Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Mattering to Teachers Shapes Student Aspirations and Performance

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1202971 Cecilia Ridgeway and Sara Jordan-Bloch Stanford University Abstract Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Mattering to Teachers Shapes Student Aspirations and Performance Research on teacher effects and the teacher-student relationship has shown that teachers contribute in important and durable ways to how students function in school. However, the ways in which teachers exert this important influence remains poorly understood. This project examines the degree to which student academic outcomes depend on the students' perception that they "matter" to teachers. In that way, this project complements extant research that focuses instead on teacher characteristics or student interpretations of teacher qualities. The concept of mattering includes the sense that one is noticed, important, and/or needed, in this case by teachers. The project uses a mixed-method approach with data collected from ninth-graders at two large public high schools, including survey data, observational data, and interview data. This study is grounded in social-psychological literature and links adolescent self-concept, the teacher-student relationship, and important social and academic outcomes. Broader Impacts This study addresses a central concern about the determinants of educational outcomes and disparities. It intends to generate findings of interest to practitioners in education, as well as families and the general public. Findings could also be used to inform scholarship in several disciplines, as well as future data collection efforts. Findings may have implications for social expectations regarding the effects teachers can have on their students. Findings may also have implications for school structure, classroom pedagogy and teaching practices.