The Power of Belief

Today I stumbled across an MDRC school reform evaluation that explores the relationship between student engagement and perceived academic competence on achievement in reading and mathematics. The findings suggest that engagement in school and students’ perception of their own academic competence influence achievement in mathematics. So remember those cool teachers you had who acted like you might actually amount to something? Those are the folks who are key to student development. "The earlier schools and teachers begin to build students’ confidence in their ability to do well, the better off students will be. Teachers whom students see as supportive and who set clear expectations about behavior help create an atmosphere in which students feel in control and confident about their ability to succeed in future educational endeavors." Read more...