The Limits of Expectations: A Case for Case Knowledge About Teacher Expectancy Effects

Abstract

Two first-grade Hispanic girls in the same classroom were studied for a year by means of qualitative and naturalistic methods. Paradoxically, the child for whom the teacher held low expectancies did extremely well in her reading achievement; in contrast, the child for whom the teacher held high expectancies did poorly. These paradoxical “effects” are understandable if we consider what the teacher thought and did in a broader context, that is, her overall view of each child and her assessment of what was educationally necessary and appropriate for each. These case studies are used to point out the limits of the classic expectancy theory and to argue for a less reductionistc framework and methodology in studying teacher expectancies. The cases are also used to argue that what a teacher expects matters less for a child’s achievement than what a teacher does.