Teachers' explicit expectations and implicit prejudiced attitudes to educational achievement: Relations with student achievement and the ethnic achievement gap

In this paper, we consider whether teachers' explicit and implicit prejudiced attitudes underlie the ethnic achievement gap. To date, most research on teacher expectation effects has relied on explicit expectation measures that are prone to social desirability biases. In contrast, we examine the effects of teachers' (a) explicit ethnicity-based expectations for academic achievement and (b) implicit prejudiced attitudes about academic achievement on students' actual academic success over time. A total of 38 teachers completed both a traditional teacher expectation measure and a modified Implicit Association Task designed to assess ethnic stereotypes associated with academic achievement and failure. A multi-level analytic framework showed that students in classrooms of teachers with high expectations performed better in reading at the end of the year and that these effects were found across all ethnic groups. In contrast, whereas students' mathematics achievement scores were largely unrelated to teachers' explicit expectations, teachers' implicit prejudiced attitudes predicted student performance. Specifically, students benefited most academically when their teachers' implicit biases favored the ethnic group to which the student belonged. Findings are discussed in relation to differences in the salience of teachers' expectations and implicit prejudiced attitude in the classroom, and the ethnic achievement gap.     

The Relation between Teacher Specialization and Student Reading Achievement

This study investigates the relationship between teacher specialization and the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in Sweden. The empirical base is data from PIRLS 2011. The main method of analysis is a two-level regression. Results revealed a positive relationship between reading achievement and teacher education relevant for subject and grade level while there was no relationship between reading achievement and teaching experience. The relation between reading achievement and teacher specialization remained significant when the influence of parents’ educational levels and students’ early reading abilities were controlled for. A tendency of compensatory effects could be observed, with teacher specialization having a stronger effect in low-performing classrooms. The findings support the conclusion that relevant teacher education is of importance for teacher effectiveness.     

Teacher feedback,disciplinary climate,student self-concept,and reading achievement:A multilevel moderated mediation model

Research has confirmed the importance of teacher feedback on student learning. The mechanism of how they are related, however, is not clear enough. In this study, we explored this relation with 60,501 fifteen-year-old students from collectivistic and individualistic cultures in PISA 2018. Importantly, we examined the possible mediating role of reading self-concept and the moderating role of disciplinary climate at both student level and school level in multi-level structural equation models (MSEM). Results demonstrated that the association between teacher feedback and reading achievement was significantly mediated via reading self-concept at student level across cultures, and this indirect effect was significant irrespective of the disciplinary climate level. Moreover, results showed that a positive disciplinary climate would facilitate the building of students’ reading self-concept which subsequently would enhance their reading achievement at school level. This study has important theoretical, practical, cross-cultural, and methodological implications for teacher feedback research and student learning.     

Student hand-raising as an indicator of behavioral engagement and its role in classroom learning

Hand-raising is an everyday student behavior during classroom discourse. The present study investigates hand-raising as an observable indicator of behavioral engagement and its relation to student achievement. We examine students’ hand-raising behavior during a videotaped lesson in high school classrooms (N = 266 students). Results from multilevel regression modeling linked the frequency of students’ engagement in hand-raising to academic achievement. Further, structural equation modeling was applied to investigate the interrelations between hand-raising, cognitive engagement, and teacher emotional support. Results indicate that hand-raising is associated with cognitive engagement and perceptions of teacher support and suggest that hand-raising may mediate the relation between teacher emotional support and academic achievement. The discussion highlights the utility of student hand-raising as a proxy for students’ active participation and engagement. We emphasize the study’s contribution to the engagement literature.     

The cost-effectiveness of raising teacher quality

Econometric studies suggest that student achievement may be improved if high-performing teachers are substituted for low-performing teachers. Drawing upon a recent study linking teacher performance on licensure exams with gains in student achievement, an analysis was conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of requiring teacher applicants to meet a minimum 1000 SAT test score requirement, while raising teacher salaries by 45 percent in order to maintain an adequate pool of candidates. Results indicate that the cost-effectiveness of this approach to raising teacher quality is substantially lower than the cost-effectiveness of a competing approach for raising student achievement, involving the implementation of systems that provide formative assessment feedback to students and teachers regarding student performance in math and reading. The implementation of formative assessment instead of less cost-effective approaches would help to achieve the important goal of raising math and reading achievement while using fewer resources. The savings in resources may then be used to achieve other important educational goals—those that are not well-addressed through formative assessment.     

Teacher Perceptions of Learning Motivation and Classroom Behavior: The Role of Student Characteristics

The present study investigates whether teacher perceptions of students’ cognitive skills, their learning motivation, and their classroom behavior differ according to students’ socioeconomic status, immigrant background, and gender. Data from N = 4746 German fourth graders and data from their parents and teachers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Controlling for student achievement as measured in a standardized achievement test and student motivation as measured by student and parent reports, we found that teachers overestimated the cognitive skills of high-SES students and girls in comparison to those of low-SES students and boys. Similarly, teachers perceived high-SES students, students who are not from an immigrant background, and girls as having a higher learning motivation and as having more cognitive skills. Finally, we found that teachers’ perceptions of students’ learning motivation and classroom behavior mediated the relationship between student characteristics and cognitive skills as perceived by the teacher.     

Is experience the best teacher? A multilevel analysis of teacher characteristics and student achievement in low performing schools

The study investigated several teacher characteristics, with a focus on two measures of teaching experience, and their association with second grade student achievement gains in low performing, high poverty schools in a Mid-Atlantic state. Value-added models using three-level hierarchical linear modeling were used to analyze the data from 1,544 students, 154 teachers, and 53 schools. Results indicated that traditional teacher qualification characteristics such as licensing status and educational attainment were not statistically significant in producing student achievement gains. Total years of teaching experience was also not a significant predictor but a more specific measure, years of teaching experience at a particular grade level, was significantly associated with increased student reading achievement. We caution researchers and policymakers when interpreting results from studies that have used only a general measure of teacher experience as effects are possibly underestimated. Policy implications are discussed.

The effects of teacher expectation interventions on teachers’ expectations and student achievement: narrative review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

This study provides a systematic review of the effects of 19 teacher expectation interventions. Prior research on teacher expectations primarily focussed on correlational relationships with student and teacher characteristics, leaving open the questions of whether it is possible to raise teacher expectations and to prevent (too) low expectations from having detrimental effects on student achievement. These questions were the scope of the current review. We distinguished 3 types of interventions: changing teacher behaviour, creating awareness of expectancy effects, and addressing the beliefs underlying the expectations. The results indicated that it was possible to raise teacher expectations and subsequent student achievement. We found summary effects of Hedges’ g?=?0.38 and 0.30, respectively. The narrative review suggested that the intervention type did not affect the effectiveness, but teacher support for the intervention did. However, verification of this suggestion with moderator analysis was not possible due to the limited number of interventions.     

Teacher credentials and student achievement: Longitudinal analysis with student fixed effects

We use a rich administrative dataset from North Carolina to explore questions related to the relationship between teacher characteristics and credentials on the one hand and student achievement on the other. Though the basic questions underlying this research are not new—and, indeed, have been explored in many papers over the years within the rubric of the “education production function”—the availability of data on all teachers and students in North Carolina over a 10-year period allows us to explore them in more detail than has been possible in previous studies. We conclude that a teacher's experience, test scores and regular licensure all have positive effects on student achievement, with larger effects for math than for reading. Taken together the various teacher credentials exhibit quite large effects on math achievement, whether compared to the effects of changes in class size or to the socio-economic characteristics of students.     

Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math: Relations with teacher and student outcomes

Social cognitive theory posits that teacher self-efficacy beliefs should be related to not only their own well-being outcomes but also classroom processes and student outcomes in the general ecology of the classroom environment. However, little research has directly examined the associations of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs with these teacher and student-level outcomes simultaneously. The present study proposes and tests an integrative model of the relations of teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching math with their job satisfaction and student math achievement both directly and indirectly via interaction quality as a critical dimension of the quality of classroom processes. Additionally, student level relational and motivational predictors of math achievement, including individual perceptions of student-teacher interaction quality and math self-concept, are included per the ecology of the classroom environment. Based on data from over 6000 4th grade students and 450 teachers, results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math were positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and class levles of math achievement and interaction quality. At the individual student level, individual levels of math self-concept were positively associated with math achievement, and individual perceptions of interaction quality were positively associated with math self-concept. However, a negative association between residualized interindividual perceptions of interaction quality and math achievement was observed.     

Adjusting expectations or maintaining first impressions? The stability of teachers' expectations of students’ mathematics achievement

The issue of teacher expectation stability is crucial in understanding the self-fulfilling prophecies generated by teacher expectations. However, currently there is a lack of empirical evidence related to teacher expectation stability. The aim of the current study was to assess the temporal stability of teacher expectations of their students’ mathematics achievement within the timeframe of one school year. Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models were employed based on a sample of 2536 students taught by 89 teachers in New Zealand elementary and middle public schools. Strong rank order stability was found in teacher expectations at the between-student level. Expectation instability was present at the within-student level. Paths from student mathematics achievement to teacher expectations were stronger than the paths in the opposite direction, indicating that teachers adapted their expectations for students to fall in line with student performance and continued to do so throughout the year.     

School climate and teacher beliefs in a school effectively serving poor South Carolina (USA) African-American students: A case study

This study examined the roles of school climate, teacher expectations, and instructional practices in one elementary school in South Carolina (USA) that produced effective achievement outcomes with poor and minority students. Survey data, teacher interviews, and classroom videotaping was used to identify school characteristics and instructional behaviors of six teachers nominated by colleagues as exemplary. The school was characterized by an emphasis on high student expectations, school staff cohesiveness, engaging instruction, high parent involvement, and multicultural instruction integrated with curriculum. The practices identified are consistent with literature on effective American schools; and the practices are key aspects of the sound instruction of poor and minority children. Teachers stated that teacher education programs did not prepare them to teach these students and that they had to learn this on the job.     

Teachers' attitudes and students' opposition. School misconduct as a reaction to teachers' diminished effort and affect

Recent decades have seen many studies dealing with the effects of teacher expectations. While most have focused on students' cognitive outcomes, we relate teacher expectations to student deviancy. We expect low expectations to be associated with students' feelings of futility and less teacher support, which, according to respectively strain theory and social control theory, give rise to misconduct. Multilevel analyses of data (2004–2005) from 11,844 students and 2104 teachers in 84 Flemish secondary schools suggest that, in schools where teacher expectations are low, students report less perceived teacher support, which is associated with higher rates of self-reported school misconduct.     

‘That teacher really likes me’ - Student-teacher interactions that initiate teacher expectation effects by developing caring relationships

Teacher expectations are associated with student academic achievement, but no research has generated new theory that explains how teacher expectation effects occur from students' perspectives. A substantive theory explaining the process through which students reconcile with their teachers' expectations is presented in this paper, emphasising the role of caring student-teacher relationships in teacher expectation effects on academic achievement. The theory was constructed with 25 grade 10 participants across three Western Australian secondary schools, with data including 100 interviews and 175 classroom observations. The analysis and synthesis of the data confirmed that the students acted in ways that they reflected improved their academic attainment when their teachers communicated high expectations of them. Noddings' enduring philosophy of the ‘ethic of care’ is used as a discussion framework, emphasising implications for how teachers practise and learn to interact with their students so that they can initiate positive teacher expectation effects on student learning.     

The Elusive Relationship Between Teacher Characteristics and Student Academic Growth: A Longitudinal Multilevel Model for Change

Teacher characteristics and student achievement growth are currently a significant topic of investigation in the educational accountability arena. Given the environment of high-stakes accountability associated with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and state accountability systems, staffing all classrooms with highly qualified teachers is a critical national concern. A new era of research is needed to understand the complexity of teacher quality when defined by student learning growth. The present study evaluated the effects of teacher characteristics (i.e., experience, education, and race) in high school reading achievement gains using a multi-level growth model in an urban school district in Kentucky. Findings showed significant effects of time, but non-significant effects of teacher characteristics in high school reading achievement growth. Implications for educational policy and future research are discussed.     

Educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept

In response to methodological concerns associated with previous research into the educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept, the topic was re-examined using a significantly more representative sample and a contemporary self-concept measure. From an initial screening of 515 preadolescent, coeducational students in 18 schools, students significantly high or low in self-concept were compared using standardized tests in reading, spelling, and mathematics, and teacher interviews to determine students' academic and nonacademic characteristics. The teachers were not informed of the self-concept status of the students. Compared to students with low self-concept, students with high self-concept were rated by teachers as being more popular, cooperative, and persistent in class, showed greater leadership, were lower in anxiety, had more supportive families, and had higher teacher expectations for their future success. Teachers observed that students with low self-concept were quiet and withdrawn, while peers with high self-concept were talkative and more dominating with peers. Students with lower self-concepts were also lower than their peers in reading, spelling, and mathematical abilities. The findings support the notion that there is an interactive relationship between self-concept and achievement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Gender differences in reading achievement and enjoyment of reading: The role of perceived teaching quality

The authors examined the extent to which classroom-specific relationships between students’ gender and their reading achievement and enjoyment of reading are associated with student-perceived teaching quality. Based on a sample of 10,543 ninth-grade students from 427 classrooms, multilevel analyses revealed that effective classroom management, adequate pacing, and a strong focus on language competencies were related to a less pronounced increase of girls’ advantage in reading achievement during Grade 9. High levels of teacher support and focus on language competencies were related to smaller gender differences in enjoyment of reading at the beginning of Grade 9, though not associated with change of these differences over the school year. Our findings suggest that high teaching quality is not only related to higher reading achievement and reading enjoyment in classrooms as a whole, but may also help to mitigate the increase of gender gaps in reading achievement and motivation commonly observed in secondary school.     

Teacher perceptions and individual differences: How they influence rural teachers’ motivating strategies

This study examined the influence of high school teachers’ perceptions and individual difference characteristics on teachers’ use of motivating strategies in their classrooms. Participants were 75 teachers in 19 rural, public high schools. A mixed method approach was used. Quantitative measures included demographics, individual differences, perceptions, and motivating strategies, analyzed as correlations and regressions. Qualitative measures included generative self-report of motivating a student, and semi-structured interviews, which were open coded and then axial coded to identify themes and issues. Peer-related environment stood out among teacher perceptions predicting student motivation. Teacher support and efficacy predicted motivating strategies, but teacher perceptions of student goals and causes of lack of motivation did not. Teachers admit that they lack knowledge and efficacy for motivating students. Findings can inform teacher education, professional development, and administrative support for teaching effectiveness.     

Teacher Professional Development and Student Reading Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects

Abstract

Research-based instruction is necessary to support students’ reading development, and professional development (PD) is a critical avenue to ensuring high-quality instructional practices. To date, there has been no comprehensive review focused on the effects of teacher PD on student reading achievement. As such, the purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the impact of teacher PD on reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. A secondary aim was to determine whether study, program, or participant characteristics were potential moderators of these effects. A comprehensive search of published and unpublished research between 1975 and 2017 resulted in 28 studies that met prescribed criteria. Results indicate that teacher PD has a moderate and significant, positive average effect on reading achievement. However, moderator analyses did not explain the variance in the effects of PD on student outcomes. Primarily, studies represented typically-developing students in the elementary grades, with only three studies including middle school students and four studies including reading outcomes of students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. Recommendations for improved study designs that allow for more in-depth investigation of the characteristics of effective PD and mechanisms of change in student outcomes are discussed.     

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Student Resistance in College Classrooms: The Effects of Teacher Misbehaviors and Credibility

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of teacher misbehaviors and credibility with student resistance in U.S. and Chinese college classrooms. Findings indicate that Chinese college students report a higher level of resistance than U.S. college students. Teacher misbehaviors and credibility have differing associations with student resistance in the U.S. and Chinese college classrooms. Specifically among the 3 dimensions of teacher misbehaviors, in the United States, teacher indolence and incompetence contribute the most to student resistance, explaining 27% of the variance in student resistance; but in China, teacher offensiveness is the only source of student resistance, accounting for 10% of the variance in student resistance. Among the 3 dimensions of teacher credibility, in the United States, teacher trustworthiness and competence are the effective predictors of student resistance, explaining 19% of the variance in student resistance; whereas in China, teacher trustworthiness is the only predictor of student resistance, accounting for 6% of the variance in student resistance.