Do High Expectation Practices Benefit All Students? An Intervention Study

• In Event: 51.043 - How Teachers' Expectations for Students Matter for Teaching

Abstract

Existing teacher expectation intervention studies examined experimental group gains as a whole when compared with a control group. The current study explored differing effects of a teacher expectation intervention for students for whom their teachers held high, mid, and low expectations before the intervention implementation. The study was conducted in Grade 8 English as a Foreign Language classrooms in China, with 8 teachers and their 229 students. The intervention was based on a teacher expectation training program, focusing on three areas of high expectation teacher practice: challenging tasks, detailed feedback, and personal regard. Analyses revealed that the intervention led to increases all students’ achievement and in the self-concept of low- and mid-expectation students. The significance of the findings is discussed.

Authors

• Christine Margaret Rubie-Davies, University of Auckland

• Hui Ding, Central South University, China