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Teachers Need Affective Competencies

2000; Project Innovation Austin; Volume: 120; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

0013-1172

Carl O. Olson, Jerry L. Wyett,

Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

who remembers his own educational experiences remembers teachers, not methods and techniques -Sidney Hook (1). Educators should be chosen not merely for their special qualifications, but more for their personality and their character, because we teach more by we are than by we teach-Will Durant (2). The competencies deemed most valuable in a teacher change from era to era. In the post-Sputnik 1950s, emphasis was placed on a teacher's knowledge of mathematics and science. It did not take long to discover that more than a knowledge of subject matter was required of teachers. In the 1960s and 1970s human potential era, emphasis was placed on the affective skills of teachers. It was quickly discovered that even the most caring teacher could not be successful without a knowledge of subject matter and a repertoire of teaching skills. Historically, the emphasis on we seek in teachers swings between the cognitive and affective domains. The latest efforts to define teachers need to know and be able to do tend to overemphasize the cognitive skills of teachers. Across the nation we are increasingly basing the evaluation of school districts, individual schools and teachers on the results of standardized tests. This trend will result in increased emphasis on the cognitive skills of teachers. In recent years excellent work has been done in defining teacher competencies as standards. Various states, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) have defined versions of what teachers need to know and be able to do. The INTASC standards have been widely adopted. They are excellent as far as they go. However, they are not comprehensive enough as they tend to stress the cognitive aspects of teaching more than the affective aspects. Knowledge of subject matter and pedagogical skills are necessary for successful teaching. However, they are not sufficient. As veteran educators, we have trained, employed and supervised hundreds of teachers. We are convinced that the personality and attitudes of teachers are just as important as their knowledge of subject matter and pedagogical skills. Research demonstrates that the affective competencies of teachers directly impact student learning. We need balance. We should be defining teachers need to know, be able to do and be. The INTASC standards and similar standards adopted by various states and organizations are generally excellent statements of the cognitive skills needed by teachers. We do not presume to criticize or change them. We do recommend they be augmented. We suggest that, in order to achieve balance, educators should consider additional standards such as the following when considering the needed competencies of teachers: * The teacher is an authentic person who is genuine, self-aware and able to behave in accordance with his or her true feelings. * The teacher sees all people as worthy of unconditional positive regard and treats them with dignity and respect. * The teacher is an empathic person who understands the feelings of students and responds appropriately to those feelings. We offer these standards to illustrate the type of affective standards supported by research. We do not suggest that any group adopt these standards exactly as we have written them. However, we do feel that separate standards should be devoted to the three key personal characteristics of authenticity, respect and empathy. It will be argued by some that there is no need to articulate additional affective competencies of teachers for some or all of the following reasons: * Everyone knows that teachers need affective competencies. * There is no clearly established relationship between the affective competencies of teachers and student learning. * The importance of affective teacher competencies are implicit in current lists of standards. …