Some personality characteristics of student teachers of guidance
Creators: name: Thompson, Sheilah Doreen
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: Problem. The problem of this study was to ascertain whether selected personality dimensions that can be hypothesized from a model stressing positive health relate to success in practice teaching in Guidance. Prom clinically observed behaviours of self-actualized people, three were selected as relevant: flexibility, self-acceptance, and concern for others. The general hypothesis of the study was: there will be a positive relationship between ratings of student teachers and their scores on selected measures. Methods of Investigation. The selected personality dimensions were measured by the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory and of the California Psychological Inventory, and by scores on five supplementary measures: the Haigh-Butler Q sort, the Dymond Adjustment scale, a case study, a questionnaire, and a lesson plan. These constituted the independent variables of the study. Two types of criteria were used: a Faculty of Education rating of student teaching, and ratings based on the teaching of a demonstration lesson. The sample of this study was limited to student teachers of the University of British Columbia, winter session 1966-67, enrolled in Education 404 (Curriculum and Instruction in the Teaching of Guidance) in the professional year of training for teaching in secondary schools. Simple correlation, multiple regression, the discriminant function, and image analysis were used in the analysis of relationships between the independent variables and the criteria. General Conclusions Four research questions were asked. The first was: how strong a relationship will exist between the scores on the independent variables and the University ratings? Significant correlations were found between this criterion and the following variables: Capacity for status (CPI), Existentiality (POI), the Q, sort, and the case study. Correlations in the POI measure and the Q sort were negative. The second question: how strong a relationship will exist between ratings given by students and by adult judges to student teachers, on the basis of demonstration lessons and their scores on the instruments used? The criterion of students’ ratings proved to be non-discriminating, and therefore was not formally analyzed. On the adult judges' ratings, significant correlations, all in the negative direction, were found between this criterion and the following: Self-actualization total (POI), Time competence (POI), Inner directedness (.POI), Self- actualizing values (POI), and Existentiality (P0I). To answer the third question: will scores on the independent variables contribute anything to the classification of student teachers of Guidance as superior and non-superior on either criterion, t tests for significance between means were performed on four different groupings, and the general results were in the direction of the previous findings, i.e. a direction opposite to that hypothesized,, The fourth question: will dealing with patterns of scores through multivariate procedures yield more information about the student teachers than univariate techniques? The results were in general agreement with the results of univariate techniques, viz., scales the model indicated should select good criterion people in fact did not; indeed, the reverse tended to be true. The use of image analysis on the Q-sort answers further corroborated these findings. Four interpretable factors were isolated, the characteristics of those people loading heavily on one factor appearing to be similar to those hypothesized in the model. Generally, however, the relationship with criteria was a negative one. The major conclusion of the study is quite clear: the hypothesis that student teachers rated as self-actualized and well-adjusted as measured on the scales of the instruments of this study would be judged as superior in performance was not supported. In fact, the correlation was negative. Examination of the data from the instruments gave no evidence that these findings could be attributed to the uniqueness of the sample.