Jessie Gilliland: EXPOSITORY ESSAY

Many assume that teachers hold race and ethnicity-based expectations for their students
academic performance. Still, other individuals believe that teachers do not hold lower
expectations for minority students. Some studies indicate that teachers have lower expectations
for African-American and Hispanic students in comparison to white students. According to
Jensen and Rosenfeld (1973), patterns for Latino/a children seem to be more familiar to those
for African-American children (p. 541) Teachers expectations very easily can become selffulfilling prophesies. I believe that the impact of teacher expectations in relation to minority
students has the ability to directly impact academic performance. Currently, as my campus, our
Hispanic/Latino students represent both 60% of our student population and our lowest
performing subgroup. The majority of our staff is white, with just a handful of Latino teachers. I
believe that teachers do not consciously expect less from their Hispanic students; however, they
may do so unconsciously. My prediction would be that if teachers have higher expectations for
their minority students, then academic performance would increase.
In Texas, with the influx of immigrants coming to the state, it is important that teachers
understand and expect the same from all students, including minority students. The United States
represents many different cultures and religions, and it is important that all individuals have the
opportunity to receive a quality education. While it would be nice to believe that all teachers hold
all their students at the same high level of education research and studies have shown otherwise.
A study that was conducted in New Zealand surveyed a group of teachers from several different
schools. The survey was administered at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. This
survey asked teachers to make a decision about what they would think their students reading
level would be by the end of the year. This survey also asked about teachers judgments of their
students. The data showed that at the beginning of the year the had the same expectations of all

EXPOSITORY ESSAY

their students and students test scores were about the same. After the survey was given at the end
of the year teachers expectations were different and the minority students academic
performance dropped (Rubie-Davies, Hattie & Hamilton, 2006).
While it is difficult for people to be completely unbiased, it is important for people to be
aware of their personal beliefs about people. Moreover, teachers should be aware of their own
biases in order to help prevent lowered expectations for minority students. In a study that was
conducted by interviewing 48 African American high school students the students all reported
that they could tell whether or not the teacher cared about them or if they were successful in class
(Pringle, Lyons, & Booker, 2010). This study shows that students are perceptive to how teachers
view them and these perceptions can, in turn, impact student motivation. Despite no real or
intentional purpose, these teachers negatively affected the perceptions and performance of their
students.
For the two high schools in this study, one had a predominantly white population, while
the other high school had predominantly African American students, but both schools had only a
few ethnic minority teachers. Having few minority teachers working in schools can be a factor
related to teacher expectations of students. Moreover, increasing the number of minority teachers
can positively impact teacher expectations in relation to minority students. Many of the 48
students surveyed believed that race and ethnicity played a role in their teachers expectation of
them (Pringle, Lyons, & Booker, 2010).
A Germany study, where the majority of students were immigrants with Turkish
backgrounds, examined how teachers make judgments about academic achievement of students
based on their ethnicity. In Germany, students are placed on a tracking system based on their

EXPOSITORY ESSAY

academic achievement level, and just like in the United States, there are graduation plans for
students based on their academic levels and interests. However, too many schools have
inordinate numbers of minority students on the vocational (Glock & Krolak-Schwerdt, 2012).
While many immigrant students tend to have lower achievement levels than their non-immigrant
peers, they are at an even greater disadvantage when it comes to teacher expectations of their
academic performance. These teacher expectations are based on teachers biases of these
particular groups and when their academic achievement is controlled with tracks (Dauber, 1996).
Very simply, in this study, teachers had a negative view of students on lower tracks and the
majority of students placed within these tracks were the Turkish minority immigrants.
Although teachers do their best every day to make a difference in the lives of their
students, sometimes a teacher biases can unconsciously affect students academic performance.
Teachers need to be more aware of their own biases of students to make sure that, as teachers,
they hold all their students at a high standard to help improve academic achievement. Also
Schools need to hire more minority teachers to help with these ethnic biases.

EXPOSITORY ESSAY

References
Dauber, S. (1996). Tracking and Transitions through the Middle Grades: Channeling Educational
Trajectories. Sociology of Education, 69(4), 290-307. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
ERIC (EBSCO).
Jensen, M., & Rosenfeld, L. (1973). Influence of mode of presentation, ethnicity, and social class
on teachers' evaluations of students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 540-547.
Retrieved January 25, 2015, from ERIC (EBSCO).
Glock, S., & Krolak-Schwerdt, S. (2012). Does nationality matter? The impact of sterotypical
expectations on student teachers' judgements. Soc Psychol Educ, 16, 111-127. Retrieved
January 28, 2015, from ERIC (EBSCO).
Pringle, B., Lyons, J., & Booker, K. (2010). Perceptions of Teacher Expectations by African
American High School Students. The Journal of Negro Education, 79(1), 33-40.
Retrieved January 25, 2015, from ERIC (EBSCO).
Rubie-Davies, C., Hattie, J., & Hamilton, R. (2006). Expecting The Best For Students: Teacher
Expectations And Academic Outcomes. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76,
429-444. Retrieved January 28, 2015, from ERIC (EBSCO).