Dispositions Policy

The University of Delaware (UD) professional education faculty and staff and their school-based partners have the responsibility of evaluating the effectiveness of professional education candidates. To be successful, educators must purposefully act in caring, fair, professional, respectful, and responsible ways.

UD’s University Council on Teacher Education (UCTE) created a Professionalism Policy for Professional Education Candidates, identifying eight dispositions that candidates should exhibit to become an effective educator.

Monitoring of Dispositions

Professional education candidates learn about the dispositions and Professionalism Policy in one of their early education courses or orientation session. They are rated on the dispositions throughout their program. If faculty, staff, field instructors (supervisors), or clinical educators identify a candidate who exhibits behaviors inconsistent with the eight dispositions in their course or in the field, they may complete the Professional Dispositions of Effective Educators – Evaluator Form and submit it to the candidate’s program coordinator.  Center for Excellence & Equity in Teacher Preparation on maintains and disseminates the dispositions ratings to programs.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Candidates are required to acknowledge that they have read and understood the Professional Dispositions of Effective Educators – Candidate Form in Taskstream at the beginning of each academic year. Signing-off on this form indicates their willingness to demonstrate the professional dispositions throughout their tenure in their educator preparation program.

Candidates should also be familiar with the expectations in the University of Delaware Student Code of Conduct in addition to the above dispositions.

Faculty and Field Instructors

If University faculty, staff, or field instructors (supervisors) identify a candidate who exhibits behaviors inconsistent with the eight dispositions in their course or in the field, they may complete the Professional Dispositions of Effective Educators – Evaluator Form and submit it to the candidate’s program coordinator. If the program coordinator determines that a meeting with the candidate is warranted based on the evaluation, they will follow the steps for a dispositions meeting outlined in the Professionalism Policy for Professional Education Candidates. After the meeting with the teacher candidate, the program coordinator submits a copy of the signed disposition form to the Office of Clinical Studies.

Clinical Educators

Clinical educators who identify a candidate that exhibits behaviors inconsistent with the eight dispositions may complete the Professional Dispositions of Effective Educators – Evaluator Form and submit it to the candidate’s field instructor (supervisor). The field instructor will then share the form with the candidate’s program coordinator.