Teacher expectations

It is important for teachers to understand that “teacher expectations” are crucial in redressing disadvantage. If the expectation is that a child coming from a poor home cannot learn, then that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We also know that in some countries children from different ethnic groups can be perceived differently in terms of learning potential. For a variety of reasons, girls can experience social and educational disadvantage. Good teachers evolve strategies to address these problems.

Teachers must challenge such social stereotyping and the best way to do that is to hold the highest expectations for all children and young people. As teachers we ought to feel that it is at the core of our professionalism to help disadvantaged children to make a success of their schooling. There are many famous people who would not have achieved anything without the help of an influential teacher. Nelson Mandela often spoke about the importance of education. One day, when thinking about disadvantaged children, he said: “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” A good teacher provides the literate tongue and pen, and much more besides. High teacher expectations are always present when children are successful in their learning.

Saffa's story

When Saffa was 12 years old, his father had changed jobs and he had to move to a new school. He did not know anyone. In the first week, he sat next to a boy who was not very well behaved in class.

At break, he stayed with the boy and some of his friends from another class. The other boys began playing a game of throwing stones to try and hit each other’s feet. One of the stones hit a teacher. The whole group was taken to the school principal and punished, including Saffa who had not thrown any stones.

To his horror, Saffa then discovered that the teacher who had been hit was his Mathematics teacher. In his first Mathematics lesson, the teacher said, “I do not want you two troublemakers sitting together,” and Saffa had to move to the front of the class. In the weeks that followed, the teacher was very critical of Saffa’s work and his behaviour, even though Saffa had done nothing wrong. This made Saffa feel very unsure of himself in Mathematics.

However, after two months, the teacher began to realise that Saffa was quite good at Mathematics and always well behaved. And by then Saffa had also found new friends!

Have you ever had a similar sort of experience? We tell this story because it illustrates just how powerful expectations can be, even when the expectations are unfounded. Making judgements about someone’s potential based on just one experience can have limiting or exaggerated outcomes.

Many factors influence our expectations of situations, people and events. Our previous experiences are a key factor, as are our beliefs and values. We make decisions and judgements about what we should do, where we should go and whom we consider to be our friends, from what we know already about people, situations and events. This is true of both our personal and our professional lives. Working as a teacher, your day-to-day decisions will be influenced by a range of factors. Think about what these might be.

For example, research tells us that, all over the world, the following factors seem to influence teachers’ thinking:

A child’s socioeconomic background
A child’s appearance (e.g. stereotypes exist about tall or short students)
The teacher’s experience with a child’s siblings
Gender (e.g. in some contexts boys are seen as more able in Mathematics than girls)

Can you think of other factors that might influence how you respond to the students in your class and the effect these may have had on your teaching?