Teacher Expectations The Pygmalion Theory

In ancient Greek mythology, a king of Cyprus, Pygmalion made a statue of a woman with all the feminine ideals and eventually fell in love with it and treated as if it was living.

Everyday Pygmalion begged Aphrodite to bring his statue to life. Aphrodite took pity on him and breathed life into the statue. It was the way in which Pygmalion treated the statue that resulted in it coming to life.

Pygmalion effect is… Simply put, the Pygmalion effect is the idea that expecting something to happen can in fact make it occur Simply put, the Pygmalion effect is the idea that expecting something to happen can in fact make it occur It is a self-fulfilling prophesy, a belief that becomes a positive reality It is a self-fulfilling prophesy, a belief that becomes a positive reality

The term ‘self-fulfilling prophesy’, coined by sociologist Robert Merton means that erroneous beliefs about people bring about the realization of those beliefs. For example, teachers maybe have notions about a students ability that have no basis in fact. If a teacher says to a student that they do or do not have the ability to do something, the student will eventually start to behave as the teacher expects.

Examples A teacher counted the number of times that children ‘told tales’ in a day A teacher counted the number of times that children ‘told tales’ in a day She tells 5 of her colleagues and her husband that one day 16 children and 15 of them were of a certain gender (Tripp, 1993) She tells 5 of her colleagues and her husband that one day 16 children and 15 of them were of a certain gender (Tripp, 1993) Which gender was it? Which gender was it?

They all assumed that the 15 children were girls when it was in fact the opposite They all assumed that the 15 children were girls when it was in fact the opposite The adults’ perceptions were gender biased; this type of misconception has long term self-fulfilling effects The adults’ perceptions were gender biased; this type of misconception has long term self-fulfilling effects This leads to judgments of adults, such as “women gossip and men discuss” This leads to judgments of adults, such as “women gossip and men discuss” Girls are taught to perform according to gender bias on the part of adults, including teachers Girls are taught to perform according to gender bias on the part of adults, including teachers

Views on the Pygmalion Effect There are contradicting views on the effect of the self-fulfilling prophesy There are contradicting views on the effect of the self-fulfilling prophesy Brophy (1983) concluded that the majority of teachers do not have a significant effect on the students Brophy (1983) concluded that the majority of teachers do not have a significant effect on the students In general, he found that teacher assessments of student’s abilities were accurate and overall, teachers didn’t show favouritism or bias towards students In general, he found that teacher assessments of student’s abilities were accurate and overall, teachers didn’t show favouritism or bias towards students

Contrary to Brophy, Emerling (1991) conducted an experiment on handwriting that showed that the majority of people could tell which gender a writer was from looking at a sample and Eames and Lowenthal (1990) showed that teachers often gave a better mark to students with good handwriting Contrary to Brophy, Emerling (1991) conducted an experiment on handwriting that showed that the majority of people could tell which gender a writer was from looking at a sample and Eames and Lowenthal (1990) showed that teachers often gave a better mark to students with good handwriting

Sloan and McGinnis (1982) claimed that handwriting led to an inconsistence in grading based solely on presentation Sloan and McGinnis (1982) claimed that handwriting led to an inconsistence in grading based solely on presentation In some experiments, students received as much as 3 letter grades lower than others due to poor penmanship even though the content was identical, thus supporting the Pygmalion effect In some experiments, students received as much as 3 letter grades lower than others due to poor penmanship even though the content was identical, thus supporting the Pygmalion effect A teacher’s attitude towards a student’s work as being good or poor based on biased values like form over content may discourage that student. A teacher’s attitude towards a student’s work as being good or poor based on biased values like form over content may discourage that student.

Teachers’ attitudes towards low- and high-achievers Teachers’ attitudes may vary greatly Teachers’ attitudes may vary greatly Low achievers may be perceived as being less motivated, autonomous, attentive and less willing to engage in risk-taking than high-achievers Low achievers may be perceived as being less motivated, autonomous, attentive and less willing to engage in risk-taking than high-achievers This may cause the teacher to fear and limit interaction with them and to be unsure when interactions do occur This may cause the teacher to fear and limit interaction with them and to be unsure when interactions do occur

Teachers seem to plan and prepare better for high-achiever classes Teachers seem to plan and prepare better for high-achiever classes Low-achiever classes tend to stress more basic skills rather than higher order thinking activities Low-achiever classes tend to stress more basic skills rather than higher order thinking activities Such students ma be perceived as more likely to cheat and copy notes and this affects teacher behaviour Such students ma be perceived as more likely to cheat and copy notes and this affects teacher behaviour A teacher’s expectations would likely change according to the observed attitudes and behaviours or and individual, small group or class A teacher’s expectations would likely change according to the observed attitudes and behaviours or and individual, small group or class

Other Factors… A teacher’s pedagogical beliefs, philosophies or methodologies may also influence expectations A teacher’s pedagogical beliefs, philosophies or methodologies may also influence expectations A teacher more into a holistic approach to teaching which emphasizes group work and cooperative learning might limit the negative effects of teacher expectation self-fulfilling prophesies A teacher more into a holistic approach to teaching which emphasizes group work and cooperative learning might limit the negative effects of teacher expectation self-fulfilling prophesies

Children who feel secure in their relationship with their teachers often feel happier while students who feel more insecure with their teachers may feel more anxious and depressed Children who feel secure in their relationship with their teachers often feel happier while students who feel more insecure with their teachers may feel more anxious and depressed A teachers orientation may have a large Pygmalion effect A teachers orientation may have a large Pygmalion effect A french immersion teacher may not have any university courses in some of the subjects that he teachers. His lack of interest in a subject such as math may result in that subject receiving less attention and students not achieving and learning as much as they might from a teacher trained in that area A french immersion teacher may not have any university courses in some of the subjects that he teachers. His lack of interest in a subject such as math may result in that subject receiving less attention and students not achieving and learning as much as they might from a teacher trained in that area Other Factors…

All of these factors have to do with the Pygmalion effect because the way that a teacher behaves does influence his or her students ad their subsequent behavior and learning.

Discussion: “Reflect on how the Pygmalion Theory & Teacher Expectations will influence your teaching practices.” Discussion: “Reflect on how the Pygmalion Theory & Teacher Expectations will influence your teaching practices.”