The student as Pygmalion: Effect of student expectation on the teacher.

Two experiments examined the possibility that student expectations regarding a teacher's competence can be communicated to the teacher and bring about the expected behavior. In Exp I, 39 female undergraduates acting as students were administered a lesson by a teacher (confederate) who the students expected to be either effective or ineffective. Results show significant differences in student attitudes, performance, and nonverbal behavior according to expectation. In Exp II, confederates acting as students emitted either positive or negative nonverbal behavior toward 40 female undergraduates acting as their teachers. There were significant effects on teachers' attitudes and behavior. Moreover, ratings of the teacher by judges showed teachers were rated as being more adequate under conditions of positive student nonverbal behavior than negative nonverbal behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student locus of control and response to expectations about self and teacher.

85 female undergraduates with either an internal or external locus of control (LOC) (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale) were used to investigate the relationship between LOC and responsivity to expectations regarding their own and their teacher's competence. Internal and external Ss, acting as students, were led to expect that they would perform well or poorly on a lesson and independently to expect that their teacher was competent or incompetent. After receiving a standardized lesson from a confederate acting as teacher, Ss' attitudes and performance were assessed. As predicted, internal Ss were more receptive to the expectation regarding self than external Ss. In contrast, the teacher expectation manipulation had no differential effect on internal and external Ss. Results suggest that students respond both to expectations about themselves and about their teacher and that LOC plays an important role in determining how an individual responds to such expectations. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sustainability of teacher expectation bias effects on long-term student performance.

In this article, we address the relationship between teacher expectation bias and student characteristics, its effect on long-term student performance, and the development of this effect over time. Expectation bias was defined as the difference between observed and predicted teacher expectation. These predicted expectations were estimated from a multilevel model in which teacher expectations of students' future performance in secondary education were regressed on students' prior achievement, IQ, and achievement motivation. Multilevel analyses were performed on a data set of about 11,000 students who entered secondary school in 1999 and who were monitored for 5 years. We found relationships between teacher expectation bias and student characteristics as well as a clear effect of expectation bias on long-term student performance. Teacher expectation bias partly mediated the effects of student characteristics on students' performance. Moreover, its effect was moderated by some of these characteristics. Mediation and moderation effects were the strongest for parents' aspirations. The effects of teacher expectation bias dissipated partly during the first 2 years but afterwards remained stable over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations.

Reviews the literature on self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations and concludes that a minority of teachers have major expectation effects on their students' achievement. However, such effects are minimal for most teachers because their expectations are generally accurate and open to corrective feedback. It is difficult to predict the effects of teachers' expectations, even with knowledge of their accuracy and the degree of rigidity with which they are held. Expectations interact with beliefs about learning and instruction to determine teacher behavior; similar expectations may lead to different behavior. Students will also differ in their interpretation of and response to teacher behavior; similar behavior may produce different student outcomes. (106 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher expectations: II. Construction and reflection of student achievement.

Tested hypotheses regarding self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy using longitudinal data relating 98 6th-grade math teachers' expectations to 1,731 students' performance. Consistent with the self-fulfilling prophecy hypothesis, teacher expectations predicted changes in student achievement beyond effects accounted for by previous achievement and motivation. Consistent with the perceptual bias hypothesis, teacher expectations predicted their own evaluations of students' performance more strongly than they predicted standardized test scores. Consistent with the accuracy hypothesis, path coefficients relating teacher expectations to standardized achievement tests were about 80% lower than zero-order correlations, and the path coefficients relating teacher expectations to students' grades were 45% to 65% lower than the zero-order correlations. These results support a weak constructivist perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived teacher support of student questioning in the college classroom: Its relation to student characteristics and role in the classroom questioning process.

Examined college students' perceptions of their teachers' support of student questioning (SQ). Perceived teacher support had significant and consistent relationships with students' motivational tendencies and strategy use typical of self-regulated learners. Perceived teacher support affected the likelihood of SQ by influencing whether students had a question to ask and their level of inhibition. Students perceived high levels of support, which does not account for the low incidence of SQ in college classrooms. Agreement between student perceptions and teacher self-reports suggested that creating opportunities for questions and providing high quality answers are important dimensions of teacher support. The possible self-fulfilling consequences of perceived teacher support are discussed. Teacher support for SQ may influence the likelihood that students formulate questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student perceptions of differential teacher treatment as moderators of teacher expectation effects.

Tested, in 2 studies, a student mediation model of teacher expectation effects that proposes that students acquire information about their abilities by observing the differential teacher treatment accorded high and low achievers. They then revise their own achievement expectations and subsequently perform according to the expectations perceived. Student perceptions of teacher treatment toward hypothetical high and low achievers were used to distinguish high from low-differential-treatment classrooms. In the 1st study, 101 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade students were also asked to report teacher treatment toward themselves. Only in high-differential-treatment classrooms did recipients of high and low teacher expectations perceive teacher treatment toward themselves that was consistent with the patterns of differential teacher treatment reported. In the 2nd study, in which 234 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-graders served as Ss, hierarchical regression analyses showed that teacher expectations contributed more to the prediction of student expectations and achievement in high- than in low-differential-treatment classrooms. Findings support a student mediation model of teacher expectation effects. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of teacher judgments of student responses to standardized test items.

Six students were randomly selected from each of 4 3rd-grade and 4 5th-grade classes. For each of their 6 students, teachers were asked to predict whether the student had responded correctly or incorrectly to selected items on the SRA (Science Research Associates) Achievement Series. Aggregate measures of teachers' judgments of their students' responses correlated positively and substantially with aggregate measures of students' actual responses. Teachers accurately judged their students' responses to individual items for approximately three-quarters of the total number of test items. However, the accuracy of teachers' judgments varied significantly with subtest, and there were significant individual differences among teachers in the accuracy of their judgments. Teachers were least accurate in judging low-performing students and most accurate in judging high-performing students. These results are consistent with previous research and are discussed within the context of interactive decision making of teachers. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in teacher efficacy and student self- and task-related beliefs in mathematics during the transition to junior high school.

In a longitudinal study of 1,329 students and the teachers they had for mathematics before and after the transition to junior high school, the relation between students' beliefs in mathematics and their teachers' sense of efficacy is examined. Using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), we found that the rate of change within the school year in students' expectancies, perceived performance, and perceived task difficulty in math differed at Year 1 and 2, depending on teacher efficacy before and after the transition. Students who moved from high- to low-efficacy math teachers during the transition ended the junior high year with the lowest expectancies and perceived performance (even lower than students who had low efficacy teachers both years) and the highest perceptions of task difficulty. The differences in pre- and posttransition teachers' views of their efficacy had a stronger relationship to low-achieving than to high-achieving students' beliefs in mathematics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome and attributional disagreements between students and their teachers.

Teachers' and students' outcome interpretations, attributions for the outcome, expectancies of future exam outcome, and perceptions concerning instrumental actions were compared after a math exam. One third of the students disagreed with their teacher about whether the exam outcome was a success or a failure; teachers evaluated the outcomes more positively than did students. When the students and the teachers agreed on the outcome interpretation, their mean attributional ratings did not apparently differ. However, ratings of teacher–student dyads revealed considerable attributional differences. After perceived failure, the dyadic attributional disagreements were related to disagreements concerning the instrumental actions needed for future success. Also, given failure, the more discrepant the dyad members' views of the stability of the attributions were, the more discrepant were their future expectations. Disagreements between students and teachers concerning outcome evaluation, causal perception, and future expectancy are discussed in terms of students' and teachers' biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of lecturer quality and student perception of lecturer's experience on teacher ratings and student achievement.

Previous research in college settings on the correlation between teacher ratings and student achievement has produced inconsistent results. Discrepancies may be due to study-to-study differences in teacher and/or student characteristics. 237 university students were tested to investigate a student-based explanation of the discrepancies. Lecturer quality and student perception of lecturer's experience (a student characteristic) were manipulated in a 2?×?2 design in which achievement and ratings were measured. Major findings indicate that (a) the ratings/achievement relationship varied with students' belief about lecturer experience, supporting a student-based explanation of the discrepancies that supplements a previous teacher-based explanation; and (b) lecturer quality affected ratings much more than achievement, threatening the field use of ratings when predictions are made without regression equations about a teacher's impact on student achievement. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of teacher judgments in predicting oral reading fluency.

The relationship between teachers' judgments versus actual performance on curriculum-based measures in reading was examined. A total of 30 regular education teachers were asked to predict the oral reading fluency score of students along with a rating scale of reading subskills. Correlations between teacher judgment measures and student performance found that teachers were accurate reporters of student performance levels in reading. However, some questions were raised whether teachers were accurate at predicting the actual level of student oral reading fluency when effect sizes were used to compare teacher judgment and actual student performance. Recommendations for continued research in understanding the parameters of the accuracy of teacher judgment are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of test familiarity and student disability status upon teachers' judgments of students' test performance.

Two questions motivated this study: (a) Does test familiarity influence teachers' judgments of their students' test performance? and (b) Does the disability status of students influence their teachers' judgments? Teachers (n=19) judged item performances for one student with disabilities and one student without disabilities (n pairs=19) from their fourth-grade classrooms. Teachers made judgments using (a) a mathematics test from the research version of the TerraNova CTBS Multiple Assessments edition, which is similar to the large-scale achievement test administered in numerous states, and (b) classroom-based math tests. Judgment accuracy was higher (a) on classroom tests and (b) for students without disabilities. Among less accurate judgments, teachers consistently underestimated the performances of students with disabilities. Students with disabilities performed lower on both types of tests. Student test performance accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in teacher judgment accuracy. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions for school-related problems: Teacher perceptions and teacher feedback.

Conducted 2 studies with a total of 54 teachers to examine classroom teachers' attributions for severe school problems. In both studies, teachers who had referred a student for psychological services were asked to assign causality for the referral problem. In Exp II, teacher praise and criticism of referred students were examined as functions of causal attributions. Both studies show that teachers held student factors more responsible for classroom problems than teacher factors and that teachers' attributions varied somewhat for learning vs behavior problems. Exp II indicated that problem students perceived as lacking motivation were criticized more often by their teachers. Relationship of the results to attribution theory and teacher attribution research is discussed, and further research conducted in naturalistic settings is recommended. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional transmission in the classroom: Exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment.

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Based on social–cognitive approaches to emotions, they hypothesized (a) that teacher enjoyment and student enjoyment within classrooms are positively linked and (b) that teacher enthusiasm mediates the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Self-reported enjoyment of mathematics classes was available from 1,542 students from 71 classrooms at 2 time points (Grades 7 and 8). At Time 2, mathematics teachers’ reports of their enjoyment of teaching were available (N = 71), as well as student ratings of teacher enthusiasm. The findings were in line with theoretical expectations. Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that teacher and student enjoyment were positively related even when the authors adjusted for students’ previous-class levels of mathematics enjoyment, and that the effect of teacher enjoyment on student enjoyment was mediated by teacher enthusiasm. Discussion centers on the practical implications for affective interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge in mathematics problem solving: Correlational and case analyses.

This study examined the relationship of teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge to teachers' mathematics instruction and to students' mathematics problem solving. First-grade teachers (N?=?20) participated in a 4-week workshop in which they were given access to research-based knowledge on children's mathematics learning. Teachers were observed for 16 days throughout the school year. In May, teachers completed interviews and questionnaires about their knowledge and beliefs; their students completed achievement tests. Correlational analyses showed significant positive relationships between teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge and students' mathematics problem-solving achievement. Teachers with more knowledge of their students questioned students about problem-solving processes and listened to their responses. Teachers with less knowledge of their students explained problem-solving processes to students or observed students' solutions. Case analyses of knowledge and behavior of the most effective teacher and the least effective teacher supported these conclusions and showed important differences in how these teachers thought about and used students' knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth on the evaluation of college instructors.

Examined the influence of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth as perceived by students and teachers on teacher evaluation. Male and female instructors in the same department were matched on the level of course taught. 22 pairs of courses evaluated by 838 college students were obtained. Twenty Instructional Improvement Questionnaire items that directly evaluate instructor performance were analyzed using a 3-factor analysis of variance and the .0025 level of significance. No interactions between faculty sex, student sex, and teacher warmth were found. When Ss rated their instructor's interest and warmth, teachers who were warmer and primarily interested in students received higher ratings in teaching effectiveness. When teachers rated themselves on warmth and interest, self-ratings interacted with faculty sex. Generally, female teachers received higher effectiveness ratings than did male teachers when they considered themselves low in warmth or interested in course content. Male teachers who rated themselves high in warmth or primarily interested in students received higher ratings than did male teachers who rated themselves low in warmth or primarily interested in course content, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher expectations: Self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy.

Students' performance may confirm teachers' expectations because teacher expectations create self-fulfilling prophecies, create perceptual biases, or accurately predict, without influencing, student performance. Longitudinal data obtained from 27 teachers and 429 students in 6th-grade math classes assessed the extent of self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy. Results revealed modest self-fulfilling-prophecy effects on student achievement and motivation, modest biasing effects on the grades teachers assigned students, and that teacher expectations predicted student performance more because they were accurate than because they caused student performance. Results provide more support for perspectives emphasizing limitations on expectancy effects than for perspectives emphasizing the power of expectancies to create social reality. They also provide more evidence of accuracy in social perception than of error and bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel exploration of the influence of teacher efficacy and burnout on response to student problem behavior and school-based service use.

There is an increasing concern about teacher factors, such as burnout or low efficacy, which have been hypothesized to influence student outcomes like achievement or discipline problems. The current study examined how burnout and efficacy relate to student disciplinary actions (e.g., referrals to the principal and suspensions) and referrals for school-based support services (e.g., student support and special education), while adjusting for school-, teacher-, and student-level variables. Data were collected during the fall and spring of a single school year from 491 teachers regarding 9,795 students at 31 elementary schools. Contrary to expectations, having low teacher efficacy in the fall was associated with a reduction in student referrals to the student support team. Also unexpectedly, teachers with high burnout in the fall were less likely to have students who received an out-of-school suspension by the spring. These findings enhance our understanding of the teacher factors that influence student outcomes and may inform the development of screenings and teacher-targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pupil performance under varying teacher conditions of high and low expectations and high and low controls.

Studied the effects of 4 combinations of teachers' expectations and control on pupil performance in a well-controlled laboratory simulation of the classroom. Two male and 2 female teachers (aged 20–26.5 yrs) presented each of the 4 combinations (high expectations with high control, high expectations with low control, low expectations with high control, and low expectations with low control) to randomly selected samples of 3rd graders (N?=?160). The experimental teaching task was a series of spelling and sentence construction exercises. Data analyses indicated significant effects of teacher expectation and teacher control on the performance of pupils. Teachers' high expectations combined with high control motivated significantly greater performance in Ss, especially boys, who were more influenced by the high control factor than were girls. (French abstract) (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)