The effect of cognitive self-instructional strategies on preservice teacher's locus of control

The efficacy of a cognitive self-instructional procedure in altering the locus of control orientations of preservice teachers was investigated. Sixty-seven subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: experimental, attention control, or assessment control. The measure used to assess the relative effectiveness of the treatment procedure was Rotter's Locus of Control Scale (I-E). The experimental treatment consisted of 6 h of instruction in cognitive monitoring and the use of self-instructional strategies for planning, instructing, and managing classroom behavior. The results indicated that the selfinstructional training was effective in changing preservice teachers' locus of control to more internal orientations. The implications of enhancing reflective thought and problem-solving ability by explicitly training novice and experienced teachers to talk to themselves were discussed.