Equity Dispositions and Reasons for Entering the Profession: Preservice Teachers in Romania and the United States

• In Event: Toward a Just Teacher Education: Examining Healing Pedagogies, Collaborative Practices, and Equity Dispositions

Abstract

We use factor analytic and multiple regression techniques to examine relationships between the reasons preservice teachers enter the profession and three equity dispositions: social awareness, advocacy for students, and meekness. We compare these relationships across preservice teachers in Transylvania, Romania (n=295) and in the Intermountain West of the US (n=245). We find altruistic and intrinsic reasons for entering the profession are highly predictive of equity dispositions in both contexts, especially for meekness. In the US, political ideology was more predictive of social awareness than in Romania; in Romania, some extrinsic reasons for entering the profession were negatively predictive of equity dispositions (though not in the US). We discuss study limitations and implications for education practice, policy, and research.

Authors

• Bryant Jensen, Brigham Young University

• Laura T. David, Transilvania University of Brasov

• Papa Kobina Enyimah Moses, Brigham Young University

• Mihaela Voinea, Transilvania University of Brasov

• Maria Summers, Brigham Young University

• Aliza Segal, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev