Affective Dispositions of Teachers in Training toward Examples of Supervisory Behavior

Abstract

The affective dispositions of men and women secondary student teachers toward the credibility and utility of supervisors depicted in recorded examples of supervisory sessions were measured using semantic differential techniques. The examples differed in approach used by the supervisor (directive and nondirective) and in supervisor gender. Factor analytic techniques were used to identify those bipolar scales that succeeded in indexing the subjects’ dispositions toward the target concepts. Composite scores of the identified scales were submitted to three-way ANOV A resulting in a significant main effect for supervisory approach favoring directive supervision and two significant interaction effects, supervisor sex x subject sex and supervisory approach x subject sex. Implications for supervisory behavior with student teachers are discussed.