ABSTRACT
Teachers do not influence classroom learning only through their planned curriculum and their teaching. It seems clear, after decades of research into classrooms, that teacher expectations have a strong impact on pupil performance. We looked at this earlier, in Chapter 5, in relation to teachers’ different expectations of boys and girls. However, research also suggests that many effects are very subtle indeed. The following extract is taken from a large-scale study of junior school classrooms undertaken for the now defunct Inner London Education Authority. In some ways, the study refutes claims made about the impact of low teacher expectations on certain social groups. However, a careful reading indicates the ways in which low expectations are transmitted, even where teachers are making positive efforts not to discriminate among their pupils. In what ways might such a critical awareness of classroom processes help teachers to act to bring about changes in their own teaching?
