Attitudes of secondary school teacher trainees and their practice teaching supervisors¹

Attitudes of student teachers and their supervising teachers were measured during a one-year post graduate Diploma in Education program for secondary teachers. The result of analyses of their ratings given to thirty-one concepts on a semantic differential instrument indicated a pattern of stability in students’ attitudes across three points in the program. In addition, the pattern of students’ attitudes at each time of measurement was highly similar to that of the supervising teachers who completed the instrument following the student teaching practice block. It was at this point that student and teacher attitudes were most congruent. Students placed a high positive value throughout their program on a child-centred, practical orientation and, though the teachers’ ratings also indicated a practical orientation, there was a strong teacher/ rules flavour present in their ratings. While students’ ratings suggested doubts about their ability to influence pupil achievement, the most negative evaluation for both teachers and students was given to the concepts Open Plan Teaching, Ability Grouping, the State Education Department, and Social Class.