Abstract
The study assessed the attitudes of preservice teachers in the state of Florida by using the African American Teacher Attitude Scale (AAETAS), a four point 46-item Likert Scale designed by Hoover et al (1997). This study also sought to determine which nine demographic variables were associated with the preservice teachers attitudes. The demographic variables were comprised of 1.) race, 2.) university attended, 3.) hometown size, 4.) gender, 5.) age, 6.) socio economic status, 7.) primary language spoken at home/ in community, 8.) exposure to AAVE through high school course work, and 9.) exposure to AAVE through university course work.
The Likert Scale (questionnaire) was comprised of statements that were made by educators during the 1970s. The questionnaire was graded and the researcher used the standard deviation and mean to set the ranges of under 110 (low), 110-153 (middle), and 154 or above (high). Furthermore, the researcher compared the ranges of the current study with the ranges (under 120/deficit, 120-159/difference and 160 or above) set by Hoover et al (1997). The researcher conducted a multiple regression analysis on the scores (dependent variable) and the demographic variables (independent variables). The subjects for this study were preservice teachers as well as education majors at two large universities in North Florida. The sample was a sample of convenience. A total of 153 preservice teachers completed the surveys. The results of the study indicate that language spoken at home and hometown population are closely associated with preservice teachers’ attitudes. In addition, the results revealed that suburban bidialectical preservice teachers (i.e. those who speak both Standard English (SE) and AAVE as their primary languages at home) viewed AAVE more positively than preservice teachers from rural and urban areas who either speak SE, AAVE or both.
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