Expectations Alter Ability
In her 1985 book, Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality, Jeannie Oakes makes a compelling argument that grouping students in schools based on perceived ability is a reflection of the class and racial inequalities that exist in American society and actually keeps these divides alive. Oakes specifically defines this system of tracking as “the process whereby students are divided into categories so that they can be assigned in groups to various kinds of classes” (Oakes, 1985). Not only are these students publicly separated into these groups, they are then “categorized in the minds of teachers and others as being of a certain type — high ability, low achieving, slow, average, and so on” (Oakes, 1985). The problem is, tracking sets many students up for failure because these groups are not equally valued within the school. These groupings of students create expectations that often negatively reinforce the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy. However, faculties who value students’ abilities create a climate of success. Since tracking is such a big issue in the public school system, it is essential for educators to work to create a self-fulfilling prophecy that can promote a classroom climate for success.
Unfortunately, assumptions on what a child is capable of in the classroom are often made using test scores/ grades, appearance, or hearsay. I’m not saying this is on purpose or necessarily avoidable, but these assumptions usually impact how the student is treated, what is expected of them, and the classes they will take. After being placed in lower-level classes, students are often seen by others (especially students in the higher tracks) as “dumb.” Even if they are not dumb by any means, they start to see themselves this way. Since they are aware they are on the lower track, and being treated as such/ know that teachers do not expect much from them, how could they develop positive attitudes about not only school but of themselves? What is the point of working hard or having big goals if you assume you are permanently stuck on this track?
“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.”
— Henry Ford
While beliefs about ones own self do influence their actions, schools and teachers have a huge impact on the actions and achievements of their students. Their choices and expectations of these children have a definite connection to how students perform, good or bad. In a study conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobsen in 1968, their research shows that teacher expectations do in fact influence student performance. In layman’s terms, positive expectations have a positive impact on performance while negative expectations have a negative impact on performance. “When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur.” (Rosenthal and Babad, 1985). They called this phenomenon the “Pygmalion Effect.”
Rosenthal and Jacobsen wanted to see whether or not achievement could be self-fulfilling. In their experiment, elementary school students took an IQ test then Rosenthal and Jacobsen told teachers the names of the students who were going to be average and those who would “bloom” academically during that year. The teachers did not know this, but these names of students were just random and had no relation to the pre-test given. Rosenthal and Jacobson later tested the students at the end of the year and found that the random students that the teachers thought of as bloomers scored significantly higher than the students the teachers thought of as average all year. Their expectations changed the way they treated students and ultimately affected their ability.
Essentially, educators can either shape the children in their classroom into successful students or those same children into failures. Beliefs about students create this power through self-fulfilling prophecy, but there are ways to prevent this self-fulfilling prophecy from being negative and harmful for student growth and performance. Tracking is deeply rooted into our current education system and is not an easy fix. However, there are ways to give as many students as possible, from all different walks of life, a chance to grow and succeed.
Duquesne University. The Pygmalion Effect. Retrieved May 20, 2016, from http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-and-learning/pygmalion
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: Teacher expectation and pupils’ intellectual development. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Thompson, J. G. The Self-fulfilling Prophecy & Your Students: “I Knew You Could Do It!” Retrieved May 20, 2016, from http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/10304-the-self-fulfilling-prophecy-your-students-i-knew-you-could-do-it
