Teacher Expectations Essay -- Education

The intervening years since court-mandated desegregation of schools have not eradicated the existence of achievement disparities for ethnic children, especially for Latin American and African American students (McKown & Weinstein, 2008). In fact, there is an extensive body of research that suggests that students from minorities do not perform well in the current American public school system (Tyler, Boykin, & Walton, 2006). McKown and Weinstein (2008) neb that one often cited contributor to the achievement gap is teacher expectations.The use of the term teacher expectations has been a source of consternation and anger for some educators because of its tie-in to the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy (Jussim & Harber, 2005). These prophecies are erroneous teacher expectations that may lead students to perform at levels consistent with those expectations (Brophy & Good, 1974 Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968) (Jussim & Harber, 2005, p. 131). Jussim and Harber (2005) detail the cont roversy that has gone on for more than 40 years over self-fulfilling prophecy. They asserted that, in general, educational psychologists have tended to stress the limited efficacy of teacher expectations to influence students while, social psychologists have interpreted the opposite position which asserts both the substantial power and pervasiveness of self-fulfilling prophecies (p. 138). Two of their major conclusions in this regard (a) Self-fulfilling prophecies do exist, and (b) their affects are typically small (Jussim & Harber, 2005).This would seem to be a tidy conclusion to a prolonged controversy the answers, however, are not so simple or straightforward. There are other issues that baffle matters and must be considered whe... ...3McKown, C., & Weinstein, R. S. (2008). Teacher expectations, classroom context, and the achievement gap. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 235-261. Retrieved from http//www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-school-psychology/Thomas, J., & Stoc kton, C. (2003). Socioeconomic status, race, gender, & retention Impact on student achievement. Essays in Education, 7. Retrieved from http//www.usca.edu/essays/archives.htmlTyler, K. M., Boykin, A. W., & Walton, T. R. (2006). Cultural considerations in teachers perceptions of student classroom behavior and achievement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22, 998-1005. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locate/tateZehavi, N., Bouhadan, R., & Bruckheimer, M. (1987). A model of relating teacher expectations and student difficulties. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 13, 185-192. doi 10.1016/50191-491X(87)80032-9