Qualitative Analysis of Dispositional Hiring Process

1. Qualitative Analysis of Dispositional Hiring Process

2. Purpose • Purpose: to ascertain the subsequent actions, benefits, barriers, and expected impact of dispositional training within the Boone Co. School district

3. Methodology • Interviews with all principals in the district, 23 • Recorded and transcribed • Key ideas highlighted

4. Questions and Key Ideas

5. Have your practices or procedures for interviewing and hiring teachers changed since you received dispositions training? If yes, how are they different now? • Have an entire section devoted to dispositions in our interview process • Include a written disposition question • Interview committee more aware of dispositional issues/ questions/ look-for’s • More comes out in the written question than verbal ones • Now we are consciously adding dispositional questions and rubrics • Now sharing questions with colleagues • Now understand the research behind dispositional questions

6. Which of the following participated in the training: Principal, Assistant Principal, SBDM Council, other? • All principals trained in dispositional hiring and passed inter-rater reliability assessments • All assistant principals and instructional coaches also trained and assessed • SBDM Council members also trained, but not assessed • Most schools provided some type of training to other members of the hiring committee • Some schools also trained all staff

7. Were there any concrete benefits resulting from the dispositional training process for your school?Were there any ways in which the hiring process or what you will look for in teacher applicants better informed by participating in the dispositions training? • More well-rounded candidates • Now understand why we ask what we ask and the importance of dispositions • Helps us stay focused on dispositions in the hiring process • We are more discerning • Depth of hiring process • Gives a more honest picture of candidates • We are more intentional about considering dispositions • More acutely aware of how dispositions frame actions • Conversations about candidates are more meaningful • Eliminates candidates that do not exhibit the appropriate dispositions

8. Have you encountered any obstacles in utilizing dispositional hiring practices? • Conflict when interviewers do not all exhibit dispositions we are looking for • Quantifying dispositions; how to describe on a rubric • Possibly transfer process • Afraid to give dispositions the level of importance needed • Maybe overemphasizing dispositions • Not always having a firm understanding of dispositional look-for’s

9. What specific types of dispositions are you looking for when hiring teachers? • Someone who genuinely loves kids • Looking for something beyond a job; teaching is a mission • Focus on people vs. things • Always sees the positive • Global thinkers • Espouses a team concept • Puts others before self

10. Do you have any specific examples/experiences with using dispositional hiring practices that you think will be particularly useful for new principals?Have you (or will you) employ any new practice or procedure in hiring to enhance the likelihood of hiring effective teachers based on the dispositions training? • Experiment with different questions • Consider a written task • Trust colleagues’ recommendations • Consider the process as a whole—combination of content knowledge, instructional expertise and dispositions • Must consider dispositions when selecting staff or you will end up with staff you don’t want • Possibly train everyone in the school • All administrators must go through training and pass assessment to use questions • Utilize a performance task

11. How might you measure the impact of your hiring procedures? What do you expect that impact to be? • Increased student achievement • Increased collaboration • Develop a positive culture • Professionalism • A culture of caring • Less time needed for administrator to “put out fires” • Seamless transitions • More trusting, cohesive staff • More productive PLC’s, staff meetings • Getting the best out of everyone • Increased staff retention

12. What specific questions have (or will) you include in your interview process as a result of the dispositional hiring training? • If your life turns out the best you could expect it to be, what would you be doing in 5 years? • Think of a significant past event which involved yourself and one other person… • Describe your favorite children’s book. • How have you helped a student? • Describe a situation when you tried to help, but it didn’t turn out the way you wanted. What would you do differently next time?

13. Next Steps • Analyze the questions and rubrics individual hiring committees are using in order to calibrate scores, look-for’s • Continue to train new administrators and SBDM Council members • Examine the impact of dispositions on student achievement • Interview other hiring committee members regarding their perceptions of dispositional hiring processes • Observe/ record/ analyze conversations during interview process