Abstract
This study investigated the link between teacher expectations and student learning, relying on longitudinal data from 64 classrooms and 1026 first-grade students in Germany. Further, based on a subsample of 19 classrooms with 354 students, we explored the mediating role of three characteristics of teacher feedback rated in video-recorded school lessons. The results showed that teacher expectations were inaccurate to some extent; that is, they did not entirely agree with students' current achievement, general cognitive abilities and motivations. In addition, this inaccuracy in teacher expectations significantly predicted students’ end-of-year achievement, even after prior achievement, general cognitive abilities, motivation, and student background characteristics were considered. Specifically, inaccurately high teacher expectations were associated with greater achievement in reading and mathematics, whereas inaccurately low teacher expectations were associated with lower achievement in reading only. Furthermore, teacher feedback varied significantly with inaccurate teacher expectations but did not substantially mediate teacher expectancy effects.
Highlights
From the first day of school enrollment onward, teachers play a significant role in student learning (e.g., Dietrich, Dicke, Kracke, & Noack, 2015; Hattie, 2009; Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011)
With the aim of overcoming these shortcomings, the present study examined the associations of teacher expectations with teacher feedback and student learning, covering all three steps of the process potentially leading to the emergence of a self-fulfilling prophecy
Regression analyses of teacher expectations based on the main sample revealed that approximately 35% of the variation in teacher expectations was explained by students’ achievements, general cognitive abilities, and motivation (German language: 33.85%, mathematics: 37.08%; models not displayed
Summary
From the first day of school enrollment onward, teachers play a significant role in student learning (e.g., Dietrich, Dicke, Kracke, & Noack, 2015; Hattie, 2009; Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011). It is crucial that teachers are aware of students' achievement, as well as their individual learning resources, as this knowledge is the basis for effective instructional decisions and enables teachers to provide sufficient support to individual students (e.g., Baumert & Kunter, 2013; Vogt & Rogalla, 2009) Such evaluations include perceptions of current student achievement and expectations about students' learning and future achievement (Funder, 1995; Jussim, Robustelli, & Cain, 2009). Students' background characteristics can affect learning progress in school, as well as teacher expectations To account for these influences, we considered two aspects of students’ social background: socioeconomic status and parental education.
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