Personality Characteristics and Teacher Beliefs Among Pre-Service Teachers (Report‪)‬

Teacher education is at a cross-road. Public interest in school reform has increased 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 to understand what pre-service teachers need to learn, it is critically important to understand what they already believe and what personal attributes (e.g., personality) they have that may relate to their beliefs and learning. The present paper asks three questions about pre-service teachers. First, what are the prevalent beliefs about teaching among pre-service teachers? Second, what are the personality characteristics of pre-service teachers? Third, in what ways do personality traits and other demographic attributes predict beliefs about teaching? Findings have implications for the consideration of such attributes in teacher education programs.