A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CLUSTER PROGRAM AND THE CONVENTIONAL PROGRAM
OF STUDENT TEACHING IN THE SAGINAW AREA
WITH REFERENCE TO STEREOTYPIC BELIEFS
AND ATTITUDE FORMATION

By
James Arthur Parker

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum

1971

PLEASE NOTE:
Some Pages have i n d i s t i n c t
p rin t.
F i l m e d as r e c e i v e d .
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS

ABSTRACT

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CLUSTER PROGRAM AND THE CONVENTIONAL PROGRAM
OF STUDENT TEACHING IN THE SAGINAW AREA
WITH REFERENCE TO STEREOTYPIC BELIEFS
AND ATTITUDE FORMATION
By
James Arthur Parker

Purpose of the Study
This study was designed to compare the Michigan
State University Conventional Program of student teaching
with the Cluster Program with reference to stereotypic
beliefs and attitude formation.

Information was obtained

to answer the following questions about the effectiveness
of the programs:

(1) Do student teachers in the Cluster

Program show a higher gain score as measured by the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, which reflects
attitudes toward pupils and teaching as a profession, than
student teachers in the Conventional Program?

(2)

Do

student teachers in the Cluster Program show a higher gain
score as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs

(Stereotypic

Beliefs), which reflects beliefs which are adaptive,
flexible, and democratic toward people, than student
teachers in the Conventional Program?

James Arthur Parker

Methodology
This was a comparative study in which eighteen
student teachers in the Cluster Program and sixteen student
teachers in the Conventional Program at the Michigan State
University-Saginaw Student Teaching Center spring term,
1971, were given a pre-test of the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory, the Inventory of Beliefs, and a
Personal Data Form the first week of student teaching, and
a post-test of the inventories the tenth and final week
of student teaching.

The Multivariate Analysis of V a r i ­

ance was used as the statistical model.

Findings of the Study
1.

The student teachers in the Cluster Program showed
a higher positive gain score on the Inventory of
Beliefs than the student teachers in the Con­
ventional Program, but the gain score was not
statistically significant.

2.

The student teachers in the Cluster Program showed
a higher negative gain score on the Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory than the student
teachers in the Conventional Program, but the gain
score was not statistically significant.

3.

There was a difference between the gain scores of
the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minnesota Teacher

James Arthur Parker
Attitude Inventory in the Cluster and Conventional
Programs, but the difference was not statistically
significant.

There was not a statistically significant effect
on gain scores to indicate a relationship between
sex and the attitudes and stereotypic beliefs of
student teachers.

There was not a statistically significant effect
on gain scores to indicate a relationship between
grade-point average and the attitudes and stereo­
typic beliefs of student teachers.

Recommendations
Reassess the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory
and devise additional research instruments to
determine affective development of teachers.

Design additional studies to evaluate the effec­
tiveness of the Cluster Program, including a random
sample of all student teachers in Cluster Programs
of Michigan State University around the state of
Michigan in comparison with a random sample of
Conventional Programs of Michigan State University.

Examine the relationship between attitudes,
teacher b e h a v i o r s , and reactions to teacher
behaviors in the classroom.

actual

James Arthur Parker

Assess and observe students in the teacher e d u ­
cation program over a two or three-year period to
determine their patterns of growth, using various
inventories on attitudes and achievement.

DEDICATION

To my wife, Carol and two sons, Tim
and Christopher, who have been most patient
and understanding during this experience,
and to my parents, Floyd and Marion Parker,
this thesis is dedicated with my love.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
\

Acknowledgment is gratefully extended to the
following people whose help, assistance, and advice aided
in developing this study.
To Dr. George Myers my special appreciation for
t

serving as chairman of the dissertation committee.
To Dr. Dale Alam, Dr. Robert Hatfield, and
Dr.

Sheldon Cherney my thanks for serving as members of

the doctoral guidance committee.
To Dr. Arden Moon,

student teaching coordinator in

the Saginaw area, my thanks for his assistance in
arranging for the collection of the data.
And to Mary Kennedy, of the Office of Research
Consultation, Michigan State University, my gratitude for
her many hours of help in the statistical analysis and
computer programming of the data in this study.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

Page

I.INTRODUCTION ........................................

t

The Need for the Study . . . . . . . .
Conventional Pro g r a m ...........................
Cluster Program
...............................
Purpose of the St u d y .....................
7
Hypotheses .......................
Definition of Terms Used in the Study . . .
Scope of the S t u d y .......................12
Limitations of the S t u d y ................ 12
O v e r v i e w ........... ......................

1
1
4
5
8
9

13

II.REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.................. 15
M e t h o d o l o g y ................................. 15
The Nature and Function of Attitudes
. . .
Attitude Change
...............................
Implications for Teacher Education and
Student Teaching ...............................
Personality and Personality Traits . . . .
Implications for Teacher Education . . . .
Sex and Grade-Point Average as Variables . .
Summary

17
20
24
29
34
40
42

III.DESIGN OF THE S T U D Y .............................44
Me t h o d o l o g y ................................. 44
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory
. . .
Scoring the Minnesota Teacher Attitude
I n v e n t o r y ................................. 51
The Inventory of B e l i e f s ................ 51
Scoring the Inventory of Beliefs......... 55
S u m m a r y .................................... 56
IV.PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA.

. . .

Hypothesis O n e ............................. 63
Hypothesis T w o
Hypothesis Three ...............................

46

57

63
64

Page

Chapter
Hypothesis F o u r ...............................
Hypothesis F i v e ...............................
Interaction of the Treatments by GradePoint A v e r a g e . ...............................
V.

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . .
S u m m a r y .........................................
Findings
D i s c u s s i o n......................................
Recommendations.. .............................

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................

64
65
66
71
71
73
74
79
82

APPENDICES
Appendix
A.

Personal Data F o r m ...............................

88

B.

Inventory of B e l i e f s ............................

89

C.

Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.

98

v

. . .

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

4.1.

Design of the Study

4.2.

Individual Scores on the Inventory of Beliefs.

4.3.

(Cell Frequencies)

. . .

59

Individual Scores on the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory

4.4.

Index of Responses

(Means)

4.5.

Multivariate Analysis of V a r i a n c e ......

4.6.

T-Test of Hypothesis Three

vi

58

.

.....................

60
61

62

.....................

65

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure
4.1.

4.2.
'

Page
Interaction of Treatments x Grade-Point
Average on the Inventory of Beliefs . . .

67

Interaction of Treatments x Grade-Point
Average on the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory

68

vii

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The Need for the Study
Teacher educators have raised basic questions for
many years regarding the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs.

What makes an effective teacher?

What

experiences are essential for the preparation of a teacher?
Similar questions have been raised by various people.
Ryans has stated:
Relatively little reliable information is available
regarding the nature of a good teacher and the teacher
characteristics which contribute to it, in spite of
the recognition and lip service accorded to good
teaching. . . . Without losing sight of the important
need for developing the means of recognizing good
teachers, attention of research might first more
properly be directed toward the identification and
estimation of some of the major patterns of teacher
behavior.^
The difficulty then lies in gaining a perception of
the concept of teacher effectiveness.

In looking at the

characteristics of an effective teacher, a variety of
skills and abilities tend to center around

(1) those

David R y a n s , Characteristics of Teachers:
Their
Description, Comparison, and Appraisal (Washington, D.C.:
American Council on Education, 1960), pp. 1-2.

1

2

mental abilities cognitive in nature, and

(2) those

abilities stemming from the teacher's personality—
interests, beliefs,

and attitudes.

2

The intellectual

characteristics of teachers can be measured with con­
siderable success but relatively little information is
available about the second group of characteristics—
those commonly classified in the composite of "person3
ality" of the teacher.
M u c h of the research has been
done on the person's cognitive development but a greater
concern is currently being placed on the affective
development.

Through the utilization of attitudes,

beliefs, and specific teacher traits, the personality of
the teacher has become an important tool in the assessment
of an effective teacher.

Getzels and Jackson conclude

that:
Despite the critical importance of the problem and
a half-century of prodigious research effort, very
little is known for certain about the nature and
measurement of teacher personality and teacher e f f e c ­
tiveness. . . . What is needed is not research leading
to reiteration of the self-evident but the discovery
of specific and distinct features of teacher person­
ality and teacher effect i v e n e s s .4
Before completing the requirements for a teaching
certificate, the prospective teacher is exposed to an

^I b i d . , p.

4.

^Ibi d .

^J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson, "The Teacher's
Personality and Characteristics," Handbook of Research on
Teaching, ed. by N. L. Gage (Chicago:
Rand McNally & Co.,
1963), p. 508.

3
enormous amount of i d e a s , m a t e r i a l s , and experiences in
the teacher education program.

Considerable emphasis in

the program seems to be placed upon the student teaching
portion, where the student is directly exposed to a
classroom experience and learns to work with children,
teachers, administrators, and other personnel of the
school in which he is operating.

The differing perceptions

that student teachers hold of student teaching is a field
of study that has not been widely researched.

Reliable

data is required if progress is to be made in encouraging
different styles and models for teaching.

Combs stated in

1965:
If teacher education is to be concerned with
changing student perception, we need clear definitions
of what the perceptual organizations of effective
teachers are like.
We need a tremendous research
effort to explore that question w ith greatest possible
speed.
Already there is a quickening of interest in
these matters, and it is probable that we shall have
detailed experimental evidence in considerable
quantities within the next four or five y e a r s . ^
Along with reference to the characteristics of
student teachers, it seemed desirable to incorporate into
the study the two programs or models of student teaching
used at Michigan State University.

These two models, the

"Conventional" Program and the "Cluster" Program, will be
discussed in greater detail.

5
Arthur W. C o m b s , The Professxonal Education of
Teachers:
A Perceptual View of Teacher Education (Boston:
Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 1965), p. 19.

4

Conventional Program
The general practice in the past has been a Con­
ventional Program of student teaching where the student
teachers are placed with supervising teachers on a oneto-one basis.

Activities are planned by that supervising

teacher with some assistance from the student teaching
coordinator.

The student teacher works and plans with the

supervising teacher, taking over various responsibilities
as the supervising teacher feels that the student teacher
is' qualified to do so.

Additional experiences beyond the

classroom setting are planned at the discretion of the
supervising teacher.

Generally the student teacher spends

most of his experience modeling after the one teacher in
the one classroom setting.
The student teachers usually meet in a seminar in
the respective buildings where they do their teaching, in
a university center, or somewhere in the school district.
The content of these meetings depends upon the needs of
the student teachers and coordinators.

These seminars are

generally held weekly or bi-weekly.
The student teachers are generally selected to
work with the supervising teacher by the coordinator on
the basis of needs and concerns previously obtained from
both individuals.
cooperatively.

They are paired in order to work

5

Cluster Program
The Cluster Program was developed for various
reasons.

The ultimate concern was to find a better method

of bringing the public schools and the university together
in a teacher education program.

An additional option was

desirable where student teachers were given experience
outside the classroom and the opportunity was provided to
observe more than one teacher model.

The university and

public schools were interested in providing increased inservice growth opportunities for a building staff and
greater opportunity to institute new ideas and programs
into the classroom; i.e., a specific problem of the school
community could be analyzed.

When considering the needs

of a student teacher, the program would

(1) attempt to

provide contact with several experienced teachers and
various teaching styles;

(2) seek to provide many other

school and community experiences for the student teacher
in addition to working with the classroom teacher; and
(3) provide greater flexibility for the student teacher so
that strengths and weaknesses of the individual teacher

0
would determine the specific program each would follow.
In addition to the coordinator of the program or the
director of the student teaching center, a "clinical

6

Charles Jackson, "Proposal for Implementing a
Cluster Program," Student Teaching Office, Michigan State
University, November 12, 1969.
(Mimeographed.)

6

consultant" directs each cluster which contains from ten
to thirteen student teachers per term.

The clinical

consultant might meet with the student teachers almost on
a daily basis to discuss various problems or concerns that
may arise, and also assist the student teachers in
exposure to other facets of the total school and community
program.

He communicates directly with the school faculty,

building and central administrators, and university
faculty.
The administrators,

faculty, and clinical c o n ­

sultant are involved together in the selection of p r o ­
spective student teachers.

The student teachers are

actually assigned to the total building rather than to a
specific supervising teacher.

Still a base

(supervising)

teacher may be designated to work with a specific student
teacher to provide some in-class teaching experiences, some
supervision, and some laboratory experience in the total
school.
Three previous studies concerned with the C o n ­
ventional and Cluster Programs provide insight into the
problem of this study and further need for a study of this
type.

McLevie,

(sex, class,

7

in analyzing nine demographic variables

status, etc.)

found there was no large

difference in the Cluster or Conventional type of

John G. McLevie, "An Examination of Teaching C o n ­
cerns Reported by Secondary Student Teachers" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1970).

Q

placement.
SERL Project

Chase

studied the Conventional Program and the

(Secondary Education Residency L a n s i n g ) , a

program with some elements similar to the Cluster Program,
and found that student teachers in the SERL Project
reflected a greater positive change in attitudes and
openness to experience in comparison to the student
teachers in the Conventional Program.

He recommended

further evaluation of these models of student teaching,
incorporating additional variables and doing the research
in other Michigan State University regional student
9
teaching centers.
Price
found a higher gain score on
attitude change of student teachers in the Cluster Program
than attitude change of student teachers in the Conventional
Program, but there was no significant difference between
student teachers in the Cluster and Conventional Programs.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to compare the
Michigan State University Conventional Program of student
teaching with the Cluster Program regarding personality

O
Donald J. Chase, "A Comparative Study of the Co­
operative Michigan State University-Lansing SERL Project
and the Conventional Program of Student Teaching with
Reference to Openness and Attitude Formation" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971).
g

William J. Price, "A Study of the Effects of the
Student Teaching Experience and the Student Teaching
Assignment Upon the Educational Attitudes of Secondary
Student Teachers at Michigan State University" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971).

8
traits or stereotypic beliefs as measured by the Inventory
of Beliefs and attitude formation as measured by the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.

These two variables

were used to answer the following questions about the
effectiveness of the Cluster Program in relation to the
Conventional Program:

(1) Do student teachers in the

Cluster Program show a higher gain score as measured by
the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, which reflects
attitudes toward pupils and teaching as a profession, than
student teachers in the Conventional Program?

(2) Do

student teachers in the Cluster Program show a higher gain
score as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs, which
reflects beliefs which are adaptive,

flexible, and d emo­

cratic toward p e o p l e , than student teachers in the C o n ­
ventional Program?

This was a comparative study in which

student teachers in the Cluster and Conventional Programs
at the Michigan State University-Saginaw Student Teaching
Center were given a pre-test during the first week of
student teaching and a post-test during the tenth week.

Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested in this study:
1.

Following their laboratory experience, the
student teachers in the Cluster Program will not
show a higher gain score as measured by the
Inventory of Beliefs (Personality Traits or Stereo­
typic Beliefs) than student teachers in the
Conventional Program.

2.

Following their laboratory experience, the student
teachers in the Cluster Program will not show a
higher gain score as measured by the Minnesota

9

Teacher Attitude Inventory than student teachers
in the Conventional Program.
3.

There will not be a difference between the gain
scores of the Inventory of Beliefs and the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory in the Cluster
and Conventional Programs.

4.

Sex differences will not have an effect on gain
scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic
Beliefs as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs and
attitudes as measured by the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory in both the Cluster and Con­
ventional Programs.

5.

Grade-point averages will not have an effect on
gain scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic
Beliefs as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs
and attitudes as measured by the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory in both the Cluster and Con­
ventional Programs.

Definition of Terms Used in the Study
Student Te a c h e r .— A prospective teacher who is
involved in the teacher education program of Michigan
State University on a full-time ten-week basis and is
engaged in his laboratory experience phase in a selected
school setting.

Supervising T e a c h e r .— A full-time teacher employed
in a public school system and selected to work directly
with the student teacher in the classroom.

Student Teaching C o ordinator.— A member of the
Michigan State University faculty who regularly visits and
observes student teachers.

He usually has additional

responsibilities for on-campus and off-campus seminars or
college courses.

The coordinator of a Cluster Program also

10

devotes a significant amount of time to in-service activi­
ties with the clinical consultants.

Clinical C o n s ultant.— A teacher employed jointly by
the local school system and the university, who devotes
half-time in a school building to the Cluster Program and
half-time to the regular public school program.

This

person is responsible for student teaching assignments in
the building, instruction to student teachers on such
matters as lesson planning, coordination of cluster
activities,

and leadership in counseling, evaluation, and

feedback.

Cluster Pro g r a m .— A Michigan State University
student teaching program in which a group of student
teachers

(ten to thirteen) works with a number of super­

vising teachers under the direction of a clinical con­
sultant in a public school system.

Conventional Pro g r a m .— A Michigan State University
student teaching program in which the student teachers are
assigned to supervising teachers in a public school system
on a one-to-one basis.

Personality Traits or Stereotypic B e l i e f s .— An
index of personality structure in terms of the in d i v i d u a l 1s
relation to

(1) ideas and intellectual abstractions,

social groups and identifications,

(3) interpersonal

(2)

11
relations, and

(4) the self.^^

These levels of personal

involvement are indications of the kind of psychological
maturity the individual possesses;

for example, a person

who is mature, flexible, adaptive, and democratic in his
relationships with others versus a person who is immature,
rigid in outlook, compulsive, and authoritarian in his
relationships with o t h e r s . ^

Attitude Form a t i o n .— The specific mental dispo­
sition toward an incoming or arising experience whereby
that experience is modified, or a condition for a certain
type of activity.

12

The modifications of experiences are

the result of the interaction of the multitude of factors
such as academic and social intelligence, general knowledge
and abilities,

social skills, personality traits, and

energy, and such modifications of experiences afford a key
to the prediction of the type of social atmosphere a
teacher will maintain in the classroom.

13

■^Paul L. Dressel and Lewis B. Mayhew, General
Education:
Explorations in Evaluation (Washington, D.C.:
American Council on Education, 1954), p. 216.
■^Irvin J. Lehmann and Paul L. Dressel, "Changes
in Critical Thinking, Attitudes, and Values Associated with
College Attendance" (Michigan State University, Cooperative
Research Project No. 1646, Office of Education, HEW, 1963),
p. 27.
(Mimeographed.)
12
(Boston:

H.
C. Warren, e d . , Dictionary of Psychology
Houghton Mifflin, 1934), p. 24.

13Walter W. Cook, C. H. Leeds, and R. Callis, The
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (New York:
The
Psychological Corporation, 1951), pp. 3-4.

12

Scope of the Study
The population included in this study consisted of
Michigan State University student teachers in the Cluster
Program and the Conventional Program in the Saginaw area.
All the student teachers in the middle and secondary
schools were chosen to comprise the sample of that student
teaching center.

The number of student teachers in the

Cluster and Conventional Programs were close enough to
obtain an equivalent sample in the center.

An additional

number of student teachers in the Cluster and Conventional
Programs could have been obtained in other Michigan State
University student teaching centers, but this would have
introduced extraneous variables between centers,

such as

coordinator and clinical consultant procedures and types
of schools.

Eighteen Cluster participants and sixteen

Conventional student teachers were assigned to Saginaw,
grades five through twelve, during spring term.

Limitations of the Study
The following factors were considered in analyzing
the d a t a :
1.

The student teachers were taken from one insti­
tution, a large state university,
this study.

selected for

Thus the students might represent

a broad, but not complete, cross-section of
American secondary student teachers.

13

2.

The population of this study was limited to student
teachers teaching in secondary school subjects,
grades five through twelve.

3.

The student teachers selected for the study were
teaching in the middle schools, junior high
schools, and senior high schools in the Saginaw
area.

4.

The schools were located in suburban and urban
a r e a s , but both types of neighborhoods were
represented in both the Cluster and Conventional
Programs.

5.

The student teachers volunteered for either the
Cluster Program or the Conventional Program, but
in the final placement a fewer number were selected
for the Conventional Program.

Overview
Chapter I presents the need and purpose of this
study.

The descriptions of Cluster and Conventional

Programs are given.

Hypotheses are stated,

specific terms

are defined, the scope of the study is delineated, and
limitations of the study are stated.

The chapter closes

with the overview of the study.
Chapter II reviews selected literature on stereo­
typic beliefs or personality traits and attitude formation
and their implications for teacher education.

14

Chapter III describes the design of the study,
reporting on the population and testing instruments
selected.

Data relative to the validation of the instru­

ments are presented.
Chapter IV is devoted to the presentation of the
data.

Statistical tests of the hypotheses are made, and

the results are analyzed.
Chapter- V consists of a summary of the study
followed by a discussion of the findings and recommendations
for future research.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Methodology
Among the impressive number of studies on teacher
effectiveness,

it is difficult to draw upon any specific

characteristics of teachers and their behaviors in the
classroom.

One might look at a number of factors that make

up teacher behavior and gain a good perception of teaching.
One theory may emphasize relationships between people,

and

another may stress the place of learning in the development
of behavior.

It was the purpose of this investigation to

select two of the more important and accepted variables as
indicators of success in the development of teaching
behavior.
Attitude formation has been recognized as a signnificant variable by Horowitz,

1

Jacobs,

2

Hlyer Horowitz, "Student Teaching Experiences and
Attitudes of Student Teachers," The Journal of Teacher
Education (Fall, 1968), 317-24.
2
Elmer B. Jacobs, "Attitude Change in Teacher Edu­
cation: An Inquiry into the Role of Attitudes in Changing
Teacher Behavior," The Journal of Teacher Education (Winter,
1968) , 410-15.

15

16

Inglis,

3

and Elwell.

4

Their studies of student teachers

make cases for attitude as an important condition in
5

Hinely,

6

Aden,

7

Hollander,

8

Ryans,

9

perception.

Henjum,

and A dor n o ‘S

support the concept of personality traits or

stereotypic beliefs as an essential condition of successful
teaching.

These studies led to the selection of the

variables of attitude formation and the development of

3
John D. Inglis, "The Effect of a Professional
Laboratory Experience on the Attitudes of Student Teachers
Toward Children and Teaching" (unpublished Doctor's disser­
tation, University of Toledo, 1969).
^Albert R. Elwell, "Attitude Change as a Function
of Differential Student Teaching Placement" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1964).
5
Arnold Henjum, "A Study of the Significance of
Student Teachers' Personality Characteristics," The Journal
of Teacher Education (Summer, 1969), 143-47.
^Reginald Hinely, "An Exploratory Study of Teaching
Styles Among Student Teachers," Journal of Experimental
Education (Winter, 1966), 30-35.
7

Robert C. Aden, "Teaching Field Choice and Student
Teacher Personality," Journal of Educational Research
(March, 1966), 291-93.
O
Melvyn A. Hollander, "Occupational Stereotypes and
Needs:
Their Relationship to Vocational Choice." Vocational
Guidance Quarterly (December, 1969), 91-98.
g

David R y a n s , Characteristics of Teachers:
Their
Description, Comparison, and Appraisal (Washington, D.C.:
American Council on Education, 1960).
^T.
(New York:

W. Adorno, The Authoritarian Personality
Harper and Row, Publishers, 1950).

17

personality traits as the focus of evaluation for this
investigation.

The Nature and Function of Attitudes
As a result of individuals having a diversity of
experiences, they possess different expectations and
behave in different ways as they interact with various
groups in society.

"It is only from behavior that we can

infer that an individual has an a t t i t u d e . I n

other

words, attitudes are expressed visibly in forms of behavior
such as actions, comments,

facial expressions,

or tones of

voice.
The concepts of beliefs, opinions, and attitudes
are used with little clarity as to their meaning.
and Steiner

12

Berelson

state that "opinions and attitudes are

presumably adapted to beliefs, which are deep-seated, but
are more consciously cognitive in their content and are
amenable to change."

Rokeach

13

elaborates,

"Beliefs have

only a cognitive component while attitudes have both

Carolyn W. Sherif, Muzafer Sherif, and Roger E.
Nebergall, Attitudes and Attitude Change;
The Social
Judgment-Involvement Approach (Philadelphia:
W. B.
Saunders Company, 1965), p. 6.

12

Bernard Berelson and Gary A. Steiner, Human
Behavior:
An Inventory of Scientific Findings (New Y o r k :
Harcourt, B r a c e , and W o r l d , 1964), p. 558.
13

Milton Rokeach, Beliefs, Attitudes and V a l u e s :
A Theory of Organization and Change (San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1968), p. 115.

18

cognitive and affective components."

Their reference to

a belief system implies a value system which is quite
deep-seated and difficult to uproot.

Therefore, attitudes

have both emotional and motivational aspects which are
inseparable from cognitive content.

14

15
Bern
concludes

that attitudes and beliefs are the result of cognitive,
emotional, behavioral, and social foundations.

Expressing

an attitude refers directly to taking a stand as either an
emotional, cognitive, behavioral, or social foundation of
what a person cherishes about objects,
groups, or institutions.

16

issues, persons,

The formation of an attitude

means a person is no longer neutral but is for or against,
positively or negatively inclined in a lasting way.

In

summary, attitudes are inferred from characteristic and
consistent modes of behavior toward some objects, persons,
events, and issues over a time span.

17

Since people's behavior toward one another is the
essence of society, there has been a growing need to look
at the function of attitudes in society.

Various theories

have been expounded as to the function of attitudes.

Those

individuals involved in the study of personality and

^ I b i d . , p.

116.

15

Daryl J. Bern, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Human
Affairs (Belmont, Calif.7 Brooks/Cole Publishing Company,
1970), p. 2.
17

Sherif, loc. cit.

19

culture and in sociology emphasize the adjustive function
of attitudes— the adjustment of primitive and modern man
to their specific cultures and subcultures.

18

Katz

summarizes the four positive functions that attitudes
serve:
1.

2.

3.

4.

The instrumental, adjustive, or utilitarian function
upon which Jeremy Bentham and the utilitarians
constructed their model of man.
A modern ex ­
pression of this approach can be found in behavior­
istic learning theory.
The ego-defensive function in which the person
protects himself from acknowledging the basic
truths about himself or the harsh realities in his
external world.
Freudian psychology and neoFreudian thinking have been preoccupied with this
type of motivation and its outcomes.
The value-expressive function in which the indi­
vidual derives satisfactions from expressing
attitudes appropriate to his personal values and
to his concept of himself.
This function is
central to doctrines of ego psychology which
stress the importance of self-expression, self­
development, and self-realization.
The knowledge function based upon the individual's
need to give adequate structure to his universe.
The search for meaning, the need to understand, the
trend toward better organization of perceptions and
beliefs to provide clarity and consistency for the
individual, are other descriptions of this function.
The development of principles about perceptual and
cognitive structure has been the contribution of
Gestalt psychology.19
These functions are considered as operating

together instead of as isolated from one another.

The

formation of an attitude at one moment might possibly
serve all four functions.

18
1Q

Rokeach, op. c i t . , p. 129.

D.
Katz, "The Functional Approach to the Study of
Attitudes," Public Opinion Quarterly (1960), 170.

20

Attitude Change
The change of an attitude is not only a shift in an
event or an item of a person's make-up;

it means changing

him as a person, a part of himself as he seems in the
social world he lives in.

Sherif states:

To the extent that the i n d i v i d u a l 's attitude is
intimately reflected to his self picture, the con­
frontation of views, events, or situations discrepant
from his attitudes arouses uncertainty, disturbance,
instability, puzzlement, inner conflict or "dissonance,"
or some other form of experienced ten s i o n.20
The amount of involvement and personal commitment
on an issue or communication may be determined by comparing
the change or movement on the position.

Sherif

21

assumes

that if an individual experiences a discrepancy from a
communication, and whether or not a perceived discrepancy
arouses personal tension, imbalance, or dissonance depends
upon the position of the communication relative to his
latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and non-commitment.
The position then taken seems to depend upon the subject's
stand in relation to the stand represented in a communi­
cation.
In the nature of changing attitudes it is important
to look at the individuals attempting to make change and at
the credibility of the person influencing the change in
relation to the direction of change.

20

Sherif, op. c i t . , p. 21.

2 1I b i d . , p. 14.

Cohen states:

21

Who says something is as important as what is said
in understanding the effect of a communication on an
attitude. . . . Many attitudes can underlie the
effects:
affection and admiration of the communicator,
fear and awe of him, trust and confidence in his
sincerity, fairness, and credibility.22
One should look at the perception of the communi­
cator to judge any change in attitudes since the amount of
change of attitude or shifting of attitude varies with the
individual.

Hovland

23

found that under certain conditions

where there is some ambiguity about the credibility of the
communicator,

the greater the attempt at change, the higher

the resistance; but with respected communicators, the
greater the discrepancy between the subjects'
the one advocated, the greater the change.

position and

Thus, highly

credible sources seem to be more effective in bringing
about chan g e .
Other references in the literature provide further
predictions in relation to the communicator.

Two opposite

views are reflected in regard to the credibility of a
person.

"The more negative, incredible, or disliked the

communicator is, the more will persons change toward his
position when they have committed themselves to exposure

22

Influence
23

Arthur R. Cohen, Attitude Change and Social
(New York:
Basic B o o k s , I n c . , 1964), p. 23.

C. I. Hovland, "Reconciling Conflicting Results
Derived from Experimental and Survey Studies of Attitude
Change," American Psychologist (1959), 17.

to it.

. .

24

However, other research states,

"A highly

credible communicator can arouse greater dissonance and
hence induce greater opinion change than a less credible
one when communication is discrepant."

Singer

also

emphasizes the position of the individual in a study which
found that the experimenter who was saying "good" or
"right," depending upon whether the subject agreed or
disagreed with the statements reflecting authoritarian
attitudes, was effective in shifting subjects to a differ­
ent position on a scale of attitude designed to measure
those authoritarian attitudes.

The concept of credibility

then refers not directly to actual attributes of a person
but strictly to the perceived judgment of the listener,
which may account for the discrepancy in research determi­
nations.
Another important source of approval or disap­
proval which affects attitude change is the social group
to which one belongs.

The typical form of the context for

24

.
Jack W. Brehm and Arthur R. Cohen, Explorations
in Cognitive Dissonance (New York:
John Wiley and Sons,
In c . , 1962), p. 111.
25

Elliott Aronson, Judith A. Turner, and J. M e r n l
Carlsmith, "Communicator Credibility and Communicator
Discrepancy as Determinants of Opinion C h a n g e ," Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology (1963), 33.
26

R. D. Singer, "Verbal Conditioning and General­
ization of Pro-democratic Responses," Journal of Abnormal
and Social Psychology (1961), 43-46.

23

attitude formation and change is the human group:

the

family group, the gang of peers, the club, the party
organization, the church group, the business or occupational group, the community group.

27

Sherif reflects

upon the influence of groups on attitude change as indi­
viduals operate within a group framework:
The properties of groups, compared with other more
transitory forms of human association, are created by
individuals acting in concert over a period of time.
Thus, individuals are parts of the group patterns and
are also affected by these patterns and by their
particular places in them.
Among the minimum proper­
ties of any human group are the following:
There are common problems, reflected in the
motivations of the individuals, which are conducive
to prolonged interaction among them.
The members develop and adopt a variety of
practices, customs, traditions, and definitions
that mark off latitudes for acceptable attitudes
and behavior and for objectionable attitudes and
behavior among members in various matters of
consequence to the group.
The stability of a person's attitude, his
involvement in a stand, and his susceptibility to
change are related to the norms and to his position
(status and role) in groups with who m he shares
self-identification, or with whom he devoutly
wishes to s h a r e . 28
Individuals rely heavily upon the group for support
or as a stabilizing reference point to provide for change
in attitudes.

"Members of a group resist communications

that run counter to the norms and values of the group and
accept the sanctional attitudes of it."
27

Sherif, op. c i t . , p. 205.

28I b i d . , p. 206.
29

Cohen, op. c i t . , p. 40.

29

Pro m the

24

individual's point of view,

"recognition of the need to

validate one's beliefs and to see oneself and one's world
through the eyes of others provides a basis for un d e r ­
standing the pervasive effect of social interaction on a
person's a t t i t u d e s ."30

F e s t i n g e r ,33“ concerned with

attitude change through social influence, concludes that
individuals use objective, non-social means to evaluate
their opinions and attitudes, but where these are not
available they evaluate them by comparison with others.
Thus, the primary factors influencing change in attitudes
are the perceived credibility of the source of communi­
cation and the supporting groups to which the individual
belongs.
Implications for Teacher Education
and Student Teaching
The role in which the student teacher perceives
himself may depend upon the individuals with whom he comes
in direct contact during the field experience.

The

attitudes held by students in the school about teachers
and the administration may influence any change in the
behavior of the student teacher.

The student teacher has

the alternative to change his attitudes or the attitudes
of the institution where he is assigned for his experience.

3QI b i d . , p. 105.
■51

Leon Festinger, "A Theory of Social Comparison
Process," Human Relations (1954), 117-40.

25

Since he is only there for a short period of time, it is
unlikely that the latter will actually occur.

Also he is

considered to be an outsider by the established insti­
tutional organization.

As an outsider he is expected to

conform to the policies of the institution,

and his

influencing any change then would be rather minor.
Shaplin states his perception of the role of the
student t e a c h e r :
Teaching is behavior, and as behavior is subject
to analysis, change, and improvement.
The purpose of
practice, as with all aspects in the training of
teachers, is to take the novice where he is (at
induction) and work toward improved teacher behavior.
•

•

•

Much of the habitual behavior which individuals
have developed in other contexts is inappropriate for
the teaching situation, since most individuals have
developed consistent ways of behavior in a variety of
roles, such as a member of the family, as students
•

•

•

Basic attitudes and orientations toward people
developed in these contexts are frequently in direct
conflict with the specialized role expectations to be
developed in teaching. . . .
The assumption is made that practice conditions
provide
the kind of analysis of teaching which will
enable the (student) teacher to learn to control his
behavior.32
This attitude strongly places' the position of
influence or change of attitude with the teacher prepara­
tion institution and the public schools.

Then the

dissonance that occurs in a student teacher's experience
may be reduced through contact
school

with individuals in the

whom he judges to be of some credibility.

32

The

J. T. Shaplin, "Practice in Teaching," The
Harvard Educational Review (Winter, 1961), 33-59.

26

direction of the attitude change will depend upon the
individuals of credibility, usually including the student
teacher's supervising teacher.

The additional variable of

attitude change may depend upon the various groups of
influence:

the students in the public schools, the teaching

staff or department staff, and the student teacher group
itself.

A student teacher group having an opportunity to

meet quite regularly in a seminar format during student
teaching where student needs and concerns are discussed
could provide a supportive base that may run somewhat
counter to the institutional norms.

This would allow

student teachers to provide some input into their program.
In this manner the student teacher has the experience in
which he may apply his previously formed attitudes and
perceptions about teaching.

Still, if his expectations are

not consonant with those perceptions he encounters in his
experience, then he will most likely change his attitudes
toward teaching.
The climate which the student teacher establishes
in the classroom environment influences his ability to
function effectively as a teacher.

This is established

through the frame of attitudes as he perceives himself and
others operating in the living-and-learning environment.
The limitation or adequacy of the change in attitudes
toward teaching both through an individual and group
perception greatly influences the development of the

27

student teacher.

A student teacher who works well with

people is able to establish satisfactory rapport with
pupils, staff, and parents, and this rapport is closely
related to the student teacher's ability to establish
classroom climate and manage instruction.

33

The role of

the student teacher is viewed by most teacher educators as
a creation of a sound and secure environment of learning
where the attitudes of the student teacher are consonant
with the school as a traditional institution.

Jacobs

34

questions this view in a study in which he compared
students in initial education courses with students
undergoing their student teaching experience.

He found

significant changes in attitudes for both groups, however
in opposite directions.

The students in initial education

courses moved toward more liberal views while the student
teachers moved toward more rigid and formalized attitudes.
Jacobs concludes that "alternate programs to counteract
the reversal of attitudes in student teaching should be
considered."

35

He also states:

It should be the purpose of a teacher education
program to mold attitudes that will equip the p r o ­
spective teacher to deal with the teaching role in
a way that will bring the greatest benefit to his

33

W. V. Hicks and F. H. Blackington, Introduction
to Education (Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill Books,
Inc., 1965), pp. 38-56.
"^Jacobs, op. c i t . , p. 411.
~*5 Ibid. , p. 415.

28

students in terms of their individual growth toward
living in a free and democratic society.36
These statements include not only the viewpoints of
the teacher preparation institution and the public school
system but also the views of the student teachers as a
group since their needs and concerns must be included and
can be utilized in developing alternative programs in
teacher preparation.
A number of studies of student teacher attitude
change have dealt with the influence of credible indi­
viduals or groups in various environmental settings.
Horowitz

37

found that supervising teachers were not influ­

ential in bringing about changes in attitude toward
teaching on the part of the student teacher.

Popham

38

found there was a significant difference in changed
behavior for student teachers who completed a planned,
preferred program over those who did not.

Inglis,

39

who

was concerned with attitude change of student teachers due
to environmental c o n d i t i o n s , found that inner city student
teachers w h o chose their experience had more positive

36I b i d . , p. 410.
37

Horowitz, op. c i t . , p.

324.

38

James W. Popham, "An Experimental Attempt to
Modify the Instructional Behavior of Student Teachers," The
Journal of Teacher Education (December, 1965), 461-65.
39

Inglis, op. c i t . , pp.

16-17.

29

professional attitudes toward teaching while those student
teachers in a suburban, team teaching situation had less
positive attitudes.

Elwell

40

found a differential change

in attitudes of student teachers after an extended
exposure to children who were culturally different from
themselves; thus, he concluded that the exposure time was
critical.

These studies indicate the multiplicity of

factors which may affect student teachers'

changes in

attitude.

Personality and Personality Traits
How a person perceives the concept of his person­
ality is a reflection of his experiences and what he has
become as a person.

While each individual has a perception

of himself, others also hold unique views of his personality.

Guilford

41

sees a clear distinction in three quite

different perceptions:

the person as he really is and as

we want to know him, the person as he sees himself, and the
person as others see him.
project the true person.

None of these views really
Thus, the source of the im­

personal or objective view drawn through psychological
testing and other techniques can only provide an approxi­
mation of the aspect of personality.

Allport states that

personality is:

40

Elwell, op. c i t . , pp. 25-27.

^■Kj. P. Guilford, Personality
Hill Book Company, 1959), p. 56.

(New York:

McGraw-

30

. . . the sum-total of the effect made by an individual
upon society, habits or actions which successfully
influence other people, responses made by others to the
individual as a stimulus, and what others think of
him.42
Each individual has a unique personality.

Indi­

viduals are similar in some respects but considering the
whole pattern of characteristics, each is different from
the others.

The real key to personality lies in the

individual differences, the personality traits.

The

perceptions of a person's role may be obtained by referring
to a list of acceptable personality traits.

This becomes

a means for individuals to see how they differ from others.
Allport

43

.

states that a trait is a dimension or aspect of

personality, consisting of a group of consistent and
related reactions that characterize a person's typical
adjustments.

He also lists eight characteristics of

personality traits:
1.
2.
3.
4.

A
trait has more than nominal existence.
A
trait is more generalized than a habit.
A
trait is dynamic.
The existence of a trait may be established
empirically or statistically.
5.
Traits are only relatively independent of each
other.
6 . A trait of personality, psychologically considered,
has nothing to do with moral quality.
7. Acts or even habits which are inconsistent with a
trait are not proof of the non-existence of the
trait.

42
(New York:

G. W. Allport, Pattern and Growth m Personality
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1961), p. 23.

43I b i d . , p. 335.

31

8.

A trait may be viewed either in the light of the
personality which contains it, or in the light of
its distribution in the population at l a r g e . 44
Adorno provides justification for the use of

personality traits.

He states:

There is reason to look for psychological types
because the world in which we live is typed and
"produces" different "types" of persons, so only by
identifying stereotypic traits in modern h u m a n s , and
not by denying their existence, can the pernicious
tendency toward an all-pervasive classification and
subsumption be challenged.45
The construction of psychological types does not
merely imply an arbitrary, compulsive attempt to bring some
"order" into the confusing diversity of human personality
but represents a means of "conceptualizing" this diversity,
according to its own structure, and of achieving closer
understanding.

46

47
Bern
states that stereotypes are over­

generalized beliefs based on too limited a set of experi­
ences, but individuals rely upon them to some extent for
"packaging" their perceptual and conceptual worlds.
The actual indicators of the traits exhibited
depend upon the behavior of the person.

A person's

behavior can be reflected by various cues.

The cues may

44G. W. Allport, "What Is a Trait of Personality?"
International Congress of Psychology (1931), 57.
45

Adorno, op. c i t . , p. 747.

4 ® I b i d . , p. 748.
47

Bern, op. c i t . , p. 10.

32

be more an individual thing, what the person does or what
he likes to do, or mostly motivational,

i.e., in the form

of needs, interests, and attitudes, how well the person
does things, or the manner m

which he does things.

48

Other types of cues may come from the group in
which a person holds membership.

Since an individual

usually participates in a number of groups, his traits are
related to a variety of group resp o n s e s .

Any change in a

personality trait depends greatly upon the individuals and
groups of close contact.

The individuals of a group would

tend to support those traits held by the group.

The

members of a group tend to be of a somewhat stereotyped
pattern of personality and thus select new members of the
group which perpetuate the stereotype.

49

Schettler

50

also

states that the groups to which a person may belong are
sometimes sharply conflicting in their demands, and a
given personality trait that may be assumed to be social
may be traced to group experience in another or in a prior
group wholly foreign to the association in which the
personality is found at a given moment.

48

Common traits are

J. P. Guilford, o p . c i t ., p. 54.

49

Joan S. Guilford, "Isolation and Description of
Occupational Stereotypes," Occupational Psychology (1967),
p. 55.
^Clarence H. Schettler, Problems of Personality
Traits, with the Problem of Mutability (Chicago;
Uni­
versity of Chicago Library, 1940), p . 106.

33

those aspects of personality in respect to which most
people in a given culture can be compared, e.g., talka­
tiveness, radicalism, money- m i n d e d n e s s , seclusion,
anxiety, need for achievement,

and race prejudice.

51

Various positions have been taken in regard to the
utilization of personality traits in research.

Allport

reflects upon two theoretical views:
1.

2.

Traits are only convenient names given to types or
qualities of behavior which have elements in
common, not psychological entities but rather cate­
gories for the classification of habits (Bi­
social) .
A trait is a constant psychic force which determines
the active and reactive behavior of the individual
(Bio-physical). . . .52
The use of personality traits in general research

has resulted in numerous studies which show individuals as
well-established and successful within their respective
occupations.

Guilford

53

found that in comparing the

occupational stereotypes of life insurance salesmen,
clergymen, physicists, engineers, and journalists, the
patterns of the personal characteristics of members of the
divergent occupational groups fitted the stereotypes of
the group members and conformed exceedingly well to

51

Allport, Pattern and Growth in Personality,

p. 340.
52

G. W. Allport, Personality:
A Psychological
Interpretation (New York:
Holt and Company, 1937), p. 287.
53

Joan S. Guilford, op. c i t . , p. 6 3.

34

stereotypes hypothesized on good references.

Two relevant

studies dealt with specific personality types of the
ministry and medical doctors.

Nauss

54

found that the

ministerial students at Concordia College registered a
preference for extroverted,

socially aggressive,

and

generally intuitive among a wide range of existing personadities.

Marsh

55

found that the medical residents tended

to perceive themselves as characteristic of a stereotype
of a responsible, emotionally stable, and self-assertive
individual.

These characteristics tend to reflect the

images portrayed by the general public as they perceive
the various occupational roles.

Implications for Teacher Education
The teacher adapts himself to a style of teaching
that is harmonious with his expressions to life situations.
The methods and various procedures he has adapted during
his preparation in college may in some way reflect his
teaching on a superficial level, but they do not determine
the nature of the relation of a teacher to his pupils or
the basic attitude toward teaching.

For the teacher this

54
Allen H. Nauss, "The Ministerial Personality:
Avoiding a Stereotype Trap," Journal of Counseling Psychology (1968), 582.
55

On

Gayle G. Marsh, "Personality Stereotypes of U.S.
and Foreign Medical Residents," Journal of Social Psychology (1966) , 196.

35

to be his perception or expression of his personality.
This reflects the importance in looking at the patterns
of personal make-up not only for a teacher as he and others
perceive him but also for individuals w h o work directly
with children in any capacity.

Combs would perceive the

personality of a teacher as becoming a fully functioning
person, a total person.

What a person becomes is a result

of social environment and his physical-psychological m a k e ­
up.

Comb s56 is concerned with an emphasis upon a more

personal approach toward the teacher in which he considers
five general points of reference by which a good teacher
should be characterized:

his knowledge of his subject, his

frame of reference for approaching his problem, his
perceptions of self, his perceptions of the purpose and
process of learning, and his perceptions of appropriate
methods.

Kelley

he states,

57

also stresses the total personality when

"The 3 R's are skills which facilitate living

in our present society, but we should not teach them so
insistently and so aggressively that we diminish the
individual's ability to grow toward humanness."

Perceptions

are influenced by several factors including needs, values,
threats, physiological state, opportunity, and beliefs about

56Arthur W. Combs, "A Personal Approach to Good
Teaching," Educational Leadership (March, 1964), 374.
57

Earl Kelley, In Defense of Youth
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962), p. 136.

(New Jersey:

36

self and other people.

The most important of these in

forming an individual's perception, and consequently his
behavior,

are his self-concepts and the beliefs he has
cg

about other people.
The view of a student teacher's personality is
formed as he perceives himself and how relevant learning
experiences have been for him.

His personality make-up is

also perceived by others and thus is strongly influenced by
various supportive groups.

The student is in the position

of deciding the role in which he wants to place himself as
a teacher and as a person.

He must decide the traits of a

teacher he wants to portray as he begins his teaching
career.

If he works in the classroom modeling after one

teacher, he is most apt to acquire the traits he perceives
in his supervising teacher.

If he operates in a cluster or

team where he is exposed to a number of teachers, he may
gain a variety of perspectives of teaching.

His traits may

vary depending upon the groups w ith which he is in direct
contact or that group which is more supportive of his
philosophy; e.g., the staff of the school, the students in
the schools, or the student teachers themselves.

Thus,

the

student teacher's perception of his role would be influ­
enced by a number of variables:

58

the exposure to teacher

Robert E. Bills, "About People and Teaching,"
Bureau of School Service, College of Education, University
of Kentucky, XXVIII, No. 2 (December, 1955), 24.

37

models, the school philosophy and how the administration
and staff carry it out, his previous experiences or
exposure to schools and children,

and his view of others

and himself.
Various studies project views of the character­
istics apparent in the personalities of teachers and
prospective teachers.

In his research Ryans states:

There is a need for accumulation of evidence
permitting extension of understanding of the personal,
social, and intellectual attributes of persons who
teach in the schools . . . and also a need for
procedures for appraising certain characteristics
of prospective teachers before or during pre-service
training and at the time of employment by school
systems to help improve teacher selection and
assignment.^9
In the analysis of personality patterns of teachers
Ryans utilized three behavior patterns of teachers:
warm, understanding,

friendly, egocentric, restricted

teacher behavior; Yq = responsible, businesslike,
atic, unplanned,
stimulating,
behavior.

60

XQ =

system­

slip-shod teacher behavior; and Zq =

imaginative, surgent,

routine teacher

He found that the patterns were less highly

correlated with pupil behavior in regard to secondary
teachers as compared with elementary teachers.

Als o the

secondary women teachers varied in subject areas in that
the English teachers received the highest mean assessments
on pattern XQ , mathematics teachers scored high on pattern

59

Ryans, op. c i t . , p. 9.

60Ibid. , pp. 353-55.

38

Y q ,

and social studies teachers surpassed all other groups

61

on pattern ZQ .

This reflects the differences in person­

ality traits as perceived by teachers in various content
areas.
Getzels and Jackson

62

reviewed and compared a

number of studies concerned with teacher personality
characteristics.

In comparing the significant points of

agreement between Clark's description of in-service
teachers and Gowan's description of teachers-in-training,
both groups were above average in objectivity, agreeableness, cooperativeness, and emotional stability.

63

However,

the in-service teachers were less ascendant than the
teachers-in-training, possessing fewer leadership traits
and tending toward submissiveness rather than being selfdefensive.

64

In looking at teacher styles as perceived by

student teachers, Hinely

65

found that styles of student

teachers were systematic, humanistic, and creative.

.Aden

66

compared the different teaching fields with six

62

J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson, "The Teacher's
Personality and Characteristics," Handbook of Research on
Teaching, ed. by N. L. Gage (Chicago:
Rand McNally & Co.,
1963).
^ I b i d . , p.
65

547.

^ Ibid.

Hinely, op. c i t . , p. 35.

^Aden,

op. c i t . , pp.

291-93.

39

personality traits:

analytic thinking,

sociability,

emotional stability, confidence, personal relations, and
home satisfaction.

He found that the only significant

difference was demonstrated in emotional stability.
Additional studies reflect different personality
traits across grade levels and provide some insight into
selection procedures.

Southworth

67

compared the differ­

ence in personality traits of elementary teaching majors
from the early grades in relation to those from the later
grades.

The teachers preparing for the early elementary

grades revealed a more manifest need for abasement,
affiliation,

s u c c orance, and nurturance while the later

elementary majors revealed higher manifest need for
achievement, aggression, and exhibition.

Henjum

68

investi­

gated certain personality characteristics of student
teachers and their success during their student teaching
experience and found that those teachers who were socially
well-adjusted, participating,
ality patterns

and of imaginative person­

(emotionally mature, experimenting, and

somewhat extroverted)

should be selected for junior high

67

Horton Coe Southworth, "A Study of Certain Person­
ality and Value Differences in Teacher Education Majors
Preferring Early and Later Elementary Teaching Levels"
(unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State Uni­
versity, 1962) , pp. 60-62.
68

Henjum, op. c i t ., pp.

146-47.

40
. •
school teaching positions.

In a study by Hollander

69

on the stereotype patterns of engineers, physicists,
teachers, accountants, business executives, and artists,
he assumed that teachers would have a need configuration
for high affiliation, high exhibition, and high nurturance,
but found that the only variable of significance was high
affiliation.

It was also interesting to note that of the

six occupations the teacher appeared to be the most
productive of emotional response.
Thus, personality traits have become an acceptable
means for typing individuals.

Allport concludes:

Common traits are empirically established whenever
personality tests (or other indicators) prove to be
reliable, showing that people respond consistently over
a period of time and with characteristic intensity
and thus hundreds of common traits have been established
in this way, most of them showing a normal distri­
bution in the population at large. . . . Although common
trait-names create many ambiguities and difficulties,
we are compelled to use t hem in the analysis of person­
alities. 70

Sex and Grade-Point Average as Variables
Sex and grade-point average differences are often
considered as possible influences upon the results of
studies of student teachers.

However, the findings tend

to indicate that they do not have a significant effect.

69
70
p. 356.

Hollander, op. c i t . , pp.

93-96.

Allport, Pattern and Growth in Perso n a l i t y ,

41

Skeel

71

found that the grade-point averages of student

teachers did not prove to be reliable predictors for
determining success in working with culturally deprived
children.

Chase

72

found that sex differences did not have

a significant effect on student teachers'

attitude change

in the SERL Program versus a Conventional Program.

Price

73

found no significant differences in the attitudes of stu­
dent teachers and the assignment of student teaching as
related to sex.

However, McLevie

differences in the sex variable.

74

found significant

More women made signifi­

cantly higher gains during student teaching than men.
These studies provide support for further evaluation of
sex and grade-point average as v a r i a b l e s .

71

Dorothy June Skeel, "Determining the Compatibility
of Student Teachers for Culturally Deprived Schools by
Means of a Cultural Attitude Inventory" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1966).
72

Donald J. Chase, "A Comparative Study of the Co­
operative Michigan State University-Lansing SERL Project
and the Conventional Program of Student Teaching with
Reference to Openness and Attitude Formation" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971).
^ W i l l i a m J. Price, "A Study of the Effects of the
Student Teaching Experience and the Student Teaching
Assignment upon the Educational Attitudes of Secondary
Student Teachers at Michigan State University" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971).
74

John G. McLevie, "An Examination of Teaching
Concerns Reported by Secondary Student Teachers" (un­
published Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University,
1970).

42

Summary
There are no specific characteristics of teachers
that can be used to accurately predict success or effec­
tiveness in the classroom.

A variety of situations

contribute to attitude formation and to the development
of personality traits.

All individuals possess attitudes,

and since behavior is a visible expression of an attitude,
a change in attitude should result in a modification of
behavior.

Also an individual possesses a certain person­

ality pattern whose traits may change when exposed to
various experiences and situations.
In reviewing the literature in regard to attitude
formation and personality traits, one common factor can be
noted.

The groups to which an individual belongs are

influential in forming and changing both his attitudes
and his personality traits.

The student teachers in both

the Cluster and Conventional student teaching programs
belong to a pertinent group;

in the case of the former it

is the Cluster group and the clinical consultant in the
school while the Conventional Program consists primarily of
a group of two— the student teacher and his supervising
teacher.

The student teaching coordinator provides a

supportive base for both the student teacher and the
clinical consultant, and he can also be a credible source
of attitude change.

A person perceived as a highly

43
credible individual in either the Cluster or the C o n ­
ventional Program could influence a student teacher's
change of attitude or personality traits.

This is often

the reason for the direct reference to a student teacher
modeling his teaching behavior after his supervising
teacher, even though this may be the only perception of
a teacher the student teacher would have an extended
opportunity to observe during his laboratory experience.
In utilizing a group supportive base through a seminar
format, the Cluster Program could influence changes in
attitudes and personality traits.

The clinical consultant

and a number of supervisory base teachers could be
conceived as highly credible individuals for a student
teacher to emulate.

The student teacher would have a

number of models from which to select the traits and
behaviors of a teacher he wishes to portray.
In reviewing the research using sex and gradepoint average as variables, their effect upon change in
attitudes was not significant in most studies.

CHAPTER III

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the
methodology of the research and the data-gathering instru­
ments, and to present data relative to the validation of
the instruments.

Methodology
The population included in this study consisted of
Michigan State University student teachers in the Cluster
Program and the Conventional Program in the Saginaw area.
All the student teachers in the middle schools and senior
high schools were chosen to comprise the sample of that
student teaching center.

The number of student teachers in

the Cluster and Conventional Programs were the best
representation that could be obtained for an equivalent
sample at the Michigan State University Student Teaching
Center during spring term, 1971.

Eighteen Cluster student

teachers and sixteen Conventional student teachers were
assigned to the Saginaw area, grades five through twelve,
during spring term.

There were three Clusters, two at

44

45
separate high schools and one at a middle school.

It was

felt that additional extraneous variables would be
introduced by obtaining a cross sample of all the Michigan
State University student teaching centers; therefore, the
study was limited to only one center.

Both the suburban

and inner city type schools were represented in both
groups.
This was a comparative study.
lected by means of
Inventory

(MTAI),

The data were col­

(1) the Minnesota Teacher Attitude
(2) the Inventory of Beliefs

typic Beliefs), Form I, and

(Stereo­

(3) the Personal Data Form.^

Pre-test and post-test inventories were given to the
student teachers in both the Cluster Program and the
Conventional Program.

The student teachers were given the

MTAI, the Inventory of Beliefs, and the Personal Data Form
the first week of student teaching.

During the tenth week

of student teaching, the MTAI and the Inventory of Beliefs
were administered again to the student teachers.
At the time of the pre-test, explanations were
given to the student teachers regarding the instruments to
be used:

the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory and the

Inventory of Beliefs.

In order to maintain assurance that

the tests were not to be used as a means of evaluation and
to forestall any reason for "faking good," the instruments
were administered by the researcher.

■^Appendices A, B, and C.

46

At the first meeting each student teacher was
given two IBM answer sheets and the two instruments.

The

Personal Data Form was also completed by the student
teacher at that time.

For purposes of comparison of the

pre-test and post-test of each student teacher, an identi­
fication number and a university student number were
located on the IBM answer sheet.

Also a four-digit number

with a specific designation was located on the sheet.
pattern was:

(a) the first digit number one or two for the

pre-test or post-test;

(b) the second digit number one or

two for Cluster Program or Conventional Program;
third digit number one or two for sex
and

The

(c) the

(male or female);

(d) the fourth digit number one, two, or three for

Grade-Point Average
for Medium GPA

(GPA)— one for Low GPA

(2.00-2.84), two

(2.85-3.69), and three for High GPA

(3.70-

4.50) .
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory
The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory

(MTAI) is

one of the most popular instruments for the measurement of
teacher attitudes.

2

The MTAI was developed at the U n i ­

versity of Minnesota by Cook, Leeds, and Callis.

The

manual, published in 1951, states:

2
J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson, "The Teacher's
Personality and Characteristics," Handbook of Research on
Teaching, ed. by N. L. Gage (Chicago:
Rand McNally & C o . ,
1963), p. 508.

47

Investigations carried on by the authors over the
past ten years indicate that the attitudes of teachers
toward children and school work can be measured with
high reliability, and that they are significantly
correlated with the teacher-pupil relations found in
the teachers' classrooms.
The MTAI is designed to
measure those attitudes of a teacher which will predict
how well he will get along with pupils in inter­
personal relationships, and indirectly how well
satisfied he will be with teaching as a v o c a t i o n . 3
The validity of the experimental forms and the
final edition, Form A,
1.

2.

3.

is based on three assumptions:

Pupils' attitudes toward the teacher and their
school work are a reflection of the attitudes of
the teacher towards the m and toward teaching
procedures.
There should be a positive relation­
ship between the attitudes of teachers and their
pupils.
A competent and experienced principal can detect
the emotional relationship between teacher and
pupil and can discriminate those who have good
rapport with pupils and those with poor rapport.
Using objective measures, an expert in teacherpupil relations can visit a classroom and reliably
assess the social climate.^
In construction of items for the MTAI, canvassing of

five areas of socio-educational literature about children
was done to obtain an adequate sampling of attitudes.

The

five areas were:
1.

2.

Moral status of children in the opinion of adults,
especially as concerns their adherence to adultimposed standards, moral or otherwise.
Example:
"Children should be seen and not heard."
Discipline and problems of conduct in the classroom
and elsewhere, and methods employed in dealing with
such problems.
Example:
"Pupils found writing
notes should be severely punished."

Walter W. Cook, C. H. Leeds, and R. Callis, The
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (New York:
The
Psychological Corporation, 1951), p. 3.
4Ibid.

48

3.

4.

5.

Principles of child development and behavior
related to ability, achievement, learning,
motivation, and personality development.
Example:
"The boastful child is usually overconfident of
his ability."
Principles of education related to philosophy,
curriculum, and administration.
Example:
"Pupils
should be required to do more studying at home."
Personal reactions of the t e a c h e r , likes and
dislikes, sources of irritation, etc.
Example:
"Without children life would be dull."^
Various criteria were used in selecting the items

for the MTAI.

In the selection of the 15 0 items used for

Form A, six factors were considered:
nating power of the item,

(1) the discrimi­

(2 ) the extent to which the item

responses are influenced by professional education courses,
(3) the extent to wh i c h the item responses are influenced
by teaching experience,

(4) the extent to which the content

of the item duplicates that of another item,

(5) the

clearness of the statement, and

(6 ) the consistency of the
g
response patterns of the superior and inferior teachers.
Correlations have been drawn between the original
study of Cook, Leeds, and Callis and follow-up studies to
provide reliable and valid indicators.
In further studies
7
by Callis
the correlation of MTAI scores with the com­
posite criterion was

.46, and since the previous study

c

6
Ibid. , p. 10.

Ibid. , p. 13.

^Robert Callis, "The Efficiency of the MTAI for
Predicting Interpersonal Relationships in the Classroom,"
Journal of Applied Psychology (1953), 85.

49
o

by Leeds

indicated a correlation coefficient of .59, the

instrument would appear to be a good predictor for the
criterion of human relations in the classroom.

Evidence of

predictive validity of the MTAI is .60 with concurrent and
predictive validity over a six-month period of .74 to
9
.6 6 .
Current studies have used the teacher's responses
to the MTAI during the second or third year of teaching
as a criterion.

A further check of validity was under­

taken by two studies in South Carolina and Missouri.

In

both cases validity and reliability correlated signifi­
cantly with all other c h e c k s . ^
Munro,

12

and Popham and Baker

13

Studies by Gittler,"^
have also validated the

significance of the MTAI.

^C. H. L e e d s , "A Second Validity Study of the
MTAI," Elementary School Journal (1952), 403.
9
Walter W. Cook, Cyril J. Hoyt, and Alf E r k a a s ,
"Studies of Predictive Validity of the MTAI," The Journal
of Teacher Education (June, 1956), 170.
■^Getzels, op. c i t . , p. 510.
■^Steven Gittler, "Professional Characteristics of
Elementary School Teachers:
Undergraduate Programs Versus
Intensive Teacher Training Programs," The Journal of
Teacher Education (December, 1963), 399-401.
12

Barry S. Munro, "The MTAI as a Predictor of
Teaching Success," Journal of Educational Research
(November, 1964), 138-39.
13

James W. Popham and Eva L. Baker, "Measuring
Teachers' Attitudes Toward Behavioral Objectives," Journal
of Educational Research (July-August, 1967), 45 3-55.

In using the MTAI wit h student teachers, Troisi

14

found a significant increase in MTAI scores during the
student teaching experience,

Sandgren and Schmidt

15

also

found significant mean attitude change in the positive
direction..

In a study by Campbell,

the mean attitude

scores on the MTAI for both the control and experimental
groups decreased after student teaching.
was supported by Dutton,

17

This tendency

who conducted a pre-test and

post-test of the MTAI and found that 78 per cent of the
student teachers tested changed in a negative direction
toward youth.

Day

18

also found that mean MTAI scores were

lower immediately after student teaching.

Thus, there is

support for significant m e a n attitude change on the MTAI
in both positive and negative directions.

14

W. F. Troisi, "The Effect of Student-Teaching
Upon Student Teachers' Objectives and Their Relation to
Achievement and Attitudes Toward Children" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1959).
15

Duane L. Sandgren and Louis G. Schmidt, "Does
Practice Teaching Change Attitudes Toward Teaching?"
Journal of Educational Research (May, 1956) , 673-80.
"^Carl Campbell, "An Experimental Investigation of
the Value of One Method of Self-Appraisal in Developing
Certain Attitudes Among Student Teachers" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, University of Virgina, 1962).
17

W. H. Dutton, "Attitude Change of Elementary
School Student Teachers and Anxiety," Journal of Educational
Research (May, 1962), 380-82.

18

H. P. Day, "Attitude Changes of Beginning
Teachers After Initial Teaching Experience," The Journal of
Teacher Education (September, 1959), 275-78.

51

There is evidence that the MTAI is only slightly
susceptible to "faking good."

Three testing sequences

were arranged by Cook, Leeds, and Callis to determine the
susceptibility to "faking good."

The average increase in

score in these three groups was only 1.8 points; thus,
the testing sequences tended to support the authors'
contention that the instrument is only slightly susceptible
to "faking good.

Scoring the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory
The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory consists
of 150 items.

There are no right answers, but rather

levels of agreement or disagreement.

In this Likert form

there are five levels of agreement to disagreement
(Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree,
Disagree).

Strongly

Agreements have a value of plus one, and

disagreements have a value of minus one.

Thus the possible

range of scores for the test is from +150 to -150.

The

total score can be obtained from a hand key.

The Inventory of Beliefs
The Inventory of Beliefs

(Stereotypic B e l iefs),

Form I, was developed by the Cooperative Study of Evalu­
ation in General Education of the American Council on
Education.

19

It is used to measure stereotypic beliefs or

Cook, Leeds, and Callis, The Minnesota Teacher
Attitude I nventory, p. 13.

52

personality traits.

The fundamental assumption underlying

the instrument is that "the objectives of general e d u ­
cation can serve as a base from which may be inferred the
model organization characterizing the personalities of
those most adaptable to the purposes of general education."

20

The Inventory of Beliefs is a synthesis of the

various insights of psychologists regarding personality
patterns and the various insights of educators regarding
behavior, characterizing their interests into a product
of general education. 2
Some evidence has been obtained from the Inventory
of Beliefs that suggests that identification of students
can be made on some basis other than intellectual prowess.
In three institutions,

somewhat atypical ones, the

Inventory of Beliefs or an adaptation of it identified
approximately 17 per cent of the student body who could be
expected to have difficulty accommodating to a general
education program.

22

Since the personality traits charac­

teristic of this group are obviously deep-seated, and since
in society the form of education they are getting cannot

20

Irvin J. Lehmann and Paul L. Dressel, "Changes m
Critical Thinking, Attitudes, and Values Associated with
College Attendance" (Michigan State University, Cooperative
Research Project No. 1646, Office of Education, HEW, 1963),
p. 27.
(Mimeographed.)
21

Paul L. Dressel and Lewis B. Mayhew, General
Education;
Explorations in Evaluation (Washington, D.C.;
American Council on Education, 1954), p. 238.
2 2 I b i d . , p.

239.

53

change them appreciably, the university must provide
additional options for students.

23

The Inventory of Beliefs explores the student's
tendency toward
abstractions),
fications),
and

(1 ) ideocentrism

(2 ) ethnocentrism

(3) sociocentrism

(4) egocentrism

(ideas and intellectual
(social groups and identi­

(interpersonal relations),

(the self).

24

The Inventory of Beliefs

is designed to distinguish students who tend to accept
stereotypes and who are dependent and rigid in their
attitudes and values from those who are more mature in
their viewpoints and who tend to be more adaptable in their
beliefs and attitudes.

A high scorer is thought to be

mature, flexible, adaptive, and democratic in his relation­
ships with others.

A low scorer is immature, rigid in

outlook, compulsive, and authoritarian in his relationships with others.

25

On the basis of expert judgment and

statistical test performance data, 120 statements were
selected for inclusion in the final form of the Inventory
of Beliefs.

Over forty reliability studies of the several
existing versions of the Inventory of Beliefs have been
made, with samples ranging in size from nine to thirty-six.
The reliability coefficients for the Inventory of Beliefs

2 3 I b i d . , pp.
24

239-40.

Lehmann, loc. cit.

25

Ibid.

54
26
range from .68 to .95 with a median r = .8 6 .

The corre­

lation between the Inventory of Beliefs, Form I, and the
CQT

(academic aptitude)

is .30.

The correlation between

the Inventory of Beliefs and the Michigan State University
freshman grade-point average is .20.
reliability is .71.

The test-retest

27

The validity of the Inventory of Beliefs has been
studied in several ways.

The validity of the test as

providing an index of personality structure was assessed
by studying various inter-test correlations and by studying
characteristics of persons whose scores fell at the two
extremities of the range.

The highest coefficients of

.38 on the pre-test and .45 on the post-test were obtained
between the Inventory of Beliefs and the Problems in Human
Relations Inventory, both products of the Attitude
Committee

(American Council on Education) and both

possessing considerable overlap in respect to the traits
involved.
Results obtained from other studies are consistent
with the findings related above.

At one institution

teachers and students were solicited for estimates of
students possessing the greatest degree of leadership.

2 fi

sessment

George G. Stern, Methods in Personality A s ­
(Glencoe, 111.:
Free Press, 1956), p. 200.

27

L e h m a n n , loc. c i t .

28
Dressel, op. c i t . , pp.

223-24.

55

These "leaders" made significantly higher Inventory of
Beliefs scores than the student population at large.

29

In another study involving Northern universities and
Southern counterparts in general, the Northern students
achieved better, although Southern students of high
academic aptitude achieved higher Inventory of Beliefs
scores than qualxfied Northern students.

30

Southern

students appeared less authoritarian than did Northern
students.

It was interesting to note that in the number

of colleges that administered the Inventory of Beliefs on
a pre-test and post-test basis, two schools whose students
made the greatest gains were schools whose student bodies
are highly selective and whose programs of general edu­
cation are carefully integrated, where classes are conducted
using small group discussion and the teacher is considered
a moderator. 33

Scoring the Inventory of Beliefs
The Inventory of Beliefs consists of 120 items.
There are no right answers but rather levels of agreement
or disagreement.

In this Likert form there are four levels

of agreement to disagreement
Disagree, Strongly Disagree).

(Strongly Agree, Agree,
The Disagree and Strongly

Disagree categories are the correct responses to each

29Ib i d . , p. 226.

30I b i d . , pp.

226-27.

56

question.

The possible range of scores for the test is

from zero to +120.

Summary
The population in this study consisted of eighteen
student teachers in the Cluster Program and sixteen
student teachers in the Conventional Program at the
Michigan State University-Saginaw Student Teaching Center.
This was a comparative study in which the student teachers
were given the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory and
the Inventory of Beliefs in a pre-test and a post-test.
Although it does measure the attitude of an
individual, the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory is
susceptible to faking responses.

The means used to test

the individuals must be closely scrutinized.

The Minnesota

Teacher Attitude Inventory appears to be an appropriate
instrument to assess the general nature of a person's
attitudes toward children and teaching as a profession.
The Inventory of Beliefs is designed to measure
individuals who tend to accept stereotypes,

from those who

are dependent and rigid in attitudes and values to those
who are more adaptable in attitudes and values.
The data for this study were collected during
spring term, 1971, and subjected to statistical analysis
and interpretation.

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA

The purpose of this chapter is to present the data.
Statistical tests of the hypotheses are

m a d e ,

and the

results are analyzed.
A Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used as the
statistical model.

Expressed as an F-test Ratio, each

value was considered significant if it reached the .05
level of confidence.

The independent variables used in

the study included the variables of Treatments

(the Cluster

Program and the Conventional P r o g r a m ) , Sex, and GradePoiat Average.

Table 4.1, which indicates the cell

frequencies, also is a general design for the study.
The individual scores for the pre-test and post­
test of the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory are given in Table 4.2 and Table 4.3
respectively.

The extremely positive or extremely negative

scores of some subjects have affected the mean scores.
The Index of Response was used to determine the
gain score from the pre-test and post-test of the inven­
tories > the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory and the

57

58

TABLE 4.1.— Design of the study

(cell frequencies).

Grade-Point Average
Low

Medium

Totals
High

5

11
M
T
a2

1

2

6

-----------------------------------------------------F

Totals

Sex:

3

4

5

3

12

17

9

8

34

T, = Conventional Program; T 2 = Cluster Program;
M = Male; F = Female.

Inventory of Beliefs.

The Index of Response = Post-Test -

(K x Pre-Test) where K = Test-Retest Reliability.

K = .71

for the Inventory of Beliefs, and K = .88 for the Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory.

The use of the phrase "mean

gain scores" refers to the Index of Response

(Table 4.4).

All F-Ratios were multivariate; thus, both measures
were tested for significance simultaneously.

The corre­

lation between the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory is 0.020681, using the Index of
Response.

Therefore, the two tests must be considered as

measuring two distinct i t e m s .
Table 4.5 presents the results of tabulating the
data using the Multivariate Analysis of Variance.

As a

59

TABLE 4.2.— Individual scores on the Inventory of Beliefs.

T

Sex

M

GPA
L
M.
H

T1

L
F

M
H

M

Li

M
H

rp

2

L
F

S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
'8 '
9
10
ll
12

Pre-test

Post-test

7
3
67

25
10
47

Index o£
Response
20.03
7.87
-.59

3
38
92
21
4
104
21
37
8

15
69
8

12.87
42. 02
-57.32

T 2 .. 7
65
34
24
30

4.16
-8 . 84
19.09
-4. 07
24. 32

13
14
15
16

20
38
6
16

27
61
1
76

12.80
34.02
-3. 26
64.64

17
18
19
20

30
27
2
48

22
31
12
35

.70
11. 83
10.58
.92
1 .O0

1
32
5
22

-4.68
12.12
5.00
-7.11

“ SI
22
23
24
25
26
27

M

28

H

29
30
31
32
33

3'4

6
8
28
0
41
12
60
32
8
21
2
36
19
a

i

31

22. 48

69
3/

26.40
13.28

13
60
0

7.32
45.91
-1.42
.. 5.44
. "T 5 Y "
12.32"

3T
14
18"

r

= Conventional Program; T 2 = Cluster Program;
S = Subject; Sex: M = Male; F = Female; Grade-Point
Average:
L = Low (2.00-2.84); M = Medium (2.85-3.69);
H = High (3.70-4.50).

60

TABLE 4.3.— Individual scores on the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory.

T

Sex

M

GPA

S

Pre-test

L

1
2
3

45
-1
87

4
5
6

72
74
59

1

67 .

M
H

T1

L
F

M

L
M

M
H

L
qi
2
F

M

H

Index of
Post-test Rfisponsp
43
3.40
79

-44.12
■'"2" 44 '
-42.36
30.88
-2.92
-32.yb
1.16
-20.66

-43

8
9

-7
102

21
96
49
2b
-5
68

10

85
79
26
43

54
89
49
17

-20.80
19.48
26.12
-2U.84

... 56
59
85
22
72
29
_1SL ..
73
20
-17
21
-46
22
23
21
24
41
25
64
26
49
27
91
28
71
29
64
51
30
39
31
r
32
32
33
r
42
34
36

16
46

-33.28
-5.92
9.2U'
—2 .
-T87T6
-37.52

12
13
-14..,
15
16
17
18

84
17
35
-12
99
-6
-58
-31
47
55
58
71
63
62
35
27
8
-3
60

' '5'4';76
8.96
-17.52
-49.48
10.92
-1.32
14.88
-9.08
.52
5.68
~ "■-r. 88.
-7. 32
-2’
0 .16

-T9'. 96"
28.32

Ti = Conventional Program; T 2 = Cluster Program;
S = Subject; Sex: M = Male; F = Female; Grade-Point
Average:
L = Low (2.00-2.84); M = Medium (2.85-3.69);
H = High (3.70-4.50).

TABLE 4.4.— Index of responses

(means).

Grade-Point Average
Low

Medium

High

27.103

12.870

42.020

-38.280

-42.360

30.880

-25.571

59.690

61.380

-30.583

-54.120

3.280

23.109

0.920

-3.680

-68.241

34.760

-8.560

82.492

92.490

18.270

-108.200
Total GPA
Means
^ 2 =-14.427

-20.080

Total
Treatment
Means

Total Sex Means

10.288

M-l = 19.791

-7.574

M„ =-16.959

11.867

M. = 23.617

-11.229

M 2 =-20.742

I -31.800

M. = 17.011

M x = 14. 7491

M 2 = -9.089

M 2 = -0.775s

T^ = Conventional Program; I 2 = Cluster Program; M^ = Inventory of Beliefs;
M 2 = Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory; M = Male; F = Female; GPA = Grade-Point
Average .

62

TABLE 4.5.— Multivariate analysis of variance.

Sources
(In Order
of Testing)

Multivariate
F-Ratio

Probability of Obtaining
This F-Ratio if Popu­
lations are the Same

T x Sex x GPA

0.5344

0.7112*

Sex x GPA

0.2480

0.9093*

T x GPA

2.8967

0. 0333

(S.)

GPA

(H5 )

1.1713

0.3372

(N.S.)

Sex

(H4 )

0.7515

0. 4440

(N.S.)

T x Sex

0.3959

0.6780

(N.S.)

Treatment
(Hx ), (H2 )

0.6676

0.5236

(N.S.)

T = Treatments (Cluster Program and Conventional
Program); GPA = Grade-Point Average; S. = Significant;
N.S. = Not Significant.
(H^), (H^), (H4 ) , (H5 ) refer to Hypotheses One,
Two, Four, and Five.
Hypothesis Three was tested by ttest, Table 4.4.
*These are not valid due to the significance of
the T x G P A test.
A property of the statistics used for
unequal cell sizes is that all tests preceding a signifi­
cant test are not valid.

63

part of the analysis procedure, interactions in addition
to those hypothesized were tested.

These interactions

included Treatments x Sex x Grade-Point Average,

Sex x

Grade-Point Average, Treatments x Grade-Point Average,

and

Treatments x Sex.

Hypothesis One
Following their laboratory ex p e r i e n c e , the student
teachers in the Cluster Program will not show a higher gain
score as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs
Traits or Stereotypic Beliefs)

(Personality

than student teachers in

the Conventional Program.

Results
The difference in gain scores was not significant
as will be shown in conjunction with Hypothesis Two below.

Hypothesis Two
Following their laboratory experience, the student
teachers in the Cluster Program will not show a higher
gain score as measured by the Minnesota Teacher Attitude
Inventory than student teachers in the Conventional Program.

Results
For Hypothesis One and Hypothesis Two, the F-Ratio
for the Multivariate Test of Equality of Means is 0.6676.
This has a probability of occurrence of 0.5236 which is not
considered significant.
were rejected.

Therefore, the null hypotheses

64
Hypothesis Three
There will not be a difference between the gain
scores of the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory in the Cluster and Conventional
Programs.

Results
The difference in the Index of Response on the
Inventory of Beliefs for the Cluster and Conventional
Programs was 17.862.
Response on

The difference in the Index of

the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory for

the Cluster and Conventional Programs was 23.096.
by the t-test of significance, t = -.687.

Testing

This was not

significant since a t > 1.98 is needed to be significant
at the .05 level

(Table 4.6).

Therefore, the null hypothe­

sis was rejected.
Hypothesis Four
Sex differences will not have an effect on gain
scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic Beliefs as
measured by

the

Inventory of Beliefs and attitudes as

measured by

the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory in

both the Cluster and Conventional Programs.

Results
Testing by the Multivariate Analysis of Variance,
the F-Ratio is 0.7515 which has a probability of occurrence
of 0.4440.

Referring to the Index of Response, there was

65

TABLE 4.6.— T-test of Hypothesis Three.

4-

4-

D1 ' D 2
2
s
+ N2) - 2

—

—

17.862 - 23. 096
7.61976

512.118320 + 503.709894
2

°1
°2

t = -.687

s2
2

s2
SP

N1

=

(IB - MTAI) T,

=

(IB - MTAI) T 2

+ N 2 = 68

s == sample variance

IB = Inventory of Beliefs; MTAI = Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory; T^ = Conventional Program;
T 2 = Cluster Program.

not a significant effect on scores to indicate a relation­
ship between sex and the attitudes and stereotypic beliefs
of student teachers.

Therefore, the null hypothesis was

rejected.

Hypothesis Five
Grade-point averages will not have an effect on
gain scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic Beliefs
as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs and attitudes as
measured by the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory in
both the Cluster and Conventional Programs.

Results
Testing by the Multivariate Analysis of Variance,
the F-Ratio is 1.1713 which has a probability of occurrence

66

of 0.3372.

Referring to the Index of Response/

there was

not a significant effect on scores to indicate a relation­
ship between grade-point average and the attitudes and
stereotypic beliefs of student teachers.

Therefore, the

null hypothesis was rejected.

Interaction of the Treatments
by Grade-Point Average
The interaction of the two T r e a t m e n t s , the Cluster
Program and the Conventional Program, by Grade-Point
Average was found to be significant.

This interaction

provides a different perception from merely comparing the
two Treatments.

The additional variable of Grade-Point

Average is introduced into the analysis, and the mean gain
scores of each level of Grade-Point Average

(Low, Medium,

and High) are compared.
In the interaction of Treatments x
Average on the Inventory of Beliefs

(by) Grade-Point

(Figure 4.1), the

scores of the Cluster Program are closely congregated,
varying from 2.918 to 15.568, while the scores of the
Conventional Program are very much spread out, varying from
0.153 to 34.466.

This is not reflected as clearly on the

interaction of Treatments x Grade-Point Average on the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory

(Figure 4.2).

The

scores of the Cluster Program vary from 2.446 to -25.206
while the scores of the Conventional Program vary from
11.387 to -32.160.

This congregation of scores could tend

to indicate that within the Cluster groups the individuals

67

High

30

25

Index
of
20

Medium

15

10

Low
T

T

Figure 4.1.
Interaction of Treatments x GradePoint Average on the Inventory of Beliefs.

= Conventional Program; T 2 = Cluster Program;
Grade-Point Average:
High (3.70-4.50); Medium (2.85-3.69);
Low (2.00-2.84).

i

68
+15

High

+10

+5

Index
of
Response

-5

Low
-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

Medium
T

T

Figure 4.2.
Interaction of Treatments x GradePoint Average on the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.
T]_ = Conventional Program; T 2 = Cluster Program;
Grade-Point Average:
High (3.70-4.50); Medium (2.85-3.69);
Low (2.00-2.84).

69

were quite supportive of each other's attitudes and the
personality traits held by the group.

They operated in a

homogeneous group where the levels of Grade-Point Average
(Low, Medium,

and High) were operating together.

This

would also tend to indicate that the individuals in the
Conventional Program worked independently of each other
and perhaps chose this program with this desire in mind.
It is also interesting to note that the student
teachers in the Conventional Program in the High and
Medium Grade-Point Average

(GPA) levels obtained higher

mean gain scores on the Inventory of Beliefs, 34.466 and
19.90 respectively,

in relation to the same levels in the

Cluster Program, 2.918 and 15.568 respectively.

This is

even more an indication that the Grade-Point Average levels
(Low, Medium, and High) had influence upon each other in
the group.

The responses by the individuals in the High

GPA level show that they tend to be of a more stereotyped
pattern and thus are selecting new members of the group to
perpetuate the group stereotype.

There may be a conflict

in their demands, and they are relying on group support to
form preferred social attitudes and personality traits.
These attitudes and personality traits may be influenced
by an individual of high credibility seen by the group and
probably from the M e d i u m GPA level.

The score received by

the High GPA group is influenced by the total Cluster group
in a change of attitudes and personality traits such that

70

the gain score of the High GPA group was far below the gain
scores of the Low and M e d i u m GPA groups, especially on the
Inventory of Beliefs.
Program

The individuals in the Cluster

(made up of three Clusters in three different

buildings) also had a more even distribution in the Low,
Medium, and High levels of Grade-Point Average than the
individuals in the Conventional Program
eight different buildings).

However,

(who taught in

sex is not neces­

sarily evenly distributed in the Low, Medium, and High
Grade-Point Average levels.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter consists of a summary of the study
followed by a discussion of the findings and recommen­
dations for future research.

Summary
This study was designed to compare the Michigan
State University Conventional Program of student teaching
with the Cluster Program regarding stereotypic beliefs as
measured by the Inventory of Beliefs and attitude formation
as measured by the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.
These factors were used to answer the following questions
about the effectiveness of the Cluster Program in relation
to the Conventional Program:

(1) Do student teachers in

the Cluster Program show a higher gain score as measured
by the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, which
reflects attitudes toward pupils and teaching as a pro­
fession, than student teachers in the Conventional
Program?

(2) Do student teachers in the Cluster Program

show a higher gain score as measured by the Inventory of
Beliefs, which reflects beliefs which are adaptive,

71

72

flexible, and democratic toward people, than student
teachers in the Conventional Program?
This was a comparative study in which eighteen
student teachers in the Cluster Program and sixteen
student teachers in the Conventional Program at the
Michigan State University-Saginaw Student Teaching Center
were given a pre-test the first week of student teaching
and a post-test the tenth

(and final) week.

The sample

taken was a small representation of the total population
of student teachers at Michigan State University.

The

Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used as the sta­
tistical model.
The following hypotheses were tested:
1.

Following their laboratory experience, the student
teachers in the Cluster Program will not show a
higher gain score as measured by the Inventory of
Beliefs (Personality Traits or Stereotypic Beliefs)
than student teachers in the Conventional Program.

2.

Following their laboratory experience, the student
teachers in the Cluster Program will not show a
higher gain score as measured by the Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Inventory than student teachers
in the Conventional Program.

3.

There will not be a difference between the gain
scores of the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minne­
sota Teacher Attitude Inventory in the Cluster and
Conventional Programs.

4.

Sex differences will not have an effect on gain
scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic
Beliefs as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs
and attitudes as measured by the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory in both the Cluster and Con­
ventional Programs.

73

5.

Grade-point averages will not have an effect on
gain scores for Personality Traits or Stereotypic
Beliefs as measured by the Inventory of Beliefs
and attitudes as measured by the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory in both the Cluster and Con­
ventional Programs.

Findings
Examination of the data in reference to the
hypotheses revealed the following conclusions:

1.

Student teachers

in the Cluster Program showed

a higher positive gain score as measured by the
Inventory of Beliefs, which reflects beliefs which
are adaptive,

flexible, and democratic toward

p e o p l e , than student teachers in the Conventional
Program, but the gain score was not significant.

2.

Student teachers

in the Cluster Program showed a

higher negative gain score as measured by the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, which
reflects a more negative attitude toward pupils
and toward teaching as a profession, than student
teachers in the Conventional Program, but the gain
score was not significant.

3.

A difference existed between the gain scores of
the Inventory of Beliefs and the Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory in the Cluster and Conventional
Programs, but it was not significant.

74

4.

There was not a significant effect

on gain

scores

to indicate a relationship between

sex and

the

attitudes and stereotypic beliefs

(personality

traits) of student teachers.

5.

There was not a significant effect

on gain

scores

to indicate a relationship between

grade-point

average and the attitudes and stereotypic beliefs
(personality traits)

of student teachers.

Discussion
It is important that theories of learning be
incorporated in the teacher education program which
include both the development of attitudes

(affective

domain) and the development of skills and concepts
(cognitive d o m a i n ) .

Within the affective domain an area

of emphasis should be the development of the teacher's
personality.

Teacher educators need to realize that both

the affective and cognitive domains should be included in
all levels of the teacher education program.
There is an indication that the student teachers
as a group did not noticeably change their attitudes.

As

individual teachers they changed their attitudes either
positively or negatively.

As a total group the gain score

was a positive gain on the Inventory of Beliefs while it
was a negative gain on the Minnesota Teacher Attitude

Inventory.

Price'*' found that student teachers showed a

higher gain score on attitude change as measured by the
Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, but he found no
significant difference between student teachers in the
Cluster Program and the Conventional Program.

Two previous

studies using the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory
indicated a decrease in scores.

Campbell

2

found that mean

scores on the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory for both
the control and experimental groups decreased after student
3
teaching.
Dutton
conducted a pre-test and post-test of
the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory and found that
78 per cent of the student teachers tested changed in a
negative direction toward children as pupils.
As a result of this study some questions have been
raised regarding the ^Cluster and Conventional Programs.
Since the student teachers'

attitudes about children and

the profession and their stereotypic beliefs did not differ

■^William J. Price, "A Study of the Effects of the
Student Teaching Experience and the Student Teaching
Assignment upon the Educational Attitudes of Secondary
Student Teachers at Michigan State University" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University, 1971).
2

Carl Campbell, "An Experimental Investigation of
the Value of One Method of Self-Appraisal in Developing
Certain Attitudes Among Student Teachers" (unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, University of Virginia, 1962).
3
W. H. Dutton, "Attitude Change of Elementary
School Student Teachers and Anxiety," Journal of Educational
Research (May, 1962), 380-82.

76

significantly between the Cluster Program and the Conven­
tional Program, does this indicate that there may not be
any difference between the two programs?

In order to carry

out the Cluster Program, it appears essential that the
individual of influence, the clinical consultant, understand
and execute the philosophy of the program.

He should be

highly receptive to this type of program, or else the
program may become only a perpetuation of the traditional
student teaching program.
Specific situations also may have influenced the
scores of the student teachers on the Inventory of Beliefs
and the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.

One of the

Clusters included in the study was located in an inner city
school where the teaching staff had been under extreme
pressure during the year because of circumstances occurring
in the city.

The student teachers operating in this school

may have been influenced greatly by this staff.

Can a

Cluster true to the philosophy of the program exist in an
inner city setting, considering the limitations of this
environment?
Some of the student teachers changed their attitudes
and beliefs in a negative direction which may have resulted
from the strong disciplinary actions that have been taken
in the school where they were placed.

Another situation

which may have influenced scores was that a high school
located in the suburbs had a teaching staff which had
become a strong, cohesive group.

The student teachers

77

placed in this school were not in a Cluster Program, but
they felt the influence of the staff and also became
a closer group.

In some ways they met the criteria of a

Cluster group although they were considered to be in the
Conventional Program.
Additional factors are introduced in the various
student teaching centers which may account for the influ­
ence of attitude change; e.g., the philosophies of the
coordinator and the clinical consultant, general student
teaching center policy and program, or the type of school.
Such variables could provide a large fluctuation in the
attitudes of student teachers from student teaching center
to student teaching center.
Two additional limiting points have influenced the
results and should be questioned.

First, does the length

of time it takes a person to change his attitudes vary
with the individual?

The point is that the nine-week

period between the pre-test and post-test of the inven­
tories may not have b een enough time to effect any change
in some student teachers' attitudes.

Secondly,

in the

teacher education program, is student teaching generally
the only "real-life" exposure to working with children and
to teaching in the public schools?

In essence this

laboratory experience may be a "culture shock" for most
students, who must adjust to the public school setting or
perhaps even the inner city culture after exposure to the
university culture.

Thus, the testing time to determine

78
any change of attitude or stereotypic beliefs, especially
at the end of the ten-week period, may be a confusing time
for the student teacher.

He is attempting to continue

to adjust to the school setting and to establish himself in
the role of a teacher.
does he value?

What does he really believe?

What

He may have been too preoccupied with

teaching in the public schools mostly at the cognitive
level

(subject-centered), and has been given little time

or opportunity to reflect upon his attitudes and values.
Two additional concerns grow out of this study.
The adjustment to student teaching is a rather complex
one for some students.

As much as possible student

teachers should be allowed to select the location and the
grade level where they want to do their student teaching.
They should be made aware of the various options, such as
the Cluster Program, the Conventional Program, or a team
approach, in the different student teaching centers.

The

other concern is related to the adjustment of student
teachers to the school setting and change in their stereo­
typic beliefs.

The stereotypic beliefs or personality

patterns at the beginning of student teaching are patterns
the student teachers perceived while they were in the
public schools as pupils,

and they bring these patterns

to the student teaching experience.

Most student teachers

are away from the public schools from the time they
graduate from high school to the time they do their
student teaching.

Presently students in Michigan State

79

University teacher preparation courses are given some
opportunity to be involved in a community or school experi­
ence in direct contact with children, but this is still
limited to a small number of individuals.

This opportunity

should be expanded as a continuous option for all teacher
education students at all levels of preparation.

A

portion of these experiences should be considered m a n d a ­
tory so that education students may become sensitive to
the needs of different age groups and school situations.
For example, student teachers planning to teach in the
inner city schools could assist teachers in the inner city
schools or work as volunteers in the community.

Those

planning to teach at the junior high or middle school
level could also observe at the senior high school and
elementary school levels to see the differences in children
and teaching at other levels.

Thus, the student teaching

experience should not be considered the only laboratory
experience where a student is evaluated, but a part of a
series of experiences where personal growth can take place
once a student enters the teacher education program.

Recommendations
The following recommendations should be considered
for further research study:

1.

Devise additional research instruments to determine
affective development of teachers.

The Minnesota

Teacher Attitude Inventory surely must be

80

reassessed, considering that it was based on the
attitudes of teachers during the 1950's, and
attitudes of present-day teachers may be differ­
ent.
2.

Design additional studies to evaluate the effec­
tiveness of the Cluster Program as an experience
for student teachers which possibly develops better
attitudes about teaching and more concern for
children.

A random sample of all student teachers

in Cluster Programs of Michigan State University
around the state of Michigan should be compared
with a random sample of Conventional Programs of
Michigan State University.

Is the fact that the

student teachers are supportive of each other in a
team unique to the Cluster Program?

Are the

student teachers choosing the Cluster so they can
operate more closely in a team?

Is this a basic

need the student teachers have in their person­
alities?

Are the public schools developing new

teacher roles which support the purposes of the
Cluster Program?

Is there greater flexibility in

the Cluster Program?

Is the presence of the

clinical consultant in the Cluster Program a
crucial factor?

81

3.

Examine the relationship between attitudes, actual
teacher b e h a v i o r s , and reactions to teacher
behaviors in the classroom.

Do student teachers

with negative attitudes have behavioral problems
in the classroom?

What is the personality make-up

of these student teachers?

4.

Assess and observe students in the teacher e d u ­
cation program over a two or three-year period to
determine their patterns of growth, using various
inventories on attitudes and achievement.

Are the

experiences in which students are exposed to the
public schools a crucial portion Of the teacher
preparation program?

Are there crucial periods

in their development during their training when
there is the greatest change in attitude?

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83

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"The MTAI as a Predictor of Teaching
Success."
The Journal of Teacher E d u c a t i o n , XV
(November, 1964), 138-39.
Nauss, Allen H.
"The Ministerial Personality:
On Avoiding
a Stereotype Trap."
Journal of Counseling Psy­
c h o l o g y , XV (1968), 581-82.
Popham, James W.
"An Experimental Attempt to Modify the
Instructional Behavior of Student Teachers."
The
Journal of Teacher Education, XVI (December, 1965),
461-65.
_________, and Baker, Eva L.
"Measuring Teachers' Attitudes
Toward Behavioral Objectives."
Journal of Edu­
cational R e s e a r c h , LXI (July-August, 1967), 453-55.
Sandgren, Duane L . , and Schmidt, Louis G.
"Does Practice
Teaching Change Attitudes Toward Teaching?"
Journal of Educational Research, XLIX (May, 1956),
673-80.
Shaplin, J. T.
"Practice in Teaching."
The Harvard Educational Review, XXXI (Winter, 1961), 33-59.
Singer, R. D.
"Verbal Conditioning and Generalization of
Pro-democratic Responses."
Journal of Abnormal and
Social P s y c h o l o g y , LXII (1961), 43-46.

Books
Adorno, T. W.
The Authoritarian Personality.
Harper and Row, Publishers, 1950.

New York:

Allport, G. W.
Pattern and Growth in Personality.
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1961.

New York:

'
_____ . Personality:
A Psychological Interpretation.
New York:
Holt and Company, 1937.

85

Bern, Daryl J.
Beliefs, Attitudes/ and Human Affairs.
Belmont, Calif.:
Brooks/Cole Publishing C o . ,
1970.
Berelson, Bernard, and Steiner, Gary A.
Human Behavior;
An Inventory of Scientific F i n d i n g s . New Y o r k :
Harcourt, Brace, and World, 196 4.
Brehm, Jack W . , and Cohen, Arthur R.
Explorations in
Cognitive D i s s onance. New York:
John Wiley &
S o n s , I n c . , 1962.
Cohen, Arthur R.
Attitude Change and Social Influence.
New York:
Basic Books, Inc., 1964.
C o m b s , Arthur W.
The Professional Education of T e a c h e r s :
A Perceptual View of Teacher E d u c a t i o n . B o s t o n :
Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 1965.
Cook, Walter W . , Leeds, C. H . , and Callis. R.
The Minne­
sota Teacher Attitude I n v e n t o r y . New Y o r k : The
Psychological Corporation, 1951.
Dressel, Paul L . , and Mayhew, Lewis B.
General Educ a t i o n :
Explorations in E v a l uation. Washington, D.C.:
American Council on Education, 1954.
Gage, N. L . , ed.
Chicago:

Handbook of Research on T e a c h i n g .
Rand McNally & Co., 1967.

Guilford, J. P.
Personality.
Company, 1959.

New York:

McGraw-Hill Book

Hicks, W. V. , and Blackington, F. H.
Introduction to
E d u c a t i o n . Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill
Books, Inc., 1965.
Kelley, Earl C.
In Defense of Y o u t h . Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962.
Rokeach, Milton.
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values:
A Theory
of Organization and C h a n g e . San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1968.

Ryans, David.
Characteristics of Teachers:
Their
Description, Comparison, and A p p r a i s a l . Washington,
D.C.:
American Council on Education, 1960.
Schettler, Clarence H.
Problems of Personality Traits, with
the Problem of M u t a b i l i t y . Chicago:
University of
Chicago Library, 1940.

86

Sherif, Carolyn W. , Scherif, Muzafer, and Nebergall,
Roger E.
Attitude and Attitude Change;
The Social
Judgment-Involvement A p p r o a c h . Phil a d e l p h i a :
W. B. Saunders Co., 1965.
Stern, George G.
Methods in Personality A s s e s s m e n t .
Glencoe, 111.:
Free Press, 1956.
Warren, H. C . , ed.
Dictionary of Psychology.
Houghton M i f f l i n > 1934.

Boston:

Dissertations
Campbell, Carl.
"An Experimental Investigation of the
Value of One Method of Self-Appraisal in Developing
Certain Attitudes Among Student Teachers."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of
Virginia, 1962.
Chase, Donald J.
"A Comparative Study of the Cooperative
Michigan State University-Lansing SERL Project and
the Conventional Program of Student Teaching with
Reference to Openness and Attitude Formation."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State
University, 1971.
Elwell, Albert R.
"Attitude Change as a Function of Differ­
ential Student Teaching Placement."
Unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University,
1964.
Inglis, John D.
"The Effect of a Professional Laboratory
Experience on the Attitudes of Student Teachers
Toward Children and Teaching."
Unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, University of Toledo, 1969.
McLevie, John G.
"An Examination of Teaching Concerns
Reported by Secondary Student Teachers."
Unpublished
Doctor's dissertation, Michigan State University,
1970.
Price, William J.
"A Study of the Effects of the Student
Teaching Experience and the Student Teaching
Assignment upon the Educational Attitudes of
Secondary Student Teachers at Michigan State Uni­
versity."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation,
Michigan State University, 1971.

87

Skeel, Dorothy June.
"Determining the Compatibility of
Student Teachers for Culturally Deprived Schools
by Means of a Cultural Attitude Inventory."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Pennsylvania
State University, 1966.
Southworth, Horton Coe.
"A Study of Certain Personality
and Value Differences in Teacher Education Majors
Preferring Early and Later Elementary Teaching
Levels."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation,
Michigan State University, 1962.

Troisi, W. F.
"The Effect of Student-Teaching Upon
Student Teachers' Objectives and Their Relation to
Achievement and Attitudes Toward Children."
Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Pennsylvania
State University, 1959.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
PERSONAL DATA FORM

APPENDIX A

PERSONAL DATA FORM
Number ___________
Student Number ___________
Instructions:
The Personal Data Form is designed to accompany the
MTAI and Inventory of Beliefs forms.
It consists of seven
items.
You will note that there is an identification
number on this page which corresponds to the number on
your MTAI and Inventory of Beliefs answer sheets.
Do not
write your name on either page, only your student number.

female _____ male _____

1.

Sex:

2.

Race:

3.

Marital status:

4.

Grade-point average:

black _____ white _____
single

other _____
married

2.00-2.84 ______ 2.85-3.69

other______

3.70-4.50______

5.

Are you student teaching in a Cluster?

6.

In what grade level and/or subject areas are you doing
your student teaching?

7.

In what school are you doing your student teaching?

88

Yes_____ No____

APPENDIX B

INVENTORY OF BELIEFS

APPENDIX B

INVENTORY OF BELIEFS

Cooperative Study of Attitude
and Values

Inventory 1
This inventory consists of 12 0 statements which
range over a wide variety of topics.
As you read each
statement you are asked to indicate quickly your agreement
or disagreement with it in terms of the key given below.
People have different reactions to these statements.
This
is not a test in which there are "right" and "wrong"
answers.
What is wanted here is your own quick personal
reaction.
You should be able to finish taking the inven­
tory in 30 minutes or less.
In responding to these statements you will notice
that there is no way provided for indicating a neutral
position.
It is desired that you indicate a tendency
toward either agreement or disagreement even though you may
prefer to remain undecided.
It is important that you
respond to every one of the 120 statements.
The key you are to use in responding to these
statements is reproduced at the top of each page.
For
each question, write the key number (1, 2, 3, 4) in the
blank on the enclosed IBM form.

Key:

1.

I strongly agree or accept the statement.

2.

I tend to agree or accept the statement.

3.

I tend to disagree or reject the
statement.

4.

I strongly disagree or reject the
statement.

89

90

1.

If you want a thing done right, you have to do it
yourself.

2.

There are times when a father, as head of the family,
must tell the other family members what they can and
cannot do.

3.

Lowering tariffs to admit more foreign goods into
this country lowers our standard of living.

4.

Literature should not question the basic moral
concepts of society.

5.

Reviewers and critics of art, music, and literature
decide what they like and then force their tastes on
the public.

6.

Why study the past, when there are so many problems
of the present to be solved.

7.

Business men and manufacturers are more important to
society than artists or musicians.

8 . There is little chance for a person to advance in
business or industry unless he knows the right people.
9.

Man has an inherent guide to right and w r o n g — his
c o n s cience.

10.

The main thing about good music is lovely melody.

11.

It is only natural and right for each person to think
that his family is better than any other.

12.

All objective data gathered by unbiased persons
indicate that the world and universe are without
order.

13.

Any man can find a job if he really wants to work.

14.

We are finding out today that liberals really are
soft-headed, gullible, and potentially dangerous.

15.

A man can learn as well by striking out on his own as
he can by following the advice of others.

16.

The predictions of economists about the future of
business are no better than guesses.

17.

Being a successful wife and mother is more a matter
of instinct than of training.

91

18.

A person often has to get mad in order to push others
into action.

19.

There is only one real standard in judging art works—
each to his own taste.

20.

Business enterprise, free from government inter­
ference, has given us our high standard of living.

21.

Nobody can make a million dollars without hurting
other people.

22.

Anything we do for a good cause is justified.

23.

Public resistance to modern art proves that there is
something wrong with it.

24.

Sending letters and telegrams to congressmen is mostly
a waste of time.

25.

Many social problems would be solved if we did not
have so many immoral and inferior people.

26.

Art which does not tell a human story is empty.

27.

You can't do business on friendship; profits are
profits; and good intentions are not evidence in a
law court.

28.

A person has troubles of his own; he can't afford to
worry about other people.

29.

Books and movies should start dealing with enter­
taining or uplifting themes instead of the present
unpleasant, immoral, or tragic ones.

30.

Children should be made to obey since you have to
control them firmly during their formative years.

31.

The minds of many youth are being poisoned by bad
books.

32.

Speak softly, but carry a big stick.

33.

Ministers in churches should not preach about economic
and political problems.

34.

Each man is on his own in life and must determine his
own destiny.

35.

New machines should be taxed to support the workers
they displace.

92

36.

The successful merchant can't allow sentiment to
affect his business decisions.

37.

Ministers who preach socialistic ideas are a disgrace
to the church.

38.

Labor unions don't appreciate all the advantages which
business and industries have given them.

39.

It's only natural that a person should take advantage
of every opportunity to promote his own welfare.

40.

We should impose a strong censorship on the morality
of books and movies.

41.

The poor will always be with us.

42.

A person who is incapable of real anger must also be
lacking in moral conviction.

43.

If we allow more immigrants into this country, we will
lower our standard of culture.

44.

People w h o live in the slums have no sense of
respectability.

45.

We acquire the highest form of freedom when our
conform to the will of society.

wishes

46.

Modern paintings look like something dreamed up in a
horrible nightmare.

47.

Voting determines whether or not a country is demo­
cratic.

48.

The government is more interested in winning elections
than in the welfare of the people.

49.

Feeble-minded people should be sterilized.

50.

In our society, a person's first duty is to protect
from harm himself and those dear to him.

51.

Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

52.

The best government is one which governs least.

53.

History shows that every great nation was destroyed
when its people became soft and its morals lax.

54.

Philosophers on the whole act as if they were
superior to ordinary people.

93

55.

A woman who is a wife and mother should not try to
work outside the home.

56.

We would be better off if people would talk less and
work more.

57.

In some elections there is not much point in voting
because the outcome is fairly certain.

58.

The old masters were the only artists who really knew
how to draw and paint.

59.

Most intellectuals would be lost if they had to make
a living in the realistic world of business.

60.

You cannot lead a truly happy life without strong
moral and religious convictions.

61.

If we didn't have strict immigration laws, our
country would be flooded with foreigners.

62.

When things seem black, a person should not complain,
for it may be God's will.

63.

Miracles have always taken place whenever the need for
them has been great enough.

64.

Science is infringing upon religion when it attempts
to delve into the origin of life itself.

65.

A person has to stand up for his rights or people will
take advantage of him.

66.

A lot of teachers, these days, have radical ideas
which need to be carefully watched.

67.

Now that America is the leading country in the world,
it's only natural that other countries should try to
be like us.

68.

Most Negroes would become overbearing and disagree­
able if not kept in their place.

69.

Foreign films emphasize sex more than American films
do.

70.

Our rising divorce rate is a sign that we should
return to the values which our grandparents held.

71.

Army training will be good for most modern youth
because of the strict discipline they will get.

94

72.

When operas are sung in this country they ought to
be translated into English.

73.

People who say they're religious but don't go to
church are just hyprocrites.

74.

What the country needs, more than laws or politics,
is a few fearless and devoted leaders in w hom the
people can have faith.

75.

Pride in craftmanship and in doing an honest day's
work is a rare thing these days.

76.

The United States may not have had much experience
in international dealings but it is the only nation
to which the world can turn for leadership.

77.

In practical situations, theory is of very little
help.

78.

No task is too great or too difficult when we know
that God is on our side.

79.

A sexual pervert is an insult to humanity and should
be punished severely.

80.

A lot of science is just using big words to describe
things which many people already know through common
se n s e .

81.

Manual labor and unskilled jobs seem to fit the Negro
mentality and ability better than more skilled or
responsible work.

82.

A person gets what's coming to him in this life if he
doesn't believe in God.

83.

Public officials may try to be honest but they are
caught in a web of influence which tends to corrupt
them.

84.

Science makes progress only when it attempts to solve
urgent practical problems.

85.

Most things in life are governed by forces over which
we have no control.

86 .

Young people today are in general more immoral and
irresponsible than young people of previous gener­
ations .

95

87.

Americans may tend to be materialistic, but at least
they aren't cynical and decadent like most Europeans.

88 . The many different kinds of children in school these
days force teachers to make a lot of rules and regu­
lations so that things will run smoothly.
89.

Jews will marry out of their own religious group
whenever they have the chance.

90.

The worst danger to real Americanism during the last
50 years has come from foreign ideas and agitators.

91.

Europeans criticize the United States for its
materialism but such criticism is only to cover up
their realization that American culture is far
superior to their own.

92.

The scientist that really counts is the one who turns
theories into practical use.

93.

No one can really feel safe when scientists continue
to explore whatever they wish without any social or
moral restraint.

94.

Nudist colonies are a threat to the moral life of a
nation.

95.

One trouble with Jewish businessmen is that they
stick together and prevent other people from having
a fair chance in competition.

96.

No world organization should have the right to tell
Americans what they can or cannot do.

97.

There is a source of knowledge that is not dependent
upon observation.

98.

Despite the material advantages of today,
now is not as wholesome as it used to be.

99.

The United States doesn't have to depend on the rest
of the world in order to be strong and selfsufficient.

family life

100 . Foreigners usually have peculiar and annoying
habits.
101.

Parents know as much about how to teach children as
public school teachers.

96

102.

10 3.

The best assurance of peace is for the United
States to have the strongest army, navy, air force,
and the most atom bombs.
Some day machinery will do nearly all of man's work,
and we can live in leisure.

104.

There are too many people in this world who do
nothing but think about the opposite sex.

105.

Modern people are superficial and tend to lack
finer qualities of manhood and womanhood.

106.

Members of religious sects who refuse to salute the
flag should be punished for their lack of patriotism.

107.

Political parties are run by insiders who are not
concerned with the public welfare.

108.

As young people grow up they ought to get over their
radical ideas.

109.

Negroes have their rights, but it is best to keep
t hem in their own districts and schools and to
prevent too much contact with whites.

110.

The twentieth century has not had leaders with the
vision and capacity of the founders of this country.

111.

There are a lot of things in this world that will
never be explained by science.

112.

Sexual relations between brother and sister are
contrary to natural law.

113.

There may be a few exceptions, but in general Jews
are pretty much alike.

114.

The world will get so bad that some of these times
God will destroy it.

115.

Children should learn to respect and obey their
teachers.

116.

Other countries don't appreciate as much as they
should all the help that America has given them.

117.

We would be better off if there were fewer psycho­
analysts probing and delving into the human mind.

118.

American free enterprise is the greatest bulwark of
democracy.

the

97

119.

If a person is honest, works hard, and trusts in God,
he will reap material as well as spiritual rewards.

120 . One will learn more in the school of hard knocks
than he ever can from a textbook.

APPENDIX C
MINNESOTA TEACHER ATTITUDE INVENTORY

PLEASE NOTE:

Following page 98, Appendix C:
"Minnesota Teacher Attitude
Inventory, Form A " , 0 1951 by
The Psychological Corporation,
not microfilmed at request of
author. Available for consultation
at Michigan State University
Library.
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS.