Teacher expectations: associations with need supportive teaching and students’ need satisfaction

Abstract According to self-determination theory, all students benefit from need-supportive teaching (i.e., provision of autonomy support, structure, and involvement). Yet, teachers seem to differentiate between students in their level of need support. This study examined to what extent teacher expectations could explain differences in teacher-reported levels of different indicators of need support (i.e., provided choice, help and guidance, and quality of the teacher-student relationship), and subsequent students’ need satisfaction—beyond students’ actual achievement levels. Third to fifth-graders ( N = 586) filled out questionnaires on their need satisfaction. Their 72 teachers from 11 schools reported student-specific teacher expectations and need support. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. Teachers reported to provide fewer choices and more help and guidance to students of whom they had lower expectations and reported lower-quality relationships with them, irrespective of actual achievement differences. Hence, students of whom teachers have low expectations are prone to be taught in a less need-supportive ways, which can further undermine their motivation and learning.