Getting to Know Students: How Stable Are Teacher Expectations?

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of School-Level Factors on Students

Abstract

Teacher expectations have been researched for five decades. However, the question of whether or not expectations are stable or not over time has been infrequently investigated. Further, studies of stability have generally not controlled for achievement and expectations may be stable because achievement is stable. The current study investigated the rank order of expectations (between students) controlling for achievement at the beginning, middle and end of one academic year. The study also examined whether expectations changed for individual students (within student). Overall, the results showed strong stability in the rank ordering of students across the year. Further, although teachers adjusted their expectations for some students over the year, for others expectations remained high or low throughout the year.

Authors

• Christine Margaret Rubie-Davies, University of Auckland

• Anneke Timmermans, Groningen Institute for Educational Research

• Serene Wang, The University of Auckland