Element 1F: Dispositions for All Candidates
Each of the units' six elements of the Conceptual Framework has candidate proficiencies associated broadly with dispositions, depicted in Table 1-11.  Samples are available in program data books, described in Standard 2, and as Exhibit S1-21. 

Table 1-11: Dispositions and the Conceptual Framework
#	Element	Dispositional Characteristics
1	Scholarship	Cultivate liberal knowledge in the sciences, arts, and humanities
2	Reflective Practice	Cultivate dispositions leading to self-awareness, empathy, critical consciousness, and the capacity for reflection
3	Social Justice	Cultivate dispositions that demonstrate advocacy for all of their students and the communities in which they work
4	Inclusive Community	Be committed to and capable of facilitating learning environments that are dialogical and collaborative in nature, and Nurture learning communities that demonstrate respect and honor for all cultures
5	Wellness	Facilitate learning environments that model safe and healthy group interactions where conflicts are handled peacefully and care is demonstrated for and by all
6	Creativity and the Arts	Encourage young people to explore issues of culture and identity through the arts

Candidates' dispositions are assessed though the developmental portfolio that they submit at each of the program's transition points, described in each of the program's assessment plans.   The dispositions rubric guides instructors and candidates in evaluating whether candidates' currently meet, exceed or do not meet expectations on the dispositions. Candidates will be given the opportunity to see instructors' assessment and to discuss it with them. The dispositions do not affect candidates' grades in those courses but serve as a formative assessment to help guide them in their development as professionals.

During 2005-2006 each program created its own rubric to measure candidate disposition (provided in program data books and as Exhibit S1-22).  Individual candidate scores, when available, can be seen in the "candidate progress" section of each program's data books. Most of the initial program faculty members are collecting candidate dispositional data at three of the transitional points during the program while the advanced program faculty collect data at two points during the program.


Candidate Knowledge of Disposition Expectations
Candidates are informed about dispositional assessment through the institution's undergraduate and graduate bulletins, and program handbooks for candidates. Syllabus templates indicate where and how dispositional outcomes are assessed.  Similarly, field manuals are in the process of being revised to incorporate this information. Instructors are introducing these concepts to their candidates at the first meeting of their courses. Dispositions embedded in forms used by supervisors and cooperating teachers to evaluate student teachers are discussed in seminars prior to student teaching.  Effective February 2005, candidates in introductory courses must sign acknowledgements that they have been informed about the use of dispositions in monitoring their progress.

Some of the initial and advanced level programs currently assess candidates' dispositions as part of their admissions processes, particularly through the applicants' essays explaining why they want to enter the chosen profession.  At this transition point, common dispositional-related criteria are related to reflective practice, social justice and inclusive community.  If any concerns are identified about a new candidate, the program director is alerted and can choose to monitor the candidate informally as she/he begin her/his professional coursework.  In rare cases, when a reference indicates more serious issues, the program coordinator and a designated administrator meet with the candidate and develop a plan for addressing concerns and monitoring progress.


Data of Candidate Knowledge and Demonstration of Dispositions
Aggregated data for the initial and advanced programs representing dispositions within courses during 2005-2006 is offered as Table 1-12; Exhibit S1-23 provides comparable data for the 2004-2005, as the origins and transition points of these data are distinct. While the unit adopted the use of dispositions in the program assessment plans, the implementation and data collection is in a pilot stage for most of the programs.  During 2004-2005, some of the initial programs assessed candidates at the Synthesis and Reflection points.   The data available in Table 1-12 also reflects candidates' portfolios in some of the programs when submitted for review at the Synthesis transition point prior to candidate teaching. The benchmark assessments at this point additionally reflect field experience observations from supervisors and cooperating teachers. Several of the programs are not included, either because they did not have candidates completing the program at the time of data collection (Early Childhood Education and School Psychology, for example) or they had not yet adopted the rubric

N- Number of Candidates D- Distinguished  P- Proficient  B- Basic  U- Unsatisfactory  * - AdvPrograms

Table 1-12 shows a progressive increase in the "Distinguished" and "Proficient" ratings of candidates across transition points, from 71 to 98 percent.  This was also the trend in 2004-2005. As with other data collected about individual candidates' progress (benchmark scores, grades), those candidates identified with dispositions that are below program expectations meet with faculty supervisors to address their needs with planning and, if needed, additional support services.  Some of these candidates elect to drop out of the program.

One of the additional questions on the course evaluation addressed whether candidates felt that the programs had helped support the development of their dispositions as professionals (see Table 1-5).   Across programs, candidates strongly agreed with this question (averaging between 1.2 and 2.0 on a scale from "1" as strongest agreement to "4" as least agreement).  The exit data survey also had questions aimed at dispositions aligned with the Conceptual Framework.  Exhibit S1-14 presents these data for all respondents across programs over a three-year period and Table 1-6 shows the highest- and lowest-rated items on the survey.   A large majority of the candidates who responded believed that their programs changed their views of themselves or their values concerning education and teaching.  Table 1-7, the employer's survey results, show that the large majority (77 percent) of those responding saw graduates of the unit's programs as having a higher level of professional and/or ethical behavior than teachers from other programs.