THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS AND, IN PARTICULAR, TEACHER PERSONALITY SIGNIFICANCE. TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPT OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING, INFORMATION ON THE NATURE OF SPECIFIC KINDS OF TEACHERS WAS SOUGHT. INTERVIEWS AND UNSTRUCTURED OBSERVATIONS OF INSERVICE TEACHERS WERE CONDUCTED. A STUDY WAS ALSO CONDUCTED ON SPECIFIC KINDS OF TEACHERS' EFFECTS ON CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR VIA PRE- AND POST-TEST ADMINISTRATION. PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED TO A SAMPLE OF POTENTIAL TEACHERS. THROUGH USE OF THE MANIFOLD INTEREST SCHEDULE (MIS) CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHERS AND POTENTIAL TEACHERS WERE IDENTIFIED. THE RESULTING IMPLICATIONS WERE THAT A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGE PROPORTION OF STUDENTS WHO PLAN TO BECOME TEACHERS POSSESSED PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS WHICH LEAD TO INEFFECTIVE AND INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR WITH CHILDREN AND THAT POTENTIAL TEACHERS NEED EXPERIENCES TO LEARN WAYS OF EFFECTIVELY DEALING WITH CHILDREN. A PROCESS OF REEDUCATION FOR FEARFUL STUDENTS IDENTIFIED AS POTENTIALLY INEFFECTIVE TEACHERS WAS RECOMMENDED AND SUGGESTED TO CONCENTRATE ON THE POTENTIAL TEACHER'S RELATION WITH CHILDREN. DEVELOPMENT OF A POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPT IN THE POTENTIALLY FEARFUL STUDENT WAS PROPOSED THROUGH A PROCESS OF INDIVIDUALIZED CLINICAL GUIDANCE. (RS)