Intelligent Dispositions: Dewey, Habits and Inquiry in Teacher Education
Source: Journal of Teacher Education, 66(1), January/February 2015, p. 86-97.
This paper argues that John Dewey’s discussion of habits offers a theoretical framework that points to answers that respond to mandates and also open avenues for complex educational engagement.
It presents a theoretical response to questions about dispositions grounded in Dewey’s conception of habits and then uses that conception to address each of the three proceeding questions in turn.
Its central argument is that teacher educators should conceptualize dispositions as being comprised of clusters of habits.
Habits describe our predispositions to draw upon modes of response to situations and problems that arise within specific contexts.
Finally, this paper concludes that regardless of the type of disposition involved, teacher education programs must create contexts that encourage the development of intelligent habits to inform intelligent dispositions.