Teachers’ Expectations and Boys’ Academic Underachievement at Junior Secondary Schools in Kiribati: Is there a relationship?

Abstract

One of the contemporary issues in education faced by both developing and developed countries is boys' underachievement in schools, and this issue is of pressing concern in the island nation of Kiribati. Researchers have identified multiple factors that have had significant impact on boys' academic outcomes. The current study, however, solely focused on teacher expectations. Research-based findings suggest that teacher expectations, either high or low, can have corresponding relations with students' academic outcomes. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between teacher expectations and boys' academic underachievement. The current study involved 9 teachers and 36 students, recruited from three junior secondary schools in Kiribati, using a purposeful random sampling method. The current study employed two qualitative research methods: focus group interviews with students, and one-on-one in-depth interviews with teachers. The findings revealed that teacher expectations for boys' academic achievement were lower than their female counterparts, because boys were perceived as having negative classroom behaviours. It appeared that culture shaped the way in which gender roles are constructed and that such gender role expectations appeared to influence teacher expectations. The implications of the findings from the current study and future research directions are also presented. This thesis contributes to research conducted in the field of teacher expectations and provides evidence to substantiate the relationship between teacher expectations and boys' academic underachievement.