLIAM ROBERTS THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY kcalder@tru.ca, wlroberts@tru.ca Abstract Teacher education programs have a responsibility to produce qualified, dedicated teachers. For the benefit of school-aged children, teacher education programs act as “gatekeepers” (Caskey, Peterson, and Temple, 2001), recruiting and admitting only the most suitable students (Kosnik, Brown, and Beck, 2005). The Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) continues to refine its intake procedures to better identify the most promising individuals. This study reports on the development of a new tool to assess candidates – a criterion Q-sort characterizing ideal teachers. Across grade levels, the most desirable characteristics for teachers were treating students with respect and dignity, using effective instruction, understanding the relationship between instruction, assessment/evaluation, and reporting. There were some distinct differences in the dispositions which were considered most important for primary, middle, and high school teachers. The Q-sort Method The Q-sort method has been used successfully and extensively in the field of psychology to assess personality characteristics in children, youth and adults (e.g., Block, 1971; Block & Block, 2006; Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005). It has a number of advantages over questionnaire and checklist formats (Block, 1961) because it employs a 'forced' distribution (a set number of items must be placed in each category from most to least descriptive). This minimizes social desirability and allows raters to make up to nine meaningful distinctions, or rankings, between items. One educational application of the Q-sort method has been to measure teachers’ beliefs about classroom discipline (Rimm-Kaufman, Storm, Sawyer, Pianto, & LaParo, 2006); however, it has yet to be used as a measure of dispositions required for successful teaching. Research Objectives Initial objectives were to assess the reliability of a new Q-sort and to use it to examine characteristics viewed as important for successful teaching, as rated by practicing teachers, school administrators, and B.Ed. Faculty. Three criterion sorts were constructed: for primary, middle, and high school teachers. Method Participants Practicing Teachers and Administrators from Kamloops/Thompson SD#73 and Thompson Rivers University B.Ed. Faculty were recruited by email. Eight participants completed a criterion sort for primary teachers (K-3), seven for intermediate (6-8), and seven for high school (10-12). Participants received a $30 honorarium. The Professional Behaviour Q-sort. A set of 100 items were derived from the British Columbia Ministry of Education (2012), Rinaldo and Shlepkov (2010), the California Adult Q-sort (Block, 1971, Appendix A), and the California Child Q-sort (Block & Block, 1969). Wording was modified as necessary. The required distribution was a forced normal distribution of 5, 8, 12, 16, 18, 16, 12, 8, and 5 cards per envelope (Block, 1961). Items received a score from 1 to 9, depending on the envelope in which they were placed. Results Reliability (consistency). For the eight primary sorts, correlations ranged from .60 to .88, mean r = .75. Corresponding values for the seven intermediate sorts were .51 to .79, mean r = .71. One high school sort was discarded because it failed to converge (mean r = .17). For the remaining six high school sorts, correlations ranged from .60 to .86, mean r = .73. These values are comparable to those for other criterion sorts (e.g., Block, 1971). Criterion sorts for each level were created by averaging each item across participants. As expected, these three criterion sorts were strongly correlated (rs ranged from .93 to .95), indicating consistent expectations and values across grade levels. To explore these expectations in more detail, we examined the most and least characteristic items in each sort, that is, items corresponding to rankings of 8 and 9 or 1 and 2, the most extreme 25% of items in the set of 100. As shown below, 12 items (of 23 possible) were placed at the extremes in all three criterion sorts. Desirable Characteristics Across Primary, Intermediate, High School (scores ≥ 7.5 ) #1. Treats students with respect and dignity #13. Effective at instruction in the classroom #15. Understands the relationship between planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation, and reporting. Undesirable Characteristic of Across Primary, Intermediate, High School (scores ≤ 2.5 ): #50. Goes to pieces under stress, becomes rattled and disorganized #26. Unwilling to accept blame or responsibility for his/her actions #81. Over-reacts to minor frustrations; easily irritated and/or angered #63. Condescending to others #75. Tends to undermine, obstruct or sabotage others #85. Expresses hostile feelings directly #87. Self-pitying, complains #86. Self-dramatizing, overly emotional and attention seeking #90. Fearful and anxious Other extreme items were unique to their criterion sorts. Key Dispositions for Primary School Teachers: #59. Warm and responsive #7. Knowledgeable about children's social development Key Dispositions for Intermediate School Teachers: #61. Shows a recognition of the feelings of others, is empathetic Key Dispositions for High School Teachers: #33. Competent, skillful #17. Has a good understanding of the subject areas they teach #100. Not rebellious and non-conforming. Conclusions There are some qualities which are believed necessary for any classroom teacher, regardless of the age of the students, revolving around valuing and respecting students and effectively instructing and understanding the instructional/assessment/reporting cycle. However, it is clear that the dispositions most suitable for success at the primary level are not always viewed as those most necessary for successful and effective intermediate or high school level teachers. Caring, warm, and responsive are essential for primary school teachers, while those with strong subject-area knowledge are viewed as most competent and skilled for high school teaching. References Block, J. (1961). The Q-Sort Method in Personality Assessment and Psychiatric Research. Springfield, IL: Thomas. Block, J. (1971). Lives Through Time. Berkeley, CA: Bancroft. Block, J. & Block, J. H. (1969). The California Child Q-set. Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Institute of Human Development, Berkeley. Block, J. & Block, J. H. (2006). Venturing a 30-Year Longitudinal Study. American Psychologist, 61, 315–327. British Columbia Ministry of Education (2012). Standards for the education, competence and professional conduct of educators and British Columbia. Caskey, M.M, Peterson, K.D., & Temple, J.B. (2001). Complex admission selection procedures for a graduate preservice teacher education program. Teacher Education Quarterly, Fall, 7-21. Kosnik, C., Brown, R., & Beck, C. (2005). The pre-service admissions process: what qualities do future teachers need and how can they be identified in applicants? New Educator, 1(2), 101-123. Rimm-Kaufmn, S.E., Storm, M.D., Sawyer, B.E., Pianta, R.C., & LaParo, K.M. (2006). The Teacher Belief Q-sort: A measure of teachers’ priorities in relation to disciplinary practices, teaching practices, and beliefs about children. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 141-165. Rinaldo, V., & Slepkov, H. (2012, May). Measuring teacher dispositional performance in a three-semester program. Paper presented as the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Education. Waterloo, Ont. Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E., & Collins, W. (2005). The Development of the Person: The Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaptation From Birth to Adulthood. New York: Guilford Publications. Please contact either author for a complete paper of this study. **This study has been funded, in part, by the TRU Graduate Studies Internal Research Fund. View publication stats