Personal Variables Differentials in the Use of Strategies to Reduce Dissonance in Supervisors’ Feedback among Pre-Service Teachers

The study assessed the influence of four personal variables of age, sex, level of training and department on the use of
strategies to reduce dissonance in supervisors’ feedback among pre-service teachers (PRESETs). It utilized the ex-post facto research
design. The sample comprised 192 pre-service teachers in their penultimate and final levels of teacher education programmes in
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Results showed that the PRESETs utilized different reduction strategies when
confronted with dissonance in supervisors’ feedback. It was also revealed that of the four personal variables, only level of training
significantly influenced the PRESETs’ use of dissonance reduction strategies. Lastly, these variables jointly contribute to the
prediction of the use of strategies to reduce dissonant supervisors’ feedback. The implications of these findings for teacher education
are also discussed.
Keywords: Dissonance reduction strategies; Pre-service teachers; Supervisors’ feedback; Teacher training