The importance of high expectations is widely recognised in Aotearoa New Zealand. Although much is known about the importance of teacher expectations, far less attention has been paid to the concept of a school culture of high expectations.
Our working theory is that a school culture of high expectations is likely to play a substantial role in contributing to teaching and learning success. For example, through strengthening the collegiate staff environment (Sarra et al., 2020) and supporting the uptake of culturally responsive classroom practices (Hynds et al., 2017). A school culture of high expectations reciprocally interacts with individual teacher expectations, with teachers actively contributing to and benefiting from the shared culture.
Understanding how ‘high expectations’ can be developed and implemented school-wide is essential for educators to apply the principles in the classroom. Bearing that in mind, the paucity of work on school cultures of high expectations and the absence of an integrated framework of expectations effects constituted one of the rationales of this proposed study.
About the project
“Leading with high expectations” project will produce a scoping review to help researchers, policymakers, school leaders, and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand to understand and apply high-expectations frameworks. This project will generate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how school-level expectations can be embedded in practice.
The scoping review will:
- Present how high expectation cultures are conceptualised and enacted in school practices.
- Articulate what constitutes a school culture of high expectations, drawing from the existing theories and principles around teacher expectations.
- Develop a framework or guiding principles that allows schools to embed high-expectations practices.
The literature review will present examples or vignettes that exemplify high-expectations principles. It will also include a framework that explains how stakeholders at different layers can apply high-expectations principles in their practices.