Influence of behavior perceptions and gender on teachers' judgments of students' academic skill.

Abstract

This study evaluated the hypothesis that gender and behavior, as perceived by teachers, affect judgments of the academic skills of their students. A path model was proposed to describe the relationships among tested academic skill, gender, behavior grades, and teachers' academic judgments. The model was evaluated separately in each of 3 grades (kindergarten-2nd) in 2 locations, with scholastic grades and structured ratings in specific academic skill areas as the dependent variables. Results showed that, after tested academic skill and gender were controlled for, teachers' perceptions of students' behavior constituted a significant component of their scholastic judgments. This effect was more pronounced for the judgments of boys because, in Grades 1 and 2, their conduct was perceived as less adequate than was girls' behavior.

An investigation of the relationship between teachers’ expectations and teachers’ perceptions of student attributes

“…This finding may indicate that primary school teachers consider positive working habits and being self-confident as important student attributes for being successful in the higher tracks of Dutch secondary education. On the other hand, teachers appeared to have lower expectations for students whom they perceived as exhibiting more positive social behavior in the classroom, which contradicts findings from previous research (Bennet et al 1993;Hecht and Greenfield 2002;Kelly and Carbonaro 2012;LaVoie and Adams 1973), where it was concluded that teachers on average had higher expectations for students with good conduct. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find evidence for a relationship between teachers' expectations for students' future academic performance and teachers' perceptions of the student-teacher relationship after several performance measures and other perceptions were controlled for.…”

“…Previous findings indicate that teachers do have different perceptions of boys and girls and, on some occasions, this did influence teachers' decisions regarding achievement levels (Riley 2014). Consistent with the current study, female students are generally perceived by their teachers as working harder and producing higher quality work (Bennet et al 1993;Reyna 2000;Siegle and Reis 1994). In the current study we did not have any other objective indicator of the student attributes and classroom behavior, therefore it was not possible to investigate which of the two explanations was the most likely.…”

“…These studies indicate that teachers tend to have higher expectations of a student if they perceive the student as independent and more confident. Moreover, teachers' expectations were found to be associated with their perceptions of the students' social behavior in the classroom (Bennet et al 1993;Driessen 2006;Hecht and Greenfield 2002;LaVoie and Adams 1973) and engagement (Kelly and Carbonaro 2012;Rubie-Davies 2010). For example, in an experimental study among 350 teachers, LaVoie and Adams (1973) found that children for whom teachers perceived low grades in personal and social growth, work habits, and attitudes, were predicted to have less ability and lower aspirations than children with acceptable conduct.…”

“…However, little is known about factors other than students' abilities and background variables that shape teachers' expectations of the future academic performance of their students (Hecht and Greenfield 2002;Hughes et al 2005;Rubie-Davies 2008, 2010. Nonetheless, it is important to understand which factors, personal impressions, or perceptions shape teachers' expectations (Hughes et al 2005;LaVoie and Adams 1973), because the teachers' expectations may influence subsequent teacher behavior, student performance, and track placement (e.g., Bennet et al 1993;Brophy and Good 1970;Hamre and Pianta 2006;Helwig et al 2001;Ready and Wright 2011;Rubie-Davies 2007, 2008, 2010. In shaping expectations of the future academic performance of students, teachers may partly rely on their perceptions of students' behavior in the classroom and the students' motivation while working on tasks (e.g., Bennet et al 1993;Driessen 2006;Hughes et al 2005;Kelly and Carbonaro 2012).…”

“…Nonetheless, it is important to understand which factors, personal impressions, or perceptions shape teachers' expectations (Hughes et al 2005;LaVoie and Adams 1973), because the teachers' expectations may influence subsequent teacher behavior, student performance, and track placement (e.g., Bennet et al 1993;Brophy and Good 1970;Hamre and Pianta 2006;Helwig et al 2001;Ready and Wright 2011;Rubie-Davies 2007, 2008, 2010. In shaping expectations of the future academic performance of students, teachers may partly rely on their perceptions of students' behavior in the classroom and the students' motivation while working on tasks (e.g., Bennet et al 1993;Driessen 2006;Hughes et al 2005;Kelly and Carbonaro 2012). Although it is generally assumed that teachers use these perceptions of student attributes in shaping expectations (RubieDavies 2008), the empirical evidence for an association between teachers' perceptions of student attributes and their expectations for students' future academic performance is rather limited.…”