18215452 Hannah Rose – RTL2 assessment 1

Strategies to maximise student academic achievement in secondary

classrooms

Literature Review: High teacher expectations as a strategy to maximise student academic

achievement in secondary classrooms

The overarching topic influencing this review, is titled ‘strategies to maximise student

academic achievement in secondary classrooms’ and the sub-topic explored in this review

centres on ‘high expectations as a strategy to maximise the academic achievement in

secondary classrooms.’ High expectations are highly regarded in recent literature and several

studies highlight that ‘students for whom teachers have high expectations tend to achieve at

higher levels than those for whom they have low expectations’ (Rubie-Davies, Peterson,

Sibley & Rosenthal, 2014, p.72). Through this literature review, the major themes relating to

high expectations and the issues relating to high teacher expectations will be discussed.

The theory of high expectations stems from the Pygmalion Effect and is discussed at length in

literature exploring teacher expectations. The theory was coined in 1968 when the first study

was conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (Weaver, Moses, Snyder, 2016), who concluded

that teacher’s differential expectations for students were subconsciously translated into

differential behaviour and students’ performance (Nabeel & Saleha, 2017). The study found

that the students whose teachers were randomly assigned expectations out performed those

students whose teachers had not been assigned an expectation (Weaver et al., 2016). Several

recent studies conducted on teacher expectations align with the initial findings of the

Pygmalion effect, indicating that the expectations of the teacher are closely related to the

performance of students (Timmermans, Kuyer & Van Der Werf, 2015). This means, that

students who have teachers that hold high expectations achieve at noticeably higher levels

than those who have lower expectations (Rubie-Davies et al., 2014). High expectations are
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critical because learning is framed differently when expectations are high as opposed to low

(Rubie-Davies et al., 2014). Research indicates that high expectations can be communicated

to students consciously and subconsciously through a range of verbal and non-verbal

behaviours, such as the way teachers give feedback, group students (Rubie-Davies et al.,

2017), the frequency they smile and make eye contact with students (Kohut, 2014), as well as

how they emphasise mastery of activities, increase autonomy and create an environment

where students are willing to take risks (Usher & Kober 2013). It is suggested that students

recognise these expectations and react accordingly by working harder and developing an

interest in school work which, in turn improves their academic achievement (Friedrich,

Flunger, Nagengast, Jonkmann & Trautwein, 2015). Teacher expectations according to Boser,

Wilhelm & Hanna (2014) are more predicative of long term success than many major factors,

including student motivation and student effort, therefore, have long-lasting effects on

students.

High expectations are often discussed as a self-fulfilling prophecy (Brault, Janosz,

Archambault, 2014) or self-fulfilling cycle (Friedrich et al., 2015), where students internalise

teacher expectations, resulting in improved academic outcomes. In terms of education, the

benefit of high expectations follows the process of firstly, the teacher implementing their

differential expectations (Friedrich et al., 2015) and then interacting with students in

alignment with these expectations. The teacher’s behaviour models to all students exactly

what behaviour is desired (Kohut, 2014). It is suggested that the teacher’s behaviour shapes

the student’s subsequent behaviour. This is because students react to these expectations by

internalising what is modelled by the teacher, which then develops into what is expected by

the teacher (Kohut, 2014). It is proposed by Friedrich et al. (2014) that the self-fulfilling cycle
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improves the academic achievement of students, which is also acknowledged by Rubie-Davies

et al. (2014), who adds that the self-fulfilling effects are more successful if applied to groups

and classes of students as opposed to individual students (Rubie-Davies et al., 2014).

However, it is evident that teachers do in-fact employ different expectations for individual

students. According to Timmermans et al. (2015), teacher’s expectations and behaviour vary

based on a student’s ethnic background. Therefore, it is important to recognise that this

process could occur either positively or negatively depending on the students, and the

expectations set by the teacher for each student. For example, Brault, et al. (2014) has

addressed that students displayed ‘lower levels of academic achievement, school

engagement, learning and self-expectation’ (Brault, et al., p.148) when teachers did not set

high expectations. Boser et al. (2014) reinforces this idea by suggesting that low levels of

academic achievement may simply reflect teacher’s low expectations. Much of the research

discusses how the process of implementing high expectations works to improve academic

achievement. However, each article acknowledges the difficulties and biases associated with

high teacher expectations.

It is widely acknowledged that high expectations increase student’s academic achievements.

However, it has been suggested by Rubie-Davies et al. (2014), that expectations are not

sufficiently high for all students, and there are a range of factors which contribute to high

expectations being implemented in the classroom. Rubie-Davies et al. (2014) have highlighted

that, student characteristics such as ethnicity were a major influence on the teacher in

developing high or low expectations. For example, it was discussed that biased beliefs from

teachers impact their expectations, basing student’s ability on stereotypical information

rather than objective results (Rubie-Davies, et al., 2014). This idea was reinforced by Turner
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et al. (2015) who found that teachers held prejudicial, stereotypical and deficit beliefs of

minority groups and their expectations differ based on student’s ethnicity. Boser et al. (2014),

also found that teachers who participated in their study acknowledged that lower

expectations are set for students of colour and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Therefore, although the research attributes high expectations to increased student academic

achievement, the issue is whether teachers are able to develop the same high expectations

for all students irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or socioeconomic status as

Timmermans et al. (2015) states low achievers, students from low income families and

minority groups are more susceptible to the self-fulfilling effects of teacher expectations.

Dwyer (2017) highlights that for successful implementation of high expectation in the

classroom; cultural, personal, gender and age factors must be removed and teachers must

start with the premise that people can achieve almost anything (Dwyer, 2017). Therefore, one

may suggest that differing teacher expectations have the potential to contribute to an

education gap.

Turner (et, al) in a 2015 study, found that the teachers interviewed had the highest

expectations for Asian students and the lowest expectations for Maori students. In the same

study, Asian students were the highest achievers and Maori students the lowest. However,

20% of Maori students in the same study achieved above the average level, suggesting that

they have potential to achieve (Turner, et al., 2015), and that students’ intellectual

development is largely a response to what is expected and how the expectations are

communicated (Nabeel & Saleha, 2017). This is reinforced by Rubie-Davies et al. (2014), who

found that in their 2014 study, teachers who were trained in high expectations significantly

increased their students’ maths scores over the year. Additionally, Kohut (2014) found that
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when students were asked about how they determined their smartness, 66% of students

reflected that it came from their teacher’s evaluation of them (Kohut, 2014). While the

Pygmalion effect has been noted in much of the research as having high scientific relevance

due to the positive or negative impact on students (Friedrich, et al., 2014) and correlates with

increased academic achievement; there are however, issues other than teacher biases with

the study. Firstly, many studies have only been conducted on a single classroom level,

meaning, that the studies have only compared students within a class with the same teacher

who has either high or low expectations (Friedrich, et al., 2014). Friedrich et al. (2014) also

highlights that most studies conducted regarding the outcomes of students following high

expectations being implemented in the classroom, have relied only on test scores or grades;

which according to Turner (et, al, 2015) are also a major influence on teacher expectations.

Research regarding teacher expectations revealed a range of notable themes. Firstly, high

expectations do correlate with increased academic achievement (Rubie-Davies, et al., 2014)

and it is suggested as working as a self-fulfilling prophecy where teachers model their

expectations and students internalise these and therefore, act in line with these expectations.

There are a range of conscious and subconscious ways of implementing high expectations in

the classroom, however, there are biases associated with high teacher expectations.

Factors such as the race and ethnicity of students can often influence the expectations that

teachers set for individual students.

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Dear Potential Participant:

I am working on a project titled ‘High expectations for all students’ for the class, ‘Researching Teaching and
Learning 2,’ at Western Sydney University. As part of the project, I am collecting information to help inform
the design of a teacher research proposal.

It is widely acknowledged that high teacher expectations improve academic achievement for secondary
students. However, research indicates that teachers are not implementing the same standards of
expectations for all students, often lowering their expectations for students of colour or from a
disadvantaged background. Through the form of a semi-structured interview, I wish to explore teachers’
use of high expectations in the classroom. It is the aim of this interview to determine whether teachers
think this strategy is important and if they are aware of implicit biases that cause expectations to differ
depending on the student.

By signing this form, I acknowledge that:

• I have read the project information or have had read to me the project information and have been
given the opportunity to discuss the information and my involvement in the project with the
researcher/s.
• The procedures required for the project and the time involved have been explained to me, and
any questions I have about the project have been answered to my satisfaction.
• I consent to answering any questions pertaining to the implementation of high teacher
expectations in the classroom and having these answers voice recorded.
• I understand that my involvement is confidential and that the information gained during this data
collection experience will only be reported within the confines of the ‘Researching Teaching and
Learning 2’ unit, and that all personal details will be de-identified from the data.
• I understand that I can withdraw from the project at any time, without affecting my relationship
with the researcher/s, now or in the future.

By signing below, I acknowledge that I am 18 years of age or older, or I am a full-time university student
who is 17 years old.

Signed: __________________________________
Name: __________________________________
Date: __________________________________

By signing below, I acknowledge that I am the legal guardian of a person who is 16 or 17 years old, and
provide my consent for the person’s participation.
Signed: __________________________________
Name: __________________________________
Date: __________________________________
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Semi-Structured Interview
Questions
1. What is your opinion on the importance of high
teacher expectations in the classroom?
2. Can you tell me about the expectations that you
set in your classroom? And how do you integrate
these in your teaching and learning strategies?
3. What do you believe the benefits of
implementing high expectation in the classroom
are? (if any).
4. When you are setting your expectations, do you
set the same expectations for all students? Or do
your expectations differ?
5. How do you explicitly indicate your high
expectations to students?
6. How would a student’s academic ability, race,
socio-economic status affect your expectations
of them?
7. Taking into consideration your experience as a
teacher, can you tell me if and how it is possible
to apply the same expectations to all students?
8. What differences have you noticed in your
student’s academic achievement when you have
implemented high expectations compared to
when you haven’t?
9. Research indicates that high expectations
correlate with higher academic achievements.
What are your opinions on this?
Follow up/Probing questions
(these have been designed to be altered and adapted as
the interview takes place).
o Why do you believe they are important/unimportant?
o How have these strategies been effective?
o Are these high expectations or low expectations?
o Are they explicitly outlined?
o Could you provide an example?
o What about an increased student-teacher
relationship? (Rubie-Davies, et, al, 2014)
o Increased confidence in the classroom?
o When might there be a time when you lower your
expectations of students?
o Are there certain students who you may lower your
expectations for? What are the circumstances of
those students?
o Do students respond effectively to this?
o Do you believe students internalise the expectations
you have of them?
o What is your reasoning for that answer? Can you
explain that further?
o Have you found that any of these areas impact
student performance?
o Is it important to expect the same from all students?
o Increased exam scores?
o Increased ability to complete all set tasks?
o Does this change your perspective on how you will
implement expectation in the classroom going
forward?
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Research protocol - Explanation

This research protocol is original and has been designed, taking into consideration the findings

and ideas that were outlined in the literature review. The research protocol has been

designed to collect qualitative data utilising the methodology of semi-structured interviews

and works to provide an in-depth analysis (Teijlingen, 2014) and exploration on the topic of

‘high teacher expectations as a strategy for maximising student academic outcomes in

secondary classrooms.’ The methodology of a semi-structured interview has been selected,

and employs open-ended questions to pursue the topic of high expectations in more depth

(Galetta, 2014). It allows for predetermined questions to be designed and provides a sense of

flexibility in how the questions are asked and how follow up/probing questions are used

(Teijingen, 2014). The interview protocol has been designed in this way, as, while much of the

research in the literature review relates to the outcomes resulting from high expectations,

there is little literature focused on teacher’s opinions and beliefs of ‘high expectations as a

strategy for maximising student academic achievement in secondary classrooms’.

The Interview protocol relates to the topic of ‘high expectations as a strategy to maximise

academic achievement in secondary classrooms’ as it works to build on, and align with the

findings from the literature review. The interview has been designed to closely relate to the

topic of high expectations to maximising student academic achievement and gives teachers

the opportunity to discuss their experience and opinions of applying the same expectations

to all students. This semi-structured interview aims to:

o Determine if the teaching practices of the teachers interviewed align with the findings
from the literature review, whereby teachers apply different expectations to different
students based on their ethnicity (Rubie-Davies, et al., 2014),
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advantaged/disadvantaged background (Boser, et al., 2014) or race (Kohut, 2014).

o Explore why teachers have differing expectations of certain students and if they
believe it is possible to develop the same expectations of all students, to increase their
academic achievement of all students and close the education gap (Kohut, 2014).

o Determine if teachers actively and explicitly implement high expectations in the

classroom because they are aware of the positive academic, self-fulfilling effect of high
expectations (Friedrich, et al., 2015).

o Outline successful high expectation strategies teachers implement, to increase

student academic achievement, such as providing productive feedback (Rubie-Davies
et al., 2014) and encouraging the mastering of skills (Usher & Kober, 2013).

It is predicted that teachers completing this semi-structured interview will not admit to, or

are unaware of their engrained biases that cause them to alter their expectations based on a

student’s race or family backgrounds. This is because ethnicity and achievement are

uncomfortable topics and teachers may avoid it at the risk of be labelled as racist (Turner, et

al., 2014).

The overall topic for this study is ‘strategies used to increase academic achievement in

secondary high schools.’ This protocol contributes to the overall understanding of the groups

topic as the questions target the personal opinions of teachers in relation to the success of

high expectations as a strategy to increase student’s academic achievement.

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Reference

Boser, U., Wilhelm, M., & Hanna, R. (2014). The power of the Pygmalion Effect – Teachers
Expectations Strongly Predict College Completion. Centre for American Progerss,
1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.03.003.

Brault, M., Janosz, M., & Archambault, I. (2014). Effects of school composition and school
climate on teacher expectations of students: A multilevel analysis. Teaching and
Teacher Education, 44, 148-159. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2014.08.008.

Dwyer, K. (2017). Managing performance. The Pygmalion effect of leadership. IQ: The RIM
Quarterly, (33)2, 52-54.

Galetta, A. (2013). Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyond. New York and
London. New York University Press.

Friedrich, F., Flunger, B., Nagengast, B., Jonkmann, K., (2015). Pygmalion effects in the
classroom: Teaching expectancy effects on student’s math achievement.
Contemporary Education Psychology, 41, 1-12

Kohut, L. (2014). The impact of Teacher Expectation on Student Achievement. ProQuest

Dissertation Publishing, 1-84.

Nabeel, T., & Seleha, V. (2017) Study of Pygmalion Effect on Classroom Management.
Pakistan Journal of Education, 27(2), 43-53.

Rubie-Davies, C., Peterson, E., & Sibley, C. (2014). A teacher expectation intervention:
Modelling the practices of high expectation teachers. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, (40), 72-85. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.03.003.

Teijlingen, E. (2014). Semi-Structured Interviews. Bournemouth University Graduate School,

1-54.

Timmermans, T., Kuyper, H., Van Der Werf, G. (2015). Accurate, inaccurate, or biased
teacher expectations: Do Dutch teachers differ in their expectations at the end of
primary education? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 459,478. doi:
10.1111/bjep.12087.

Turner, H., Rubie-Davies., & Webber, M. (2015). Teacher Expectations, Ethnicity and the
Achievement Gap. New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 55(1), 55-69.doi:
10.1007/s40841-015-0004-1.

Usher, A., & Kober, N. (2013). Students Motivation: An overlooked piece of school reform,
The Education Digest, (78)5, 9-16.

Weaver, J., Moses, J., & Snyder., M. (2015). Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in Ability Settings. The
Journal of Social Psychology, (156)2, 179-189. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2015.1076761.