Article:
Teacher Expectation and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Knowns and Unknowns, Resolved and Unresolved Controversies
By: Lee Jussim, Kent D. Harber
This article shows that 35 years of empirical research on teacher expectations justifies
the following conclusions: (a) Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom do occur,
but these effects are typically small, they do not accumulate greatly across perceivers
or over time, and they may be more likely to dissipate than accumulate; (b) powerful
self-fulfilling prophecies may selectively occur among students from stigmatized social
groups; (c) whether self-fulfilling prophecies affect intelligence, and whether they
in general do more harm than good, remains unclear, and (d) teacher expectations
may predict student outcomes more because these expectations are accurate than because
they are self-fulfilling. Implications for future research, the role of self-fulfilling
prophecies in social problems, and perspectives emphasizing the power of erroneous
beliefs to create social reality are discussed.
The Six Questions on Which This
Review Is Focused
This review is framed around six questions that capture
many of the central issues addressed by teacher expectation
research:
1. What did the early teacher expectation research
show?
2. Do teacher expectations influence student
intelligence?
3. How powerful is the typical self-fulfilling prophecy
in the classroom?
4. Howaccurate is the typical teacher expectation?
5. Do negative teacher expectations harm students
more than positive teacher expectations help
students?
6. Do teacher expectation effects accumulate
across different teachers and over time?
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Article:
Reflections Of A Latina Student-Teacher: Refusing Low Expectations For Latina/O StudentsBy: Alyssa G. Cavazos
This narrative provides a personal account of the author’s student-teaching
experience in a primarily Latina/o high school. In an analysis of the journal
in which observations were during the experience, the following themes
emerged: (a) high expectations before the semester, (b) conflicting messages,
(c) teachers’ expectations for standard students, (d) low expectations,
and (e) students’ internalized expectations. Findings highlight the importance
of having high expectations for all students. This narrative also provides
personal reflections based on the author’s experiences as an English
language learner and as a student who was subjected to low expectations.
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More articles of interest:
Implementing Work Systems across the School Day: Increasing Engagement in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Bridging the Gaps Between Students' Perceptions of Group Project Work and Their Teachers' Expectations.More to come!
