Article 1: Gottfredson, D.C., Marciniak, E.M., Birdseye, A.T. & Gottfredson, G.D. (1995). Increasing teacher expectations for student achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 88(3), 155-163.
Purpose of the Study: Existing research had shown that teacher expectations can influence student achievement. Therefore the authors designed and evaluated a teacher training program to elevate positive expectations in the hope that the influence on student achievement would be more positive. The name of the program was TESA (Teacher Expectations of Student Achievement)
Size of the Sample: Sample subjects consisted of 328 elementary school students drawn from a school whose teachers volunteered to participate in the study plus 250 elementary school students drawn from another school where teachers did not volunteer to participate in the study, for a total sample size of 578 students.
Length of the Study: No information was provided as to how long the study took to complete.
Research Instruments: The abstract provided no information regarding the instruments that were used.
Results of the Study: The program was found to lower negative expectations in the school were teachers volunteered. In the school where teachers did not volunteer, the program actually increased negative expectations.
Descriptors: Major Descriptors: TEACHER EXPECTATIONS; ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; STUDENT ATTITUDES; INSERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION; STAFF DEVELOPMENT. Minor Descriptors: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS; CHILDHOOD.
Summary: This article examined for the effects of a staff development program designed to elevate teachers positive expectations for their students. The program only appeared to work for teachers who volunteered to participate; non-volunteer participants actually elevated their negative expectations.
Commentary: The volunteer/expectations interaction was very interesting. The article provides a good foundation for future ...