Values and Dispositions of Omani Novice Teachers as Perceived by School Principals and Assistant Principals

Equipping teacher candidates with values and dispositions has become an important part of the conversation about effective teaching and teacher preparation programs are increasingly expected to integrate dispositions in their agenda. The purpose of the present study is two-folded. It aims at investigating the kind of dispositions of novice Omani teachers as perceived by school principals and assistant principals. It also aims to identify the type of factors that affect the shaping of novice teachers’ dispositions/values. Interviews were conducted with ten school principals and five assistant principals from various public schools in two different directorates of education in Oman. Data of the interviews were analyzed qualitatively by identifying the most emerging themes in terms of the most and least developed dispositions as well as factors shaping them. Findings revealed that dispositions related to ambition and flexibility were highly observed among novice teachers while dispositions related to sense of belonging and commitment and responsibility were less observed. The study also showed that there was a range of factors shaping the development of novice teachers dispositions ranging from broader macro factors such as how the society views a teacher and the appointment situation in Oman to more micro institutional factors such as the huge demands of the job and the type and level of support that schools provide to novice teachers. The paper makes recommendations relevant to both teacher preparation programs and the Ministry of Education.