The Role of Teacher-Pupil Relations in Stereotype Threat Effects in Flemish Secondary Education

This study aims to test stereotype threat theory hypotheses using a pupil survey database from Flemish urban secondary education characterized by a stratified tracking system. We relate these systemic features to stereotype threat effects by adding teacher--pupil relations to our analyses. Our results show that stigmatized groups--ethnic minority pupils in vocational education--experience the most negative teacher--pupil relations. To protect their academic self-concept from stereotype threat, they are also most vulnerable to psychological disengagement, discounting negative teacher feedback, and to disidentification from education. Moreover, teacher--pupil relations play an important role in explaining stereotype threat effects.