Two theoretical models were examined based on the contributions of
preservice teachers' personal teaching efficacy, ethnic causal attributions, past
teaching, and international interaction experiences to their behaviors toward
international children in multicultural small group activity sessions. Path analytic
results revealed that for both models, these variables together did not significantly
predict the positive or negative behavior of preservice teachers. T-tests, applied
to positive and negative behaviors indicated that these behaviors varied
significantly based on the child's gender and classroom activity type. Aspects of
gender and activity type were included in an additional exploratory analysis of 16
path models. Only six were significant, although even these did not explain a
large percentage of the variance associated with preservice teachers' behaviors.
Personal teaching efficacy had a significant direct positive impact on the
frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers
toward international girls during unstructured table activities. However, the
ethnic attribution variable of locus of causality had a significant direct positive
impact on the frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice
teachers toward international boys during structured storytime activities. In
addition, teacher preparation level and past international interaction experience
had a significant direct negative impact on the frequency and quality of negative
behaviors, respectively displayed by preservice teachers toward international boys
during unstructured table activities. Finally, among these significant path models
(a) teacher preparation level and past international interaction experiences made
significant direct positive impacts on the causal attribution variables of locus of
causality and stability; (b) the causal attribution variable of stability had a
significant direct negative impact on controllability, and (c) the significant path
coefficients between personal teaching efficacy and the causal attribution variable
of stability were positive, while those associated with controllability were negative.
In a secondary analysis, differences between preservice teachers' behaviors
toward international and U.S. children as a result of children' s ethnicity, gender,
age, socioeconomic status, and involvement in different types of small group
activities were examined, applying a multivariate analysis of variance. Positive
behaviors displayed by preservice teachers were significantly lower for international
than for U.S. children, while the converse was true for negative behaviors.
In addition, both positive and negative behaviors displayed toward girls were
significantly lower than for boys. Preservice teachers also displayed significantly
more negative behaviors toward children during structured storytime than unstructured
table activities. Overall, however, preservice teachers exhibited more
positive than negative behaviors toward both international and U.S. children. / Graduation date: 1993
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/35760 |
| Date | 04 May 1993 |
| Creators | Burt, Linda S. |
| Contributors | Sugawara, Alan I. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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