First year faculty member recently honored
Dr. S. Mia Obiwo, assistant professor of Early Childhood Education in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership (ICL), has received the prestigious 2021 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award for “Bringing Clarity to the Construct: A Content Analysis of Disposition for Urban Teaching and Learning.” Obiwo is in her first year as UofM faculty, having received her PhD at Georgia State University. She was honored at the February AACTE annual meeting and virtual conference. The American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) represents educators throughout the United States who advance the profession through innovation, high standards and leadership.
Obiwo elaborates on her dissertation topic and its impact on future research and practice: “The triad of knowledge, skills, and dispositions is used in the field of teacher education as a common way to account for all of the components of good teaching. We know how to define and think about knowledge and skills. However, the term ‘disposition’ is ambiguous with varying perspectives and definitions."
In past experiences as an urban elementary school teacher and current experiences as a teacher educator, Obiwo observed and collaborated with teachers who had dispositions that would aid the success of a diverse range of children. Though these teachers had desirable dispositions, it was hard for her to put them into words. She embarked on her dissertation journey with the goal of using decades of research on dispositions to clarify what is meant when we use the term. She also looked specifically at research that discussed dispositions relative to the urban school context to identify and describe desirable urban teacher dispositions. Taking it one step further, Obiwo outlined programmatic features during teacher preparation that help cultivate dispositions for urban teaching and learning. Ultimately, she likes to think of teacher dispositions as a teacher’s (un)conscious attitudes, beliefs, and commitments that directly influence their instructional practices and relationships with children, families, schools and communities.
Dr. Kandi Hill-Clarke, dean of the College of Education, said of Obiwo’s research, “Her dissertation has great and impactful implications for the field of teacher education. We are delighted to have Dr. Obiwo as a colleague in the College of Education at the University of Memphis where she will continue expanding her research and scholarly work on teacher dispositions.”
Obiwo’s commitment to be driven by equity is evident in her response to receiving the award. She states, “I am honored to be the recipient of the 2021 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award. I will continue using urban teacher education research as an informative vehicle for helping educators become culturally responsive, equity-oriented change agents in their classrooms and communities.”
For more information, contact Obiwo at smobiwo@memphis.edu.