Teachers' Dispositions at Tertiary Level: An Inquiry in the Preparation of Prospective Professionals

Abstract

Teachers' dispositions are mainly effective in the optimization of quality education. At the tertiary level, it plays a significant role in the process of educating students. It is primarily concerned with successful and effective teaching. Such dispositions are directed by the beliefs and viewpoints concomitant to ethical principles like honesty, equity, accountability and social justice. Professional dispositions of teachers involve the technical aspects of teaching such as a wide array of knowledge, subject expertise, pedagogical skills and experience that they engage in advancing the intellectual growth of students. These technical aspects of teaching, however, overshadow the nontechnical qualities of teachers like their personal virtues, character, and personality that are immensely important for the inculcation of values in students. The paper proceeds to argue that students of higher education would be prospective professionals, it is, therefore, the responsibility of teachers to promote and instill virtues in students during their academic years. It further argues that virtuous disposition not only mediates value inculcation in students but it also empowers teachers to perform through thick and thin in conformity with normative professional dispositions. The analyses deduce that the scope of teachers' dispositions should be widened to take into account the importance and relevance of virtues in order to bring affirmative change in the professional skills of teachers. The study attempts to find out the significance of virtuous dispositions in practice teaching and argues for the internalization and implementation of the same within the professional dispositions of teachers.