Am I doing this right? Student perceptions of teacher expectations in middle school art classrooms

Abstract

Art student perceptions of teacher expectations were investigated. The qualitative research included observations of teacher-student and student-student interactions, discussions with teachers, the completion of a student questionnaire, and the collection of classroom handouts; both in an inner-city and a suburban middle school elective art class. Guiding questions of the study were: (1) How does an art teacher form expectations of students? (2) How are those expectations communicated to the students in the art classroom? (3) How do students perceive the teacher's expectations? The findings support literature indicating the importance of a teacher's philosophy of education and need for control in determining expectation effects.