Lauren TEe.a Dchecekr eEr d&u cSaatiroan E Q. Ruaimrtmer-lKyaufman Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs among Pre-Service Teachers By Lauren E. Decker & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman Teacher education is at a cross-road. Public interest in school reform has in- creased and teacher education has been rediscovered as a “problem” in policy circles (Cochran-Smith, 2005). With this heightened visibility there exists a press, on the national level, for evidence and answers concerning the effects of teacher preparation on future teacher quality. Bransford, Darling-Hammond, and Lepage (2005) offer a framework for conducting research on teacher preparation that points out a critical need for research on “how teachers learn to engage in practices that successfully support student development and learning” (p. 23). Our investigation is consistent with this goal. In order Lauren E. Decker to understand what pre-service teachers need to learn, is a fellow in the it is critically important to understand what they already Interdisciplinary believe and what personal attributes (e.g., personality) Doctoral Training they have that may relate to their beliefs and learning. Program in Education The present paper asks three questions about pre- Sciences and Sara E. service teachers. First, what are the prevalent beliefs Rimm-Kaufman is an about teaching among pre-service teachers? Second, associate professor, both what are the personality characteristics of pre-service with the Curry School of teachers? Third, in what ways do personality traits and Education, University of other demographic attributes predict beliefs about teach- Virginia, Charlottesville, ing? Findings have implications for the consideration Virginia. of such attributes in teacher education programs. 45 Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs Pre-service Teacher Beliefs Many studies have acknowledged the importance of teacher beliefs (Fang, 1996; McCarty, Abbott-Shim, & Lambert, 2001; Nespor, 1987). Teaching involves multiple, simultaneous decisions related to content pedagogy, student relationships, praise and discipline, materials of instruction, and interactions with colleagues (Griffin, 1999). Teachers do not possess templates to guide their work. Rather, teachers draw upon past experiences and their own ways of approaching problems. They develop their own solutions based on their personal understanding of the circumstances (Smylie, 1994), an understanding that is rooted in their belief systems. Two factors motivate our interest in the beliefs of pre-service teachers. First, existing work indicates that students come into teacher education programs with a set of beliefs about teaching, classrooms, and children stemming from their own K-12 educational experiences (Kagan, 1992; Lortie, 1975; Pajares, 1992). This is in contrast to college students planning to work in other professions who have less direct experience upon which to base beliefs about future work. This situation creates a challenge to teacher educators striving to improve the practices of future educators. This challenge occurs because, in human learning, it is clear that it is more difficult to unlearn existing beliefs than it is to learn new beliefs (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Therefore, pre-service teachers may teach the way they remember being taught rather than using pedagogical knowledge learned in teacher education (Ginsburg & Newman, 1985; Lortie, 1975). As Pajares (1992) describes, “unexplored entering beliefs may be responsible for the perpetuation of antiquated and ineffectual teaching practices” (p. 328). Teachers’ beliefs are more malleable during the years of teacher preparation, rather than once an individual is in a classroom. So and Watkins (2005) found that pre-service teachers’ thinking changed to a more constructivist approach by their first year of teaching. A mixed-methods study conducted by Brownlee, Purdie, and Boulton-Lewis (2001) found growth in the epistemological beliefs of pre-service teachers due to a year-long reflective teaching program. Such work provides evidence to suggest that changing teacher beliefs should and can occur during the training years. Second, the majority of work on teacher beliefs is based on in-service, not pre- service teachers which pose a problem. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education recommends that teacher educators increase their awareness of beliefs of their pre-service teachers (NCATE, 2002) and Raths (2001) even goes so far as to say that beliefs should be used as one criterion for entrance into teacher education programs. Taken together, this body of work points to the importance of teacher beliefs as a useful outcome for understanding pre-service teachers’ future teaching qual- ity. We recognize an imperfect correspondence between beliefs and practices (e.g., Wilcox-Herzog, 2002). However, we posit that teacher beliefs offer a reasonable proxy for practice since it is impossible to use teaching practices as an outcome 46 Lauren E. Decker & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman for pre-service teachers. As such, the present study strives to identify predictors of teacher beliefs. Factors Likely to Predict Beliefs Personality. Teaching requires not only the ability to teach lessons, but also an understanding of the rules and routines of the school culture, the ability to col- laborate with other education professionals, and an awareness of the communities in which one teaches (e.g., Sikula, Buttery, & Guyton, 1996). People are highly variable in the degree to which they can meet these multi-level demands. Personality characteristics are likely to be important predictors of this ability. Investigating the personalities of teachers is not a novel idea, although most inquiries are not recent (Feshbach, 1969; Getzels & Jackson, 1963; Victor, 1976). A qualitative investigation by Witty (1947) was conducted into characteristics of teachers that students felt had been most helpful. Through analysis of 12,000 letters from students in grades 2-12, Witty found 12 characteristics mentioned consistently. These included flexibility, varying interests, cooperative attitudes, and interest in the students’ problems. Kenney and Kenny (1982), through administration of Cattel’s Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, compared 50 female teachers with 43 female school librarians and found that teachers were more anxious, conscientious, dutiful, and practical. Others have also suggested that certain character (tempera- ment) types more often enter the teaching profession. For example, Keirsey and Bates (1984) suggest that teachers tend to be those individuals that are practical and conscientious, or innovative and comfortable with value/emotion-laden judgments as measured by the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. Personality research has experienced a shift since these earlier studies were conducted. The greatest change has been the acceptance of the Big Five factor model of personality (John & Srivastava, 1999) which places personality traits into five categories: Neuroticism (anxious, self-conscious), Extraversion (talkative, social), Openness to Experience (independent, curious), Agreeableness (altruistic, sympathetic), and Conscientiousness (determined, reliable). These new develop- ments have not been reflected in research on teachers. Among the most common tools for assessing the five-factor model of per- sonality are the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the latter of which is used herein. Since the wide use of the five-factor model of personality, work on pre-service teacher personalities has not been revisited and thus, the current investigation represents a first exploratory step. Specifically, we examine which personality attributes relate to pre-service teacher beliefs. In doing so, it becomes critical to control for other factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, teaching program, teaching plans, and experience that have been linked to teacher beliefs. Demographic characteristics and attributes. Age, gender, and ethnicity con- tribute to beliefs that pre-service teachers hold (Richardson, 1996). In a study of 47 Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs Turkish pre-service teachers, Celep (2000) found older teachers had greater self- confidence in ability to motivate students and held more positive views of students’ willingness to learn than younger teachers. Minor, Onwuegbuzie, Witcher, and James (2002) found that men were two and a half times more likely to endorse subject knowledge as more important for effective teaching than women and minor- ity pre-service teachers were more likely to endorse enthusiasm for teaching over knowledge of subject as more important. Other characteristics of individuals may contribute to teacher beliefs; level of education, the level the pre-service teacher plans to teach (elementary or middle/ high), previous teaching experience, and whether or not teaching is only a first step to another career are a few examples. Further, beliefs may be affected by personal experiences and social histories. Doyle (1997) found that views of teaching and learning changed from more passive to more active acts of teaching depending on the years spent in an education program. Numerous studies show different belief profiles depending on whether the pre-service teacher plans to teach at elementary or middle and high school levels (Book & Freeman, 1986; Rimm-Kaufman, Storm, Sawyer, Pianta, & LaParo, 2006). Also, having experience in the classroom may strongly influence teacher beliefs. After gaining ‘real world’ experience an individual may have had some of their preconceived beliefs challenged and modified due to that challenge (Brousseau, Book, & Byers, 1988; Swanson, O’Connor, Cooney, 1990). Finally, if an individual sees teaching as merely a first step to another career goal, they may have different beliefs than an individual who views teaching as a long-term goal. We take these factors into consideration. Research Questions We addressed three research questions. First, what are the beliefs about teaching among pre-service teachers? We hypothesized variability in beliefs, but expected to see more student than teacher-centered beliefs (Minor, et al., 2002). Second, what are the personality characteristics of pre-service teachers? We hypothesized that pre-service teachers score differently from an average sample of their college-age peers because they share the intent to become teachers. Third, in what ways do per- sonality factors and other pre-service teacher demographics and attributes, predict beliefs about teaching? We hypothesized that personality characteristics would be predictive of pre-service teacher beliefs, even after accounting for demographic variables and other attributes. Methods Participants Participants were 397 pre-service teachers enrolled in the teacher education program at the University of Virginia; 288 were enrolled in a five-year teacher edu- cation program and 109 were enrolled in a two-year master of teaching program. 48 Lauren E. Decker & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman All pre-service teachers enrolled in a required Learning and Development course over three years were invited to participate. Pre-service teachers were given the choice of participating in the study or completing a paper for course credit. Of the 476 pre-service teachers enrolled, 90.8% chose to participate, yielding a sample of 432. Three hundred-eight were currently enrolled in the five-year teacher education program and in the third year of study, while 124 were in the first year of a two-year masters of teaching program. To strengthen generalizability, 33 individuals 2 SD above/below the mean for age, years of full-time teaching experience, and years as a teaching assistant, were eliminated from the study (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). Two participants were also excluded because they already had a master’s degree. The final sample was comprised of 397 participants (288 in a five-year program, 109 in a two-year masters program). The final sample was comprised of 323 females and 74 males, 332 of whom were Caucasian with an average age of 21.20(SD = 2.20). The majority (79%; n = 312) had no formal teaching experience prior to school. Because so few participants were of ethnic minority or had teaching experience, ethnicity and teaching experience are dichotomous. Design and Procedures Data were collected over three years (02-04). Pre-service teachers were invited to participate during the first 7 weeks of the semester by a third party investigator (who was not the instructor). Participants completed three measures; a student de- mographic questionnaire, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and the Teacher Beliefs Q-sort (TBQ). Measures Demographic questionnaire. This 18-item questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics including age, gender, ethnicity, years of formal and informal teaching experience, and the level they plan to teach (elementary or middle/high school). NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). This measure assessed personality based on a five-factor model (Costa and McCrae, 1992). This 60-item version of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) assesses: neuroticism (N; “I often feel inferior to others”), extroversion (E; “I really enjoy talking to people”), openness (O; “I have a lot of intellectual curiosity”), agreeableness (A; “I generally try to be thoughtful and considerate”), and conscientiousness (C; “I strive for excellence in everything I do”). Students responded on a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Teacher Beliefs Q-sort (TBQ). The Q-sort exercise was used to assess the par- ticipants’ beliefs about three categories: (1) beliefs and priorities about discipline and behavior management, (2) beliefs and priorities about classroom practices, and (3) beliefs about children. The TBQ (Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2006) consists of three, 20-item Q-sort exercises, one each to the categories listed above. For each Q-sort, 49 Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs five anchor cards (ranging from “least characteristic” to “most characteristic” of beliefs) and 20 statement cards were provided. Participants were asked to place only 4 statement cards under each anchor card, forcing prioritization of the statements. Results Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) and correlation coefficients were computed for all variables. The summative method (Burt, 1940; Block, 1961) and a factor analysis (principal components analysis using varimax rotation) were conducted on all three Q-sets. A parallel analysis (O’Connor, 2000) was conducted (setting p = .05) to determine the number of factors. T-tests and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were also calculated for the NEO-FFI composites using the normative sample presented by Costa and McCrae (1992). The normative sample consisted of 389 college students from ages 17-20. One hundred and thirty (40 males and 90 fe- males) were from a Canadian sample and 259 (108 males and 151 females) were from the Southeastern United States. Finally, four three-step regression analyses were computed to account for variance in the following pre-service teacher belief factors which were generated from the factor analysis. Description of Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers The summative method described the most and least common beliefs on each of the three Q-sort sets (see Table 1). The pre-service teachers expressed a very proactive approach to discipline, emphasized practices directed toward students’ metacognitive growth, reflected concern for the social experience of children, and emphasized children’s active involvement in their own learning. The factor analysis revealed four factors describing teacher priorities: (1) teacher-centered classroom environment, (2) implicit structures/focus on process, (3) teacher-directed instruction, and (4) negative view of students’ motivation (See Table 2 for factor loadings and communalities). Factors 1, 2, 3, and 4 were found to have corresponding Cronbach’s alphas of .63, .65, .66, and .65, respectively. Although the Cronbach’s alphas are on the low side, these are considered accept- able given the “forced choice” nature of the TBQ. As such, only four cards can be grouped in each category. For example, only 4 statements can be rated as highest priority, and so forth. Personality Characteristics T-tests show pre-service teachers scored higher on all five factors compared to the normed sample. (Two participants had missing data on the NEO-FFI and were not included in the following analyses.) Compared to a normative sample of their peers, the pre-service teachers scored higher on the neuroticism scale (t = 12.79, p < .001, d = .93). As such, they appeared to be more anxious (“I often feel tense and jittery”) and self-conscious (“I often feel inferior to others”) than a normative sample. 50 Lauren E. Decker & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman Table 1. Description of Pre-Service Teachers’ Lowest and Highest Items on the Teacher Belief Q-Sort. Q1: Beliefs and Priorities about Discipline and Behavior Management • Low: o Peer interactions are best left to recess and snack time. o Students learn best in primarily teacher-directed classrooms. o Extrinsic rewards for desirable behavior (e.g., stickers, candy bars) undermine student’s motivation; it’s better not to give such rewards at all. o The curriculum and class schedule need to be prioritized over students’ specific interests. • High: o Classroom rules should be discussed and posted. o When students are engaged in interesting problems and challenging activities, they tend to have very few discipline problems. o A classroom runs smoothly when there are clear expectations for behavior. o If I treat students with respect, kindness, and concern, there are less behavior problems. Q2: Beliefs and Priorities about Classroom Practices • Low: o Using hand signals. o Discussing a written announcement or message created by the teacher. o Using drill and recitation for factual information (math facts, etc.). o Using work sheets. • High: o Doing an activity to create a sense of community. o Modeling behaviors for students. o Encouraging students and giving feedback that focuses on the process of students’ creations or thinking, not the outcomes or the solutions. o Reflecting on the content of an academic lesson and talking about what we learned. Q3: Beliefs about Students • Low: o Students seldom take care of their materials if they are not supervised. o Some students show little desire to learn. o Many of the students in my class try to get away with doing as little work as possible. o Almost all students are equally likeable and enjoyable. • High: o Students should feel as though they are “known” and “recognized” in the classroom. o Students meet challenges best when they feel that their teachers care about them. o Students need to feel safe and secure in the classroom. o Students learn best by being actively involved in lessons. 51 Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs Table 2. Factor Loadings for Four-Factor Solution of the 60-item TBQ on Pre-Service Teacher Beliefs. Item Factor Communality Loading Factor 1: Teacher-Centered Classroom Environment Students must be kept busy doing activities or they soon get into trouble. .35 .16 When students are engaged in interesting problems and challenging activities, they tend to have very few discipline problems. -.31 .15 Peer interactions are best left to recess and snack time. .54 .34 The curriculum and class schedule need to be prioritized over students’ specific interests. .33 .15 Students learn best in primarily teacher-directed classrooms. .47 .31 If I treat students with respect, kindness, and concern, there are fewer behavior problems. -.52 .32 Using hand signals. .36 .15 Students should feel as though they are “known” and “recognized” in the classroom. -.32 .11 Students seldom take care of their materials if they are not supervised. .52 .36 Students need to feel safe and secure in the classroom. -.36 .21 Students learn best by being actively involved in lessons. -.45 .25 Factor 2: Implicit Practices/Focus on Process The primary goal in dealing with students’ behavior is to establish and maintain control. -.35 .25 A noisy classroom is okay as long as all the students are being productive. .32 .19 A classroom runs smoothly when there are clear expectations for behavior. -.43 .28 Classroom rules should be discussed and posted. -.35 .20 It is important to respect students’ autonomy and expect them to act in a responsible manner. .41 .31 Students should try to solve conflicts on their own before going to the teacher. .30 .11 Rules for the students’ classroom behavior need to be reinforced consistently. -.42 .20 Having a morning routine. -.58 .37 Talking about our plan or schedule for the day. -.38 .15 Having at least a few students share something that has happened to them. .35 .16 Conducting the business of the classroom (e.g. collecting lunch or milk money) following a set routine. -.53 .33 52 Lauren E. Decker & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman Table 2 (Continued) Item Factor Communality Loading Reflecting and talking about something, such as a social interaction, that “worked” or “didn’t work” in our class. .42 .21 Encouraging students and giving feedback that focuses on the process of students’ creations or thinking, not the outcomes or the solutions. .35 .19 Factor 3: Teacher-Directed Instruction Doing an activity to create a sense of community. -.40 .20 Using drill and recitation for factual information (math facts, etc.). .49 .36 Modeling behaviors for students. -.32 .22 Using work sheets. .46 .34 Permitting students to choose from a variety of activities. -.51 .33 Using whole group instruction. .37 .26 Students need some choice of activities within the classroom. -.51 .30 Students need to work on skills at which they are not good, even if it means giving them fewer choices. .39 .18 Students need opportunities to be creative in the classroom. -.31 .25 Factor 4: Negative view of students’ motivation Almost all children in my class try their best. -.56 .42 Many of the students in my class try to get away with doing as little work as possible. .60 .45 Almost all students are equally likeable and enjoyable. -.59 .37 Most students respect teachers and authority. -.40 .33 Some students show little desire to learn. .63 .46 Students are more motivated by grades than they are by the acquisition of competence. .57 .42 Note. N = 371. Total percent variance accounted for is 20.76%. 53 Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs Pre-service teachers were higher in extraversion than a normative sample (t = 33.71, p < .001, d = 2.45). As such, they described themselves as more warm (“I really enjoy talking to people”) and excitement seeking (“I like to be where the action is”). Compared to a normative sample of their peers, pre-service teach- ers scored higher on openness (t = 32.98, p < .001, d = 2.40). For example, they described themselves as more open to novel actions (“I often try new and foreign foods”) and having more open ideas (“I often enjoy playing with theories or abstract ideas”) than their counterparts. Pre-service teachers were more agreeable than the normative sample (t = 43.23, p < .001, d = 3.15). They were more altruistic (“I try to be courteous to everyone I meet”) and less trusting (“I believe that most people will take advantage of you if you let them”). Finally, the pre-service teachers scored higher than the normative sample on conscientiousness (t = 31.38, p < .001, d = 2.28). They described themselves as more achievement striving (“I strive for excellence in everything I do”) and self- disciplined (“I’m pretty good about pacing myself so as to get things done on time”). Effect sizes across personality scales were all large in size. Predictors of Beliefs and Priorities Four three-step regression analyses were conducted; one for each teacher belief factor. Participants were included if data were complete, resulting in a sample of 357. The same approach was used for all four three-step regression analyses. The first step, to control for inherent demographic differences consisted of: age of the participant, gender (0 = male and 1 = female), and ethnicity (0 = non-Caucasian and 1 = Caucasian). The second step consisted of pre-service teacher attributes to account for unique variance that may be attributed to such attributes: program (0 = five-year teacher education program and 1 = two-year masters of teaching pro- gram), teaching experience (0 = no experience and 1 = any experience), level the participant plans to teach (1 = elementary and 2 = middle/high), and teaching as a first step to another career (0 = no and 1 = yes). The third step consisted of scores for each of the five personality composites: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Table 3 includes the findings of each three- step regression analysis. The first belief factor was teacher-centered classroom environment. Gender was found to be significant. Male pre-service teachers were more likely to endorse a teacher-centered classroom environment than female pre-service teachers. This model explained 7% of the variance. Four predictors were found to predict implicit structures/focus on process, a model explaining 28% of the variance. Pre-service teachers who were non-Cau- casian, male, more open, and/or less conscientious were more likely to endorse implicit structures (“It is important to respect students’ autonomy and expect them 54