The construct of performance expectations provides a way to organize knowledge about classroom instruction and learning. Areas of expectations that merit research include teacher knowledge of subject, teacher decisions about curriculum content and time allocation, classroom management, changes in expectations between teachers, task variables, and…

This paper, prepared as a chapter for the "Handbook of Research on Teaching" (third edition), reviews correlational and experimental research linking teacher behavior to student achievement. It focuses on research done in K-12 classrooms during 1973-83, highlighting several large-scale, programmatic efforts. Attention is drawn to design, sampling,…

Individual teacher behaviors, characteristics, and instructional methods make an important difference in what and how well students learn. Children enter school with a wide variety of differences in family background and aspirations, expectations, and previous learning. Research on learning in the home, nursery school, and kindergarten points out…