Teacher Disposition Scale (TDS): construction and psychometric validation

ABSTRACT

Despite the growing prominence and importance of the field of teacher dispositions for addressing selection criteria and assessment in educational research, there is an absence of psychometrically evaluated instruments to facilitate investigations. Furthermore, research thus far has not explored the relationship between teacher dispositions and better student outcomes. To address this paucity, key dispositional factors conducive to successful teaching and learning were identified through interviewing high performing teachers. Based on the interview, data a 24-item Teacher Disposition Scale (TDS) was constructed consisting of five dimensions: Motivation to teach; Teacher efficacy; Willingness to learn; Conscientiousness; and Interpersonal and communication skill. The scale was psychometrically tested on 179 pre-service undergraduate students at an Australian university. Both factor analysis and Rasch measurement modelling indicated evidence of a reliable and valid multi-dimensional scale. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of the scale for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• teacher
• disposition
• scale
• evaluation
• Rasch analysis
• professional

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Conor West

Conor West earned her PhD in Educational Psychology in 2018 at the University of Wollongong. She has taught educational psychology, research methodology and classroom management at the University of Wollongong. She has also taught in primary schools in Norway and Australia. Her research interests include teacher motivation, disposition and wellbeing.

Amanda Baker

Amanda Baker is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Academic Program Director - Postgraduate Coursework in the School of Education. She earned her PhD in Applied Linguistics in 2011 at Georgia State University. She has taught English as a Second/Foreign Language in Australia, Canada, China, Japan and the USA and various subjects related to TESOL methodology at the University of Wollongong, Georgia State University, Trinity Western University and Baicheng Teachers College. Amanda is particularly passionate about second language pronunciation pedagogy and focusing on educating (pre- and in-service) teachers on how to enable learners to communicate clearly in another language.

John Fitzgerald Ehrich

John Fitzgerald Ehrich was awarded a PhD from the Psychology and Counseling Department at Queensland University of Technology in June 2008. The focus of his thesis was the investigation of the role of phonological and visuo-spatial codes in working memory and logographic (Chinese) reading from the perspective of bilingual and monolingual language learners. He has worked as a Psychology Lecturer at Central Queensland University and as a Senior Lecturer in Education at Edith Cowan University, University of Wollongong and Monash University. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Education at Macquarie University. His varied research interests are in the fields of experimental psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, psychometrics (Rasch analysis of Modern Test Theory), literacy acquisition and leadership.

Stuart Woodcock

Stuart Woodcock is a Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, Australia, in inclusive education and educational psychology in the Faculty of Human Sciences. Stuart initially trained as a teacher in England. Since then, he has taught in England, Canada and Australia in primary and secondary schools, teaching in a variety of settings, including mainstream, special education and behaviour units. He currently lectures in a range of areas, including inclusive education, classroom and behaviour management, and educational psychology, teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research areas focus on teacher self-efficacy, inclusive education, behaviour management and students with specific learning disabilities.

Sahar Bokosmaty

Sahar Bokosmaty is a Lecturer in Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong. She has taught mathematics and various subjects related to mathematics pedagogy in Australia and overseas. Dr Bokosmaty earned her PhD in Mathematics Education in 2012 at the University of New South Wales. Dr Bokosmaty is a mathematics specialist with expertise in cognitive load theory; her passion is to understand human cognition in order to find the best instructional methods to improve students’ performance and reduce unnecessary load associated with methods that hinder learning. Dr Bokosmaty is now working on connecting education to psychology through measuring the mental effort associated with a task using tangible and scientific tools (electroencephalogram and eye-tracker). Dr Bokosmaty has been invited to deliver presentations on teaching mathematics at both international and national conferences.

Steven J. Howard

Steven J. Howard is a Senior Lecturer in Early Start and the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. He earned his PhD at York University, Canada, in 2013. His research interests include the development of self-regulation and related abilities, with a specific focus on the early years. He has also been involved in large-scale programme evaluations from preschool through to tertiary education.

Michelle J. Eady

Michelle J. Eady is a senior lecturer in Professional Studies, Progression Advisor and Director of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and Professional Placements in Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong. She earned her PhD at the University of Wollongong in 2010. She is a recipient of an Australian Office of Teaching and Learning (OLT) teaching citation, with her current research focus being on quality teacher preparation and partnerships. She was awarded the Province of Ontario’s Council of the Federation of Literacy Award for Innovation in Literacy for her work in Aboriginal adult literacy. She also received the William A. West medal for academic achievement at the Master’s level from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Canada. Her research interests include teacher education, community strength and third space.