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In a narrative review we investigated teacher beliefs that moderate teacher expectation effects. An extensive literature search revealed that only three researchers had systematically examined (in at least three studies) teacher beliefs' differences and consequent expectation effects for students. Babad explored teachers who believed stereotypical information about students and showed how that bias translated into teacher-student interactions. Highly biased teachers had large negative self-fulfilling prophecy effects on student outcomes. Overall, the difference in contrasts between high and low bias teachers (those who did not accept stereotypes) was d = 0.92. Weinstein's research investigated teachers who believed all students should be treated similarly versus teachers who believed high and low achievers should be treated quite differently (low and high differentiating teachers). The average effect size of the differences between these teachers was d = 0.85. Rubie-Davies examined the idea that some teachers believe that all students can make large gains (high class-level expectations) whereas others believe their students will make little progress (low class-level expectations); the average effect size difference between high and low expectation teachers was d = 0.87. Hence, the review showed that effect size differences between these different teacher types were remarkably consistent, and all were large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Teacher expectations are related to individual students' learning at university. • Relations are mediated through a complex interplay of socioemotional support. • Class-level teacher expectations are related to overall tertiary class achievement. • Socioemotional support does not mediate class-level expectation effects. In higher education, the pathways through which teacher expectations could contribute to students' academic achievement are an area of limited empirical investigation. In this study, we investigated the mediating role of the socioemotional classroom environment in the relations between university teachers' early expectations and their students' later achievement. The participants were 176 teachers and their 6,506 first-year undergraduate students from public universities in China. Data from teachers' initial expectations, students' prior and year-end achievement on standardized tests, and students' perceptions of socioemotional factors within the classroom were collected. As students were nested in classes, multilevel structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The results showed that, at the individual level, with students' prior achievement controlled, the extent of the teacher's differential treatment, the quality of the teacher-student relationships, and the quality of the peer relationships in turn were statistically significantly related to the university teachers' initial expectations, which ultimately was associated with the individual students' year-end academic achievement. Further, the university teachers' expectations for their individual students played a role in the quality of the peer relationships which subsequently contributed to students' later academic achievements. Moreover, the university classes whose teachers tended on average to have higher expectations tended to achieve at higher levels. However, we did not identify mediating paths via socioemotional factors from university teacher expectations to student achievement at the class level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boys continue to demonstrate lower average achievement in reading than girls. The influence of teacher gender has been explored among the factors explaining this scenario but with mixed results. Further, although teacher expectations have affected student academic outcomes, and student gender-related stereotypical notions have shaped such expectations, the role of teacher gender within this scenario has been neglected. The current study was conducted with a sample of elementary schools, in New Zealand (a national setting where essentialist gender attitudes have existed and where policies to implement scholastic gender equity have been critiqued as unsuccessful). The influence of teacher gender and of a teacher-student gender match and mismatch on teacher's expectations of their elementary student reading achievement, was tested via hierarchical linear modeling. Male teachers' expectations were found to be lower for students of both genders in reading and negative implications for male teachers and their students' reading achievement were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the bases of teacher expectations in higher education. The first author interviewed 20 university teachers from an English-as-a-foreign-language course, exploring their expectations for the first-year undergraduates in their classes. The grounded theory method was adopted to analyse the data that had been collected. The results showed that for this sample of 20 teachers, student characteristics were important contributing factors to their expectations in the teachers' university settings. The factors the teachers considered important included students' (a) prior academic achievement, (b) motivation, (c) study skills, and (d) academic discipline. Also, teacher characteristics were found to be another major source of these university teachers' expectations, including teachers' (a) past teaching and learning experience and (b) teaching self-efficacy. The findings suggested that the bases of teacher expectations in higher education may differ from those at the elementary or secondary school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have indicated that, although some teachers have substantial expectation effects on student outcomes, the effects for most teachers are only small. Furthermore, teacher expectations are associated with key pedagogical differences related to teacher beliefs about providing instruction and support for learning. The aim of this study was to explore (a) teacher-level differences in the level and differentiation of expectations, (b) associations between teacher differences in expectations and teacher background and beliefs, and (c) relationships with subsequent student performance. Secondary analyses were performed on data for 42 teachers and their students in New Zealand. The results were supportive of the notion that some teachers were differentiating more between students in their expectations than others. Teachers who differentiated more perceived students generally as more competent, but felt less related to the school team, and perceived more classroom stress. Differentiation in expectations was negatively related to end-of-year mathematics scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 50 years, research has shown that teacher expectations can influence student outcomes. Many studies have examined within-year effects. There is, however, a paucity of research that has investigated the stability of teachers' expectations across a single year, and there are no studies that have examined stability beyond 1 year. The current study examined the stability of 94 teachers' expectations within 3 separate years and across 3 years in mathematics and reading. In both subject areas, teachers' expectations remained relatively stable from beginning to end-of-year for each separate year and also across 3 years. Additionally, teachers who under- or overestimated their students by more than half a standard deviation continued to do so across all periods in the study. This was despite the teachers having different students each year. The study suggests that teachers view students' capabilities similarly despite having different student cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to illustrate the development in the teacher expectation literature and discuss the major avenues of research in the teacher expectation field from 1989 to 2018. Four analytical themes emerged from a narrative synthesis based on a systematic literature search: (1) influential factors on teacher expectations; (2) mediation mechanism of teacher expectations; (3) moderating factors of teacher expectation effects; (4) teacher expectation effects on student socio-psychological, behavioural, and achievement outcomes. On the whole, most studies confirmed earlier research findings regarding the 4 themes, although there were some studies that found results contradicting earlier work. In addition, new research topics and directions raised in the past 3 decades were identified in this review, especially regarding the mediation of teacher expectations and the socio-psychological and behavioural outcomes of the expectation effects. The review concludes with a set of recommendations for future research directions on teacher expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate teacher expectation effects for intact student groups (rather than individuals) in tertiary settings, which have been little studied in the literature. The participants were 50 teachers and their 4617 first-year undergraduate students learning English as a foreign language at two universities in China. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was employed for data analysis and the major findings were: (1) class-level teacher expectations had significant effects on student year-end academic achievement; (2) teachers who held high (or low) expectations for all students in one class, held high (or low) expectations for all their classes and (3) teacher-level expectancies had significant effects on student academic achievement after one school year. This study provided evidence that the contextual factors of tertiary education and curriculum areas may contribute to salient teacher expectation effects. Furthermore, the findings add weight to the argument that teacher expectation effects are a function of teacher beliefs rather than student factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the New Zealand context, the indigenous Māori group achieve below their Pākehā (European) peers in most academic subjects. The gap begins early in elementary school and is evident throughout schooling. Historically, this has been of concern to researchers, educators, and policy makers because Māori are disadvantaged socially and economically. Teacher expectations are known to contribute to student achievement and, similarly, some student beliefs have been associated with achievement. The current study explored student beliefs and teacher expectations in relation to Māori ( n  = 127) and Pākehā ( n  = 523) middle school students, aged 10–14 years. Teachers were more likely to underestimate Māori and overestimate Pākehā students although this difference disappeared when school socioeconomic status was controlled. Māori students more strongly endorsed performance goals than Pākehā. Greater achievement gains over one year were found in schools in high socioeconomic areas. For Māori students, beginning-of-year achievement, school socioeconomic status, holding a performance orientation, and having low levels of peer support predicted their gains whereas for Pākehā students, only prior achievement, school socioeconomic status and being male were associated with higher end-of-year achievement. The findings are discussed in relation to the implications for Māori and Pākehā students and their schooling. The inclusion of a culturally-based intervention which focuses on improving student–teacher relationships, raising teacher efficacy for teaching Māori, and including culturally appropriate teaching methods is recommended, particularly for teachers teaching in low socioeconomic schools. Such interventions may help to increase Māori achievement and decrease the ethnic achievement gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental studies within the education field are rare. The current study used a random effects meta-analytic approach to examine the effectiveness of a teacher expectation intervention across different schools, grade levels, socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, and gender in terms of student mathematics achievement. Teachers were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, and through professional development workshops were trained in the practices of teachers who have high expectations for all students. The intervention related to three key areas: grouping and learning experiences, class climate, and goal setting. No matter which grouping variables were employed in the random effects meta-analyses, effect sizes in mathematics achievement for the students whose teachers were part of the intervention group compared with students with control group teachers were large, ranging from r = 0.61–0.87. The usefulness of the instructional strategies that formed the basis of the intervention is discussed in light of the relevant literature and the educational implications are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the outcomes of an intervention focused on the strategies and practices of high-expectation teachers. Specifically, the intervention involved 84 teachers who were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The research methodology was primarily qualitative, grounded in the interpretive tradition. Data collected from workshop evaluations, cluster meeting reports and pen-and-paper evaluations were analyzed using a thematic approach. Findings revealed that teachers involved in the intervention refined and changed their practices by creating flexible grouping, enhancing the class climate and supporting students’ goal-setting. The teachers reported benefits as well as challenges and barriers to intervention implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Women remain under-represented in mathematics-related domains, despite demonstrating that their ability in these domains is equal to that of men. Teacher expectation has been identified as one factor that may explain differences in student outcomes, and student gender has been influential in shaping such expectation. However, while the association between teacher gender and mathematics achievement has been explored, there exists a paucity of studies that have probed how teacher gender relates to teacher expectations of mathematics 1903achievement. The current study was conducted with a sample of elementary schools in New Zealand, a national context where the implementation of policies advocating educational gender equity has been criticized as ineffective. Differentiated male and female teacher expectations, and the influence of teacher-student gender match and mismatch on teacher expectations of student achievement in mathematics, were explored using hierarchical linear modelling. In addition, the study explored whether such teacher expectations supported an intention to foster educational gender equity, or reflected stereotypical gender norms that ran counter to that intent. The current study found that teacher gender was associated significantly with teacher expectations of student achievement in mathematics, revealing possible implications for males in the teaching profession, and for female students' future involvement in mathematics and related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the original Pygmalion study, there have been very few interventions in the teacher expectation field and none that have been randomized control trials designed to change teacher practices to reflect those of high expectation teachers. The current study was designed to address this gap in the literature. Teachers ( N = 84) were randomly assigned to either intervention or control groups. Those in the intervention group attended four workshops at which were presented the instructional strategies and practices of high expectation teachers. At each workshop, the intervention group planned changed practices to introduce to their classrooms modelled on the behaviours of high expectation teachers. The researchers visited the teachers on three further occasions to ensure fidelity of the implementation. Students in the classes of the intervention group teachers significantly improved their mathematics achievement over one year, showing a rate of improvement beyond that shown by the students of the control group teachers. Teachers reported high levels of satisfaction with their changed practices and overall, there was a demonstrable degree of integrity in the implementation of the intervention as measured by the researchers. Practical guidelines in relation to the intervention and future directions of the project are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The capacity for teacher expectation effects to interact and compound across a child's schooling offers a largely untested mechanism for magnifying or minimizing effects. This study examined four types of long-term teacher expectation effects: within-year effects of single teachers, cross-year effects of single teachers, mediated effects of single and multiple teachers, and compounded effects of multiple teachers. Participants were 110 students tracked from preschool through Grade 4 on measures of achievement and teacher expectations. Evidence was found for within-year but not direct cross-year effects. However, path models demonstrated enduring indirect effects of teacher expectations on cross-year achievement. Multiple years of teacher expectation effects were additive in predicting student achievement at fourth grade, with similar effects for teachers' over- and underestimates of student ability. The study extends understanding of longer-term teacher expectation effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background. Teacher expectations have been a fruitful area of psychological research for 40 years. Researchers have concentrated on expectations at the individual level (i.e. expectations for individual students), rather than at the class level. Studies of class level expectations have begun to identify specific teacher factors that make a difference for students. Aims. This study aimed to compare how teachers with very high (or very low) expectations for all their students would rate their students' personal attributes. Teacher ratings of attributes in relation to achievement was also of interest. Sample. Participants were six high expectation (HiEx) teachers and three low expectation (LoEx) teachers and their 220 students. Methods. Participants were asked to rate their students on characteristics related to attitudes to schoolwork, relationships with others, and home support for school. Results. Contrasting patterns were found for HiEx and LoEx teachers. For HiEx teachers correlations between expectations and all student factors were significant and positive while for LoEx teachers the correlations that were significant were negative. Correlations between student achievement and all student factors were also positive and significant for HiEx teachers while for LoEx teachers only one positive correlation was found. Conclusions. This study adds weight to the argument that class level expectations are important for student learning. Teacher moderators appear to relate to differing teacher beliefs and attributes (mediators) and hence may lead to variance in the instructional and socio-emotional climate of the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. • Teachers' rank ordering of students remained stable over three time periods (77). • Across one year, teachers' expectations for individual students were not stable (82). • Teachers adapted their expectations throughout the year to reflect achievement (80). • Paths from student achievement to teacher expectations were directionally dominant (85). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using three time points of teacher expectation data, this study aimed to examine the stability and trajectories of teacher expectations within a school year in the Chinese junior high school context. The participants were 48 Chinese, mathematics, and English teachers and their 1199 students from 10 junior high schools. The issue of the stability of teacher expectations was explored at individual-student level and student-group level, respectively. Spearman's rank order correlation analysis showed that the stability of individual-student-level teacher expectations varied across different classrooms, ranging from very flexible to very stable. Piece-wise hierarchical linear models indicated that the trajectories of teacher expectations across a school year were different for different-achieving student groups. Students in the high-achieving group were systematically overestimated, and the extent of overestimation increased over a school year for the Chinese and mathematics subjects, whereas students in the low-achieving group were systematically underestimated across the school year. The results suggested that teachers might enhance, or even exacerbate the existing achievement differences between students by expecting more from the high achievers and expecting unjustifiably less from the low achievers. • A longitudinal study explored the stability and trajectories of teacher expectations. • The stability of teacher expectations varied from very flexible to very stable. • Teachers became more biased for the high- and low-achieving student groups. • Students in the high-achieving group were systematically overestimated. • Students in the low-achieving group were systematically underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The few existing teacher expectation intervention studies have attempted to examine experimental group gains as a whole compared with those of a control group. The current study explored differing effects of a teacher expectation intervention for students for whom their teachers had high, medium, and low expectations. The study was conducted in Grade 8 English as a Foreign Language classrooms in China, with 8 teachers and their 229 students. The intervention involved teacher training on three strands of behaviors characterizing high teacher expectations: challenging tasks, detailed feedback, and personal regard (immediacy). Repeated measures ANOVAs and a multivariate ANOVA revealed that the intervention led to increases in the year-end achievement of all students and self-concept of low and medium expectation students, with low expectation students having most gains on both measurements. The differing gains are discussed and the educational implications presented. • All the intervention students improved their year-end achievement. • Low and mid expectation intervention groups enhanced self-concept. • Low expectation control group declined in self-concept and achievement. • The intervention benefited low expectation students most, high expectation students the least. • The self-concept of low expectation students showed immediate effect whereas the other effects were delayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Teacher expectations of students have long been recognized as a form of interpersonal expectations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the interpersonal character of teacher expectations by assessing 1) whether teacher expectations and the teacher-student relationship shared similar antecedents in terms of demographic characteristics of students, and 2) whether the dimensions closeness, conflict, and dependency of the teacher-student relationship were predictive of teacher expectations. Analyses were based on a large sample of 9881 students in 614 classes in the final grade of primary education. The results indicated that teacher expectations – as measured by track recommendations - and the teacher-student relationship were not consistent in antecedents. Student performance, parental education, and closeness were positive predictors of track recommendations, whereas they were negatively associated with conflict and dependency. Ethnicity was positively associated with track recommendations, but negatively with closeness. Furthermore, perceived closeness and conflict were not statistically significantly associated with track recommendations. A negative association was found for perceived dependency with teachers' track recommendations, although the latter association appeared stronger for high performing students. Finally, the results showed that teachers differed in how they weigh the conflict and dependency dimensions when formulating track recommendations, indicating that those teacher perceptions played a stronger role in some of the classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]