ABSTRACT
Expectations for boys were inextricably linked to matters of discipline and behaviour management. The idea that high expectations have a highly beneficial influence on outcomes is known as the Pygmalion Effect. The opposite of the Pygmalion Effect is the Golem Effect, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy whereby negative attitudes about a pupil’s academic ability or potential leads inevitably to poor outcomes. In an important piece of research published in 2004, Susan Jones and Debra Myhill of Exeter University investigated whether teachers’ perceptions of gender influenced their expectations of a pupil’s likelihood of being educationally successful. Carolyn Jackson’s research does uncover a fascinating, subtle difference from Jones and Myhill’s clear cut findings about “troublesome boys”. According to Jones and Myhill, pupils also commonly believe that teachers have expectations about whether boys or girls will be able to do well in certain subjects.
