NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in New Zealand

Holliday Matthew R, Fountain Hills AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Matthew Holliday of the University of Arizona to conduct a research project in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences area during the summer of 2013 at the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand. The project title is "Classroom Expectations: The Relationship between Teacher Beliefs and Student Achievement." The host scientist is Dr. Christine Rubie-Davies. Many studies have explored the relationship between classroom teacher expectations of their students' academic abilities and the differential learning outcomes that result from these expectations. Unfortunately, teacher expectations often serve as self-fulfilling prophecies; teachers tend to dedicate more of their instructional energy towards their perceived academically stronger students while neglecting those for whom they have lower expectations. However, less is known about the impact of teaching beliefs (e.g., whether teachers believe they can help improve students math scores or foster creativity) and perception of classroom climate (i.e., the context in which student and instructor interact) in relation to students' academic achievement. This project uses a secondary dataset to examine the interplay between teacher expectations, beliefs, motivation, and classroom climate perceptions in relation to student academic achievement as measured by student scores on the mathematics portion of a nationally administered standardized test. Data were collected from March through October 2012 and included 60 middle school teachers and their approximately 2,000 students in Auckland, New Zealand. With respect to New Zealand, the researchers are also interested in discovering if there are varying teacher expectations of the under-represented Mâori and Pacific Islander students, and whether these potential differences relate to (1) teacher motivation and beliefs about teaching and (2) this subgroup's academic achievement as measured by their mathematics exam score. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, this study contributes to the promotion of teaching, training, and learning. Findings will help guide the development of teacher training programs and advance educational policy reform, as well as provide researchers and practitioners across interdisciplinary fields with insight on the effects of expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies. The Fellow will disseminate the findings widely in order to enhance the understanding of the relevance of expectancy theory in disciplines beyond psychology. The Fellow intends to report the results through diverse forms of multimedia, such as pamphlets, TV interviews, and websites, in order to reach the parents, teachers, students, and researchers who are not accustomed to reading educational psychology research publications.