Looking back and moving forward: Three tensions in the teacher dispositions discourse

Diaz, M.E. (2007). Looking back and moving forward: Three tensions in the teacher dispositions discourse. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(5), 388-396.


I get the feeling from Diaz’s article that the current push to assess and use teacher dispositions in teacher education programs is a slippery slope, but I also get the idea that Diaz thinks it’s important to proceed with our work in dispositions in spite of the uncertainty.

Diaz has been at the center of all the recent discourse on dispositions, so she qualifies as an expert. Here, she lays out for us the history of the discourse and three key tensions that are at its heart. It’s all in how we view the construct: Is it a stable trait or amenable to development? Is it a separate thing, or is it tied holistically to knowledge and skills? Is it about screening to keep out those we deem “unfit,” or is it about building a professional community?

I worry about dispositions assessment, yet I know dispositions are the “bottom line,” both for teachers and for the students they will teach.