Teacher Expectations of Student Behavior

This study explored elementary school teachers' expectations of student behavior in terms of teachers' demographic characteristics as well as level (primary vs. intermediate vs. combined) and program type (general vs. special educator). Teachers identified which social skills they viewed as critical for success in their classrooms. Results showed that primary and intermediate teachers view skills in the areas of self-control and cooperation as equally important for success and perceive assertion skills as substantially less important. General and special educators placed similar value on the importance of assertion and self-control skills, but general educators viewed cooperation skills as more essential for success than did special educators. Implications for prereferral intervention and service delivery for special education students are discussed.