Role of Teacher Expectations in the Stability of Minority Youth Educational Expectations

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 12. Race and Education

Abstract

Educational aspirations and expectations are one of the strongest predictors of educational attainment (Goodenow, 1993). Many factors, including parental and teacher expectations, mediate youth’s educational expectations (Bouchey & Harter, 2005). However, several factors affect teachers’ expectations of students’ futures. Teachers often hold lower expectations of racial/ethnic minority students (Alvidres & Weinstein, 1999; Noguera, 2003). While parental educational aspirations may help insulate students’ expectations, minority students tend to report greater feelings of distrust towards their teachers and these feelings affect their achievement (Noguera, 2003). While much research has focused on mechanisms that increase expectations for minority students, few studies explore the effect of these mechanisms across different configurations of race, gender, and college generational status. In this study, I explore the effect of teacher expectations on the stability of minority students’ expectations between secondary and post-secondary education. I first examine how students’ perceptions of their teachers expectations for the future align with their own educational expectations. Second, I analyze how this alignment between perceived and actual expectations influences the stability of minority youth’s expectations. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, I disaggregate the effect of this alignment along the lines of race, gender, and college-generational status—highlighting the within-group differences of Black and Hispanic students. Preliminary analyses suggest that this alignment has a strong, positive effect on the stability of first-generation minority students expectations compared with White students. In particular, the effect of the alignment between perceived and actual expectations is strongest for Black males compared with White males.

Author

• Brian Huff, The Pennsylvania State University