How Teacher Expectations Shape Students’ Experience in the Classroom
One of my favorite bedtime stories as a child was about Pygmalion, the mythological Greek sculptor who carved a statue of a beautiful woman and fell in love with it. It didn’t end there: according to the myth, Pygmalion started treating the sculpture as human, presenting it with gifts and admiring its beauty. That is, until one day, when the goddess of love Aphrodite took pity on him and brought his sculpture to life!
Over the centuries, the moral at the heart of this myth became known as the Pygmalion effect: the notion that our beliefs can become self-fulfilling prophecies through their influence on our behavior, just as the sculptor’s fixation on his artwork led it to truly come alive. Sometimes, if we are convinced that something is true, our conviction leads us to act in a certain way that eventually makes these beliefs a reality. In a nutshell, this happens because we, as social creatures, are influenced by expectations, both our own and those of the people around us. If someone we value treats us as if they have high expectations for us, then we are likely to internalize these expectations and work harder to meet them.
References
- Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
- The Graide Network. Teacher bias: The elephant in the classroom. August 2018
- Seeberger, C. (2014, October 6). The power of the Pygmalion effect. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-power-of-the-pygmalion-effect/
- World Bank. Poor Expectations : Experimental Evidence on Teachers’ Stereotypes and Student Assessment. March 2021
- Santos, L. R. & Gendler, T. S. (2014). What scientific idea is ready for retirement: Knowing is half the battle. Edge.org. http://edge.org/response-detail/25436
- Kristal, A., S. & Santos, L. R. (2021). G.I. Joe Phenomena: Understanding the Limits of Metacognitive Awareness on Debiasing. Harvard Business School. Retrieved at https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/21-084_436ebba8-c832-4922-bb6e-49d000a77df3.pdf
- Google (2017). Unconscious Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and Opportunities. Retrieved at https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/unconscious-bias-in-the-classroom-report.pdf
- Amodio, D. M. (2014). The neuroscience of prejudice and stereotyping. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 15(10), 670-682.
- Gino, F. & Coffman, K. (2021) Unconscious bias training that works. Harvard Business Review
- Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Awareness of implicit biases
About the Author
Melina Moleskis
Dr. Melina Moleskis is the founder of meta-decisions, a consultancy that leverages management science and behavioral economics to help people and organizations make better decisions. Drawing from her dual background in business and academia, she works with determination towards uncovering pragmatic, sustainable solutions that improve performance for clients. Melina is also a visiting Professor of Technology Management as she enjoys spending time in the classroom (teaching as the best route to learning) and is always on the lookout for technology applications in behavioral science. In her prior roles, Melina has served as an economic and business consultant for 7 years in various countries, gaining international experience across industries and the public sector. She holds a PhD in Managerial Decision Science from IESE Business School, MBA in Strategy from NYU Stern and BSc in Mathematics and Economics from London School of Economics.
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