The Mediating Role of Teacher and Student Academic Behaviors in Explaining Relations between Teacher Expectations and Academic Performance: Implications for Classroom Instruction

Abstract

This study examined the role of teacher and student academic behaviors as mediators of the effect of teacher expectations on academic performance. Data pertaining to these variables were obtained from 28 students (16 high ability and 12 low ability students) and one mathematics teacher in Bahir Dar preparatory school. Teacher expectations, teacher behavior, and student academic behavior were measured using scales, and academic performance was assessed in terms of students’ average score in mathematics. Analysis involving multiple regressions suggested that teacher expectations did not independently contribute to academic performance. However, teacher expectations appeared to have an effect on students’ academic performance indirectly via their significant relations with teacher and students’ academic behaviors. The estimated path model confirmed that the effect of teacher expectations become greater as they operate indirectly through teacher and academic behaviors.