Dependability of preservice clinical teaching scores using Generalizability Theory.

Introduction: The core of teacher training is to prepare preservice teachers to engage in teaching practices that enhance the acquisition of 21st-century skills. Clinical teaching is an integral part of teacher training. The processes involved in assessing preservice teachers' clinical teaching experiences are not immune to error; therefore, when not well executed, they may compromise the validity and reliability of the scores derived. Methods: Our study applies Generalizability theory (G-theory) to examine sources of error in clinical teaching practice at a university in Ghana. We adopted a three-facet partially nested random balanced design, with occasion nested within rater, nested within person, and all crossed with items, denoted by ( Results: We found that person-by-item interaction and the residual were the major sources of error. The generalizability and dependability coefficients were 0.91 and 0.90, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that preservice teachers' teaching competencies were assessed with high level of precision, though the assessment process was characterized by some errors. The study made useful recommendations to key stakeholders.