Teachers’ Learning Orientation Scale Development and Validation

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Montessori Teachers: Relationships, Perspectives, Beliefs, and Competencies (Table 9)

Abstract

Teachers possess dynamic belief systems about students and teaching. Most teacher beliefs research is based in conventional pedagogy and must expand to include alternative pedagogies, such as Montessori education, to reflect the current educational landscape. Here, we developed a new measure, the Teachers’ Learning Orientation Scale (TLOS), to assess student- and teacher-oriented beliefs across conventional and Montessori contexts. During validation testing, the TLOS demonstrated strong internal and test-retest reliability, achieved full scalar measurement invariance across pedagogies, and detected significant differences between teachers based on pedagogy, student age range, school funding, and Montessori teacher certification organization. Overall, the TLOS provides a pedagogy-neutral measure of teacher- and student-oriented beliefs, expanding the study of teacher beliefs beyond conventional education.

Authors

• Christina M. Carroll, Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School

• Angeline S. Lillard, University of Virginia