A Social Psychology of Schooling

The Expectancy Process

If a theory of education is to be helpful to the practising teacher, it must take the social context of learning into account. Originally published in 1982, Colin Rogers does just this, exploring the implications of two decades’ detailed research in to the social psychology of teaching and learning. The central theme that emerges from this study is the importance of the still controversial ‘teacher-expectancy effect’ – the effect of teachers’ expectations on the performance of pupils. By examining in detail the claims made by those who believe that the expectations of teachers can influence levels of pupils’ academic attainment, the book shows the complexity of interpersonal interaction and perception within the classroom and the nature of problems involved in studying these. It also focuses on the way that the mutual perceptions of teachers and pupils themselves affect, and are affected by, other aspects of life in a school; and extensive use is made of research conducted in British schools to illustrate major points. The conclusion of the study was that it is the classroom – the very environment in which teachers and pupils interact – rather than teacher training that may need reform.