Bringing Behavior Back In: The Effects of Student Characteristics and Behavior on the Classroom Behavior of Teachers

Two studies were designed to investigate the effects of student characteristics on teacher reports of their classroom behavior. Unlike earlier studies of differences in teacher behavior associated with differences in student characteristics, these studies also examined the effects of student behavior, represented by hypothetical classroom problems presented to teachers. Our analysis suggests that teacher behavior is affected more by immediate student behavior than by the student characteristics. Further, those characteristics more relevant to student performance in school, student achievement record, and social behavior record have a greater impact on teacher behavior than student characteristics that are less relevant to student performance, sex, and ethnicity. In contrast with studies which portray teachers as indulging their prejudices, our studies indicate that teachers behave rationally in their interactions with students with different characteristics as they use available information to formulate appropriate responses to students in classrooms.