Background
In a seminal study over 50 years ago, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) performed an intelligence test on students whereupon teachers of these students were instead told the test was a predictor for 'late bloomers'. The randomly selected 'late bloomers' were only different to the other 80% of the school "in the mind of the teacher" (1968, p. 70). The results, somewhat controversially (see Thorndike, 1968) found that the selected students showed increased growth relative to the control subjects up to two years later. They found that teachers' attitudes towards students they believed were gifted differed from their attitudes towards the rest of the class; further finding that teacher attitudes towards students can have lasting effects. For a more recent recount of the literature please see Jussim & Harber (2005).
In Education
This effect is named after the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved and brought to life by prayer. In education circles and elsewhere, the pygmalion effect is also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy or the placebo effect. As shown in the image above, it is the idea that a student will become what we believe they can become. A message Guijosa (2020) reminded us is to be found in the well-known Ted Talk "Every Kid Needs a Champion" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHhKdkw). Positively (pygmalion effect!) or negatively (also known as the Golem effect) we as educators affect our students beliefs which in turn affect their outcomes.
Teacher Beliefs
Whilst there are multiple studies and meta-analyses confirming the credence of overarching teacher beliefs such as all students can learn, student learning is improved by me as the teacher etc (Hattie, 2010; Schmid, 2018) none have proven or disproven how a teacher’s specific thoughts on the capability of a student affect learning ‘growth’ despite multiple reviews (see Spitz, 1999; Wineburg, 1987).
Why do it
Most schools have charters or motto’s that centre on the belief that “all students can learn” or “all students can achieve”. But do we really believe this? How often have you heard educators (or parents!) say things like “oh, she’s just not a math kid”, “he’ll never be a rocket scientist”, or “it was a good effort for him.”
Research aside, believing in the inherent ability of your students is kind. It doesn’t limit students and it is my belief that we never know the full capacity of anyone, or anything. When have you ever learnt anything without the help of an advocate or someone who saw something in you that perhaps you didn’t? In essence, who are we to limit them?
I was reminded of the benefit of this effect recently when a very experienced teacher mentioned that they had seen massive improvement in a student which they put down to some work I had done around the student own beliefs. If we concentrate purely on pedagogy and don’t see results it could be our own or the child’s own “B.S”. . . . (Belief systems!) The two pillars (pedagogy and mindset- See Dweck, 2017) are equally important.
How to do it
"Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) may have so captured the imagination of the intellectual public and many social scientists, at least in part, because its message was clear and simple" (Jussim & Harber, 2005, p. 134). When we decide to take action on this, it’s really very simple. Here some key tips:
History doesn’t have to equal future.
Look for the best in everyone and make a conscious effort to see everyone improve (this is also in alignment with Parameter 1 (“all students can achieve to a high standard”) of current educational theorists Sharratt and Fullan, 2009)
Don’t put ceilings in place for students when they don’t exist
Treat all students fairly (be conscious of own biases around gender, student background etc)
Call out the above negative behaviour in the ‘why do it’ section that we see and hear.
Conclusion
The key take-aways for me with the Pygmalion effect are to ensure I do all I can to encourage all students to believe that they can learn to a high level, as well as being cognisant of my own biases. Jussim & Harber (2005) found, “the heat of some of the controversies surrounding this research has sometimes obscured the considerable light that has also been generated” (p. 153) Have you seen the light within this? Please share in the comments section or get in touch with me via the handles above.
References
Dweck, C. (2017). The Journey to Children's Mindsets-and Beyond. Child Development Perspectives, 11(2), 139-144. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12225
Guijosa, P., 2020. Kidblog. [online] Kidblog.org. Available at: <https://kidblog.org/class/early-childhood-curriculum-4304/posts/1uo2ryxl70oh9sq8xx7i5ybzy> [Accessed 13 September 2020].
Hattie, J. (2010). Visible learning. London: Routledge.
Jussim, L., & Harber, K. (2005). Teacher Expectations and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Knowns and Unknowns, Resolved and Unresolved Controversies. Personality And Social Psychology Review, 9(2), 131-155. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0902_3
Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. The Urban Review, 3(1), 16-20. doi: 10.1007/bf02322211
Thorndike, R.L. (1968). Reviewed work: Pygmalion in the classroom by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson. American Educational Research Journal, 5(4), 708–711.
Schmid R. Pockets of Excellence: Teacher Beliefs and Behaviors That Lead to High Student Achievement at Low Achieving Schools. SAGE Open. July 2018. doi:10.1177/2158244018797238
Sharratt, L., & Fullan, M. (2009) 13 Parameters: A Literacy Leadership Toolkit. Pearson.
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