STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO TEACHER BEHAVIORS AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of teacher behaviors toward their students which can be a result of their academic expectations. It has been suggested that students perceive these differential behaviors which in turn may influence their own academic expectation levels and performance. The sample consisted of 222 elementary school students in eight classrooms from four schools located in San Diego, California. The Teacher Treatment Inventory (TTI) was used to measure students' perceptions of teacher behaviors toward high and low achieving students. This instrument consists of three scales: (1) negative feedback and teacher direction; (2) work and rule orientation; (3) high teacher expectations, opportunity and choice. To measure students' self-expectations for year-end academic attainment relative to their peers, the Self-Concept of Academic Attainment was administered to all students.

The following conclusions were established as a result of analyzing the data: (1) Students perceived that teachers gave more negative feedback and teacher direction to low achievers than they did to high achievers; (2) Non-Anglo, compared to Anglo, students' perceived that teachers demonstrated significantly less amounts of high teacher expectations, opportunity and choice to both high and low achieving students; (3) There were no significant differences found across socio-economic status (SES) and gender perceptions of how high and low achievers were treated by their teachers; (4) Third graders perceived significantly more negative feedback and teacher direction, more work and rules, and lower amounts of teacher expectations, opportunity and choices compared to sixth graders; (5) Students' perceptions between high and low differential classrooms within the third and sixth grades did not significantly differ; (6) As measured by the CTBS, students in high differential classrooms scored significantly higher at the end of the year than students in low differential classrooms; (7) There were less low SES and non-Anglo students in classrooms identified as high differential on the amount of negative feedback and teacher direction. More low SES students were found in classrooms which differentiated highly in terms of work and rules, and in the amount of communicated high teacher expectations, opportunity and choice; (8) The management and organizational styles of teachers in high differential classrooms were more authoritarian. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)