sexta-feira, 29 de maio de 2015

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies at School

A brief summary:

A student`s academic success is not associated to only one factor; many are the aspects that influence performance at school, even that of individuals put in the same educational context: genetic predisposition, nutrition (infant`s and later), family interactions, social context and the teacher-pupil interaction. 

As teachers, we don’t have access to most of these factors, but mainly one: the human interaction that goes on in the classroom between the teacher and the children. That, on the other hand, can affect learning in many ways, for example through the affective interaction of the parts and through the learning opportunities we, adults, allow ourselves to give to the children. Allowing is a good word here because, depending on our expectations about the pupils, we may allow certain types of learning opportunities to take place for a pupil different from what we allow for another. 


While it’s important to differentiate the study program of a pupil, they don’t all learn the same way, so because of these labels, we may prevent a child from achieving all he or she can. Scientifically, this has been studied as: self-fulfilling prophecies; according to Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968): 



“What you expect of someone or of a situation becomes true specifically because of the existence of the expectation, possibly due to alterations in selective perception, in the perceiver’s reactions and in the resulting interaction among the parts involved”

Several studies have showed evidence of this effect. 



Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968)
Oak School - in San Francisco, CA, USA.
Children  (year 1 to 6) tested.
20% randomly chosen as “more capable” so teachers should expect a better performance in
class.
Two more tests were done.
By the end of the year: “more capable group” in fact received higher marks and were
perceived as more pleasant to work with in comparison to control group.

Woolfolk, Woolfolk & Wilson (1977)
Video on a teaching strategy applied on a SEN class in elementary school presented to post-grad students in Education.
Two groups: one humanistic the other behaviorist.
Students evaluation of the method – more favorable in the humanistic label.

Crano & Mellon (1978)
Behaviours cause expectations Vs Expectations cause behaviours?
5.200 students older than 7yo  from 72 schools for 4 years.
Several tests and result analysis: teachers expectations  determined more behaviour than the other way around.

Jussim L. (1993)
Interpret research on teacher expectations and on the role of stereotypes in person perception.
Findings: interpersonal expectancies often accurate/relative small biases and self-fulfilling prophecies.

Jussim L; Harber KD (2005)
Review of research after 35 years and the following conclusions:
(a) Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom do occur - effects are small, do not accumulate greatly across perceivers or over time, and they may be more likely to dissipate than accumulate;
(b) powerful self-fulfilling prophecies may selectively occur among students from stigmatized social groups;
(c) whether self-fulfilling prophecies affect intelligence, and whether they in general do more harm than good, remains unclear, and
(d) teacher expectations may predict student outcomes more because these expectations are accurate than because they are self-fulfilling.
Implications for future research, the role of self-fulfilling prophecies in social problems, and perspectives emphasizing the power of erroneous beliefs to create social reality are discussed. 

Rubie-Davies C; Hattie J; Hamilton R (2006)
Investigate the effects of self-fulfilling prophecies on the achievement of some ethnical groups.
Aims: differences in teachers' expectations and judgments of student reading performance for Maori, Pacific Island, Asian and New Zealand European students. And compare teacher expectations and judgments with actual student achievement.
540 students of 21 primary teachers in Auckland schools. Of these students, 261 were New Zealand European, 88 were Maori, 97 were Pacific Island and 94 were Asian.
Results: Sustaining expectation effects are one explanation for Maori students' limited progress. For Pacific Island, Asian and New Zealand European students, positive self-fulfilling prophecies may be operating.  

Research has shown us that:
Not all children are affected by self-fulfilling prophecies – pupils do overcome negative expectations;
If they overcome failure prophecies and if other factors we have no control of are in place during learning, then WHY WORRY?
Because, the few who don’t overcome self-fulfilling prophecies,are usually the most vulnerable ones: children with
Special Educational Needs, minority groups and children with other emotional issues that lead to low self-esteem. 
Expectations are inevitable – and some may be true and truly based on the children's abilities. However, our job is to try to change the odds – NOT TO BE HEROES – but to give them all an equal chance of learning. 

REFERENCES:


Condon, W.S. 1979. Neonatal Entrainment and Enculturation. In M. Bullowa (ed) Before Speech, Cambridge University Press.

Crano, W.D. e Mellon, P.M. 1978. Causal Influence of Teachers Expectations on Children’s Academic Performance:A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol (1) 39-49.

Cunha, L.A. 1988. Educação e Desenvolvimento Social no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro. Liv. Francisco Alves Ed.

“Dificuldade de Aprendizado é Maior a Cada Ano”, por Renata Cafardo, Jornal O Estado de São Paulo, 27 de Abril de 2003.

Fox, J.D. e Stinnett, T.A. 1996. The Effects of Labeling Bias on Prognostic Outlook For Children as a Function of Diagnostic Label and Profession Psychology in Schools, Vol. 33, 143-152.

Jussim, L. E Eccles, J.S. 1992. Teacher Expectations II: Construction and Reflection of Student Achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 63(6), 947-961.

Jussim, L.  1993. Accuracy in interpersonal expectations: a reflection-construction analysis of current and classic research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(4): 637-68, Dec.

Jussim L; Harber KD. 2005. Teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies: knowns and unknowns, resolved and unresolved controversies.  Personality and Social Psychology Review. 9(2): 131-55.

Lee-Manoel, C.L., et al. 2002. Quem é Bom ( e Eu Gosto) é Bonito: Efeitos daFamiliaridade na Percepção de Atratividade Física em Pré-Escolares. Psicologia Reflexão e Crítica, Vol. 15(2), 271-282.

Maciel, D.M.M.A. 1996. Análise das Interações Professora-Criança em Situação de Ensino -Aprendizagem da Leitura e Escrita. TD. Faculdade de Educação – Universidade de  São Paulo – SP.

Madon, S., et al. 2001. Am I as You See me or Do You See Me as I Am? Self-Fulfilling Prophecies and Self-Verification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol. 27(9), 1214-1224.

Otta, E., et al 1983. Profecias Auto-Realizadoras em Sala de Aula: Expectativas de Estudantes de Psicologia como Determinantes Não-Intencionais de Desempenho.Psicologia, Vol. 9(2), 27-42.

Patto, M.H.S. 1990.  A Produção do Fracasso Escolar: história de submissão e rebeldia.T.A. Queiroz (ed). São Paulo.

Piaget, J. 1973. Psicologia da Criança. Difusão Européia do Livro. São Paulo.

Rosenthal, R. E Jacobson, L.F. 1968. Expectativas de Professores com Relação a Alunos Pobres. Pigmalion in the Classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart e Winston.

Rubie-Davies C; Hattie J; Hamilton R. 2006. Expecting the best for students: teacher expectations and academic outcomes. British Journal of Educational Psychology. 76(Pt 3): 429-44, Sep.

Weinstein RS; Gregory A; Strambler MJ. 2004. Intractable self-fulfilling prophecies fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education. American Psychologist. 59(6): 511-20, Sep.

Woolfolk, A.E., Woolfolk, R.L. e Wilson, G.T. 1977. A Rose by Any Other Name...: Labeling Bias and Attitudes Toward Behavior Modification. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 45 (2), 184-191

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