An Analysis of the Structural Relationship among Factors Related to Preservice Teachers' Dispositions

This study aimed to investigate the structural relationship among factors related to preservice teachers' dispositions. In particular, the study was intended 1) to compare factor structures of preserveice teachers' character... [ view full abstract ]

This study aimed to investigate the structural relationship among factors related to preservice teachers' dispositions. In particular, the study was intended 1) to compare factor structures of preserveice teachers' character traits between two groups, and 2) to examine the mediating effect of preservice teachers’ aptitude and character traits on their academic achievement.

For these purposes, data for preservice teachers’ responses to the self-monitoring instrument of their aptitude and character traits were collected and combined with the academic achievement records, which were measured by a grade-point average (GPA). The data were analyzed using factor analysis with covariates model and the multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) model. In addition, the single-level simple mediation analysis model was employed to explore the mediating effect of the preservice teachers’ character traits on their academic achievement.

The results of this study indicated that leadership and communication skills have the strongest factor loadings, implying that these two traits were the most effective predictors in accounting for preservice teachers’ aptitude and character. However, the factor structures of the character traits were not found to be different between the regular admission group and the admission officer group. Based on the results, it can be inferred that the preservice teachers' affective characteristics when they entered the college did not significantly affect the college GPA while the students' cognitive characteristics such as high school GPA and college scholastic ability test scores had more significant effect on the college GPA.