Essay Instructions: Hello, I am sending my prospectus for the dissertation. I need the prospectus be revised and edited.The prospectus should include the following:
a. Brief description of the topic and method of research.
b. Brief overview of preliminary readings in the research area.
c. Short bibliography of key articles, books, etc. related to the research area.
d. Intended timeline for completing the three dissertation blocks.
Prospectus:
This research study will document the impact of teachers? expectation on students? overall academic achievement. The research will be conducted at Huntington Park High School, located in city of Huntington Park. It is one of the largest high school in Los Angeles Unified School District and has an enrollment of over 5000 students with a 3-track calendar. The ethnic background of the students consist of 98.6% Latino, .6% black and .3% white. The students of Huntington Park High School(HPHS) have not been challenged to perform to their best abilities mainly because the teachers perceive them as incapable and lack of motivation. Teachers may feel, perhaps, it is unfair or hopeless to expect more from the students. The subtle messages students receive from their teachers make them feel incapable of handling demanding work. The message also lowers students? self-esteem and motivation.
The purpose of this study is to determine if the teachers? expectation plays a major role on Latino?s students? academic achievement.
Null Hypothesis
There is a positive relationship between teachers? expectation and students? academic performance.
Alternative Hypothesis
There is not a positive relationship between teachers? expectation and students? academic performance.
Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is based on researcher?s commitment to the education in general and to the students of the HPHS in particular. The author believes that raising expectation changes students attitude toward school and encourages them to exert extra effort to meet the expectation and the API standard. As a teacher and a member of institution of learning, the author has special interest in the outcome of the program and feel obligated to assist the students in order to achieve the state academic standard.
Literature Review
A preliminary review of the literature pertaining to teachers? expectation was conducted. The researcher utilizes three relevant articles to support the present study; the first article explains how teachers form expectation about the students on the basis of their previous experiences. The second article indicates that raising expectation can influence students? academic achievement. The third talks about the Pygmalion in the class room. The author believes that when teachers expect students to do well, they tend to do well; when teachers expect students to fail, they tend to fail
First Impressions are Lasting Impressions
Teachers normally try to predict about students and their academic or future behavior on the first day of school. On the basis of prediction teac form expectations that lead them to the notion of self-fulfilling prophecy. According to Brehm and Kassim the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy is that once we peg a student ahead of time as troublemaker, or non-scholar, or likely to be self-centered,and treat that student accordingly, the student will fall into our predicted category. That means our negative prophecies or expectations come true. Thomas suggested that the teachers should understand the term of self-fulfilling prophecy which states that if men define situation as real, they are real in their consequences (Thomas, 1928).
Raising Expectation
To close the achievement gap between students who are making the grade and those who are not, teachers need to develop high expectations.
All teachers have high hope and expectations for their students, however, some use better approach communicating their expectation to the students. As a teacher the researcher has a tendency to expect less of those students who show little interest to learning. Sometimes we even feel sorry for students who face many disadvantages and try reducing their responsibilities. But reducing the tasks and lowering the standards give them the message that they can get away from the responsibility by forming some excuses (Tauber, 1997). It also takes away their self-confidence and self-esteem.
The Pygamalion in the Classroom
The Pygmalion in the classroom is a book written by Robert Rosenthal, a Harvard professor, and Leonore Jacobson, a principal of an elementary school in San Francisco is based on the idea that the teachers? expectations have direct effect on students? academic performance. The main argument of the book is that the expectation that teachers have about their students?
behavior can unconsciously influence such behavior. This influence or self-fulfilling prophecy could have negative or positive impact on the students (Rosenthal, and Jacobson 1968). They believe that there is always a correlation between teachers? expectation and students? academic achievement.
Methodology and Procedure
A review of the literature on teachers expectations and students? performance will be conducted. A survey approach and quasi-experimental methodology are used for this study. The following specific procedures will be applied.
Research Design
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of teachers? high expectations on students academic performance. To determine the connection between these two variables, teachers? expectation and students? performance, the researcher needs to choose and apply the method of inquiry that best fits to the research question. There are two modes of inquiries available to the researcher; the quantitative and qualitative modes of inquiry. The qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand the meanings people assign to social phenomena and to explain the mental process underlying behaviors. The hypotheses are generated during data collection and analysis, and measurement tends to be subjective.
To examine the casual explanation and to establish the idea that the teachers? high expectations influence the students? academic performance, the researcher tends to utilize the quantitative method. Since the true experimental method is simply not always possible in this study therefore, the quasi-experimental mood of inquiry will be applied to the population.
Data Collection Methods
The study is about the Latino?s students? academic performance and therefore the bulk of data will be gathered from the teachers and their academic activities. A survey will be conducted to determine whether the teachers expectation have any impact on students overall performance. Twenty teachers from three different academic departments are selected for interview. There are ten questions which are arranged on the Likert scale, strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, disagree are given to the teachers. The teachers? response for each choice will be marked and organized in statistical table. The researcher utilizes the quantitative method in order to quantify the respondents and develop a statistical table. The researcher also believes in the quantitative technique which is based on the sampling and structured approach is the most appropriate and reliable method for this study.
Sample Selection
The population for this quasi- experimental research consisted of all students from grade 9th and 10th that have enrolled for the fall 2003-2004. Researcher randomly selects two classes (one class from 9th and one from 10th) and applies the assignment equally to the groups. The teacher conducts both classes during the same time period and uses the same textbook, and examinations for the students during the fall semesters 2003-2004.
Data Analysis Procedure
There are two-tier approaches used to interpret and analyze the data. First tier related to the teachers? questionnaire (interview); where the researcher will decide if the teachers support the idea of high expectation influences the students academic performance or reject it.
The second tier is about the students and the quasi-experimental method, where the selected students are tested before and after applying the program. The mean of each group is computed and the mean scores are compared using the t-test.
Timeline
The ideal timeline for this research project is estimated at two months for block I (Literature Review), four months for block II (Completion of the Proposal) and four months for block III (Dissertation).
Databases
Most of data will be collected from EBSCO http://search.epnet.com , ERIC, LIRN http://lirn.net/auth, Education World : http ://www.education-world.com/ and www.google.com
Bibliography
Brehm, S. & Kassin, S. (1996). Social Psycology. Boston: Houghton Muffin.
Rosenthal, R. & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. Retrieved September 9, 2003 from http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/-daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/11968rosenjacob.html
Tauber, R. (1998). Good or bad, what teachers expect from students they generally get. Retrieved September18, 2003 from http://www.ericfacility.net/databases / ERIC
Thomas,W. (1928). First impressions are lasting impressions. Retrieved September18, 2003 from http://www.ericfacility.net/databases / ERIC