The Dispositions of Diversity

Abstract

Dispositions are considered “soft skills” and, as such, can be difficult to teach and to assess. Given the deep cultural and racial divisions across the country, teachers need to re-embrace roles as creators of classroom climate and defenders of social emotional learning. As a result, the dispositional skills must now include cultural competence and a pedagogy that goes beyond the inclusion of special topics within a curriculum created by the dominant culture. Today's teacher candidates need to hold a commitment to the value of diversity in the classroom. They need to have embedded in their professional practice the ability to hold multiple perspectives as equally “good” and “right” while acknowledging their own unconscious biases. This chapter develops dispositions of diversity, provides an overview of effective program design with specific examples of instructional practices which expand candidates' thought and experiences about their own role in dismantling systemic racism, demonstrates the gaps in dispositional assessment, and suggests ways to remediate those gaps.