The Predictive Validity of the 'Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory.' Final Report.

The purpose of this study is the cross-validation of the predictive validity of the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI). Designed by the writer two decades ago, this instrument purposes to assess attitudes of teachers toward pupils as one important factor in teacher personality. The present study attempts to cross-validate predictive validity results obtained by the writer in an investigation he made in 1967. The two studies comprise a sample of approximately 200 Furman University teacher education students, most of whom had taken the MTAI (1) as beginning trainees, (2) as graduates, and (3) as experienced teachers. Correlating these MTAI scores with ratings made later by principal, pupils, and an outside observer provided predictive validity coefficients, in the 1967 study, of .27 and .20 for beginning trainees and inexperienced graduates, respectively. Modifying the original scoring key for more adequate use with beginners and inexperienced graduates resulted in raising these coefficients to .55 and .57. The present study resulted in coefficients of .42 (beginniners) and .58 (graduates) with use of the original key and .47 and .55, respectively, with the modified key. It is concluded that the MTAI does have predictive validity and would seem useful in conjunction with other predictive measures. Use of the modified scoring key seems desirable with beginning trainees, and, with somewhat less certainty, with inexperienced graduates. (Author)