Why Does Segregation Have An Impact On Academic Achievement: The Role Of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Analyses of Schooling Practices: Curriculum, Discourse, and Setting

Abstract

This mixed-method study integrates research on school segregation with that on self-fulfilling prophecies. It examines the role of teacher expectancies in the impact of school composition on pupils’ math achievement. Quantitative data from a survey of 2,845 pupils and 706 teachers in 68 Belgian primary schools, and qualitative data obtained through interviews with 26 teachers in five schools are analyzed. The quantitative analysis shows that teachers’ teachability expectations are lower in schools with a high share of non-native and working class pupils, and that these teachability expectations have an indirect impact on pupils’ achievement, through pupils’ feelings of academic futility. The qualitative analysis reveals that the lower teacher expectations in these schools are largely triggered by alleged linguistic deficiencies.

Authors

• Orhan Agirdag, Ghent University

• Mieke Van Houtte, Ghent University