The research focused on clarifying the responsibility of the institutions preparing teacher candidates. The purpose was to develop candidates who possess dispositions so that they will be successful in the classroom. The study focused on examining candidates' dispositions as assessed by their college supervisor as compared to the assessment by…

The "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" has been a major influence on language teaching in Europe and beyond and its "Companion Volume" will probably have the same significance. It is important therefore that education professionals understand the underlying concepts, including the conceptualisation of the…

Feedback can rarely enhance learning unless it is used; however, few studies have examined individual differences in students' engagement with feedback. The present study explored: (1) the extent to which personality variables and achievement goal orientation are associated with students' self-reported use of feedback; and (2) whether beliefs…

Being able to accurately evaluate students' cognitive, affective, and psychomotor development at the beginning of a course is critical for teachers to create meaningful learning experiences for them. Initial student evaluation provides teachers with quick perceptive and practical knowledge of student characteristics as well as a diagnosis of what…

The assessment of psychosocial strengths in children and adolescents has predominately focused on the measurement of single traits and constructs, such as grit (Christopoulou, Lakioti, Pezirkianidis, Karakasidou, & Stalikas, 2018), optimism (Oberle, Guhn, Gadermann, Thomson, & Schonert-Reichl, 2018), hope (Pedrotti, 2018), and gratitude…

This paper analyzes the history, current practice, and dangers associated with Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). With roots in American progressive education and particularly in the movements for Outcome-Based Education and Self-Esteem, SEL is now pushed onto state and local education systems by the federal government and even international…

Teachers' personality traits are reflected in their classroom instruction--especially in their selection of various instructional strategies, the materials they choose, and their classroom management techniques. Moreover, personality styles are positively interrelated with learning styles as well as teaching styles. In many classrooms, however,…

This article integrates issues of college student development and dispositions assessment by encouraging teacher educators to be mindful of the developmental stages of college students as part of the assessment of professional dispositions. The study provides beginning evidence that teacher educators may have missed the mark with dispositions…

The importance of higher education has never been clearer. Educational attainment--the number of years a person spends in school--strongly predicts adult earnings, as well as health and civic engagement. Yet relative to other developed nations, educational attainment in the United States is lagging, with young Americans who heretofore led the…

A tool used in student-centered education is discussion among students in small learning groups. The Western origin of student-centered education, coupled with cross-cultural differences in communication styles, may detract from its cross-cultural applicability. This study investigates how in student-centered education, students' cultural…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of culture on the creative and stylistic features children employ when producing narratives based on wordless picture books. Method: Participants included 60 first- and second-grade African American, Latino American, and Caucasian children. A subset of narratives based on wordless…

This study assessed the convergent and divergent validity of the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA; LeBuffe, Shapiro, & Naglieri, 2008). A total of 227 (n = 94 teachers, n = 133 parents) raters completed the DESSA, in addition to the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales-2 (BERS-2; Epstein, 2004) and/or the Behavior Assessment…

This study examined whether students with different achievement goal orientation profiles differ in terms of subjective well-being (i.e., self-esteem, depressive symptoms, school-related burnout, and educational goal appraisals). Six groups of students with unique motivational profiles were identified. Observed differences in subjective well-being…

This report reviews the literature on noncognitive and other background predictors (e.g., personality, attitudes, and interests) as it pertains to graduate education. The first section reviews measures typically used in studies of graduate school outcomes, such as attrition and time to degree. A review of qualities faculty members and…

Various policy papers and research studies assert that teamwork is one of the most important skills for students to learn if they are to become meaningful contributors to the 21st century workforce. However, outside of organizational psychology and adult populations, few reliable assessments of this construct exist, with suitable validity evidence…