Self-Talk of Student Teachers and Resulting Relationships

The purpose of the study was to examine the self-talk of student teachers and to determine if it was differentially related to personality characteristics of locus of control and self-esteem. Sixty-nine female preservice teachers recorded self-talk, which was categorized according to transactional states (adult, parent, child), locus of control (internal, external), and directional states (positive, negative, neutral). Results indicated that the preservice teachers engaged in a majority of negative, child-oriented, external self-talk. In addition, preservice teachers with high self-esteem and an internal locus of control tended to emit self-talk statements that were adult, parent, neutral, and internally oriented. A discussion of the findings in relation to the broader context of teacher reflection and development is presented.