ABSTRACT
A key issue is related to teachers’ beliefs about the nature of academic ability. Some research suggests that when teachers believe students’ poor academic performance reflects an unstable, malleable trait, maladaptive expectancy effects are less likely to occur, in comparison to what happens when teachers see lack of ability as a more stable trait in their students. This chapter examines teacher expectations and the ways teachers can support adaptive motivational beliefs in their students. A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when teachers’ expectations about what students will achieve actually lead to those outcomes. Thus, a teacher who believes that a student is gifted may see that the student actually achieves more over time. The answer is that self-fulfilling prophecies operate over time, through a series of interactions between teachers and students. Teachers’ expectancies are communicated to students in a variety of ways.
