Paper 5: Preservice Teachers’ Disposition Self-Appraisals: Is There a Connection to Mathematics Instructional Practices?

This paper explores preservice teachers’ dispositions and the connection to mathematics instructional practices. The Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy served as the theoretical grounding for the study. Hence, its three broad propositions: conceptions of self and others, social relations, and conceptions of knowledge structure the argument presented. The participants in the study are elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a post-baccalaureate alternative certification program. The full-time, accelerated program focuses on and is specifically designed for individuals committed to teaching in urban, high-poverty schools. A dispositions survey, open-ended narratives, and teaching observation rubric served as data sources for the qualitative study. Findings indicate a connection between dispositions and instructional practices; however, nuances existed between the components of culturally relevant pedagogy. Introduction The field of psychology has long been engaged in unlocking the complexities of the human mind. In recent years, however, education scholars have attempted to understand the power of thought and its implications for teaching and learning. One might argue that the mind is the most prevailing facet of a human being. As the United States and its schools become more diverse, the notions that teachers hold about various student demographic groups becomes increasingly significant. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by the year 2042 Whites will no longer make up the majority in the U.S. They estimate that by 2050 Whites will comprise 46% of the population, Hispanics 30%, African Americans 15%, and Asians 9%. The National Center for Education Statistics indicates that in 2003 U.S. public elementary and secondary schools were 58.7% White, 17.2% Black, and 18.5% Hispanic. In contrast, its teachers were 83.1% White, 7.9% Black, and 6.2% Hispanic (Strizek et al., 2006). These statistics highlight the fact that most Black and Hispanic children will be taught by a teacher that does not share their racial/ethnic background. In addition to being racially and culturally diverse, U.S. public schools are also linguistically and socioeconomically diverse. Nineteen percent of students speak a language other than English at home (Rooney, 2006). Further, the U.S. Census Bureau data reveals that 18% of children under eighteen years old are living in poverty. With such demographics it is critical that preservice teachers be adequately prepared to provide effective, high-quality mathematics instruction to all students regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, culture, or other characteristics. Now, more than ever equity in mathematics education is critically salient. Teachers must function as agents of change and challenge the pervasive societal belief that only some students are capable of learning mathematics. They must hold high expectations for all students and challenge the implicit, often unspoken, notion that only the experiences of some students are valuable and reflect mathematical knowledge. The lived experiences, prior knowledge, intellectual strengths, and personal interests of all students should be valued and utilized as a springboard for learning. Therefore, mathematics teachers must reconceptualize the nature of students’ mathematical knowledge, bridging informal and formal mathematical experiences, and providing students opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of mathematics in a multitude of ways. If these goals are to be met, it is important that teachers hold excellence-oriented views toward all students and those views are explicitly reflected in all aspects of the mathematics teaching and learning process – instructional planning, decision making, practices, and classroom community. Given the critical significance of reaching all mathematics learners, this study sought to examine the connection between preservice teachers’ disposition self-appraisals and their mathematics instructional practices. In essence, are the views teachers express congruent with what they do in the classroom? Theoretical Framework The Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995) served as the theoretical grounding for framing elementary preservice teachers’ self-appraisals of their dispositions. Ladson-Billings asserts that culturally relevant teachers exhibit the following broad qualities with respect to the underlying propositions: (a) Conceptions of self and others suggests that culturally relevant teachers hold high expectations for all students and believe all students are capable of achieving academic excellence; (b) social relations infers that culturally relevant teachers establish and maintain positive teacher-student relationships and classroom learning community as well as are passionate about teaching and view it as a service to the community; and (c) conceptions of knowledge suggests that culturally relevant teachers view knowledge as fluid and facilitate students’ ability to construct their own understanding. Ladson-Billings’ work provides a context for illuminating instructional practices that facilitate the academic success and cultural competence of traditionally underserved student populations. Hence, it is salient for the goal of the study. Methodology The fourteen participants in the study are elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a postbaccalaureate alternative certification program. The full-time, accelerated program focuses on and is specifically designed for individuals committed to teaching in urban, high-poverty schools. A dispositions survey, open-ended narratives, and teaching observation rubric served as data sources for the study. All three sets of data were collected during the same semester. The dispositions survey utilized in the study is a component of the program assessment preservice teachers complete at the end of their program. The disposition items on the survey are based on the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards. Preservice teachers are asked to self-rate their demonstrated level of knowledge on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not demonstrated; 2 basic; 3 developing; 4 proficient; and 5 advanced. For this purpose of this study the disposition items were categorized and analyzed with respect to the broad propositions of culturally relevant pedagogy: conceptions of self and others, social relations, and conceptions of knowledge. See table 1. Table 1. Disposition Items aligned with Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Proposition: Conceptions of Self and Others Rating Not Demonstrated 1 Basic