1 Introduction

Teachers are significant mediators between the learning content and learning process (Brühwiler & Helmke, 2018; Hattie, 2013) and therefore are very important for students’ academic success. Students’ academic success comprises student achievement which is also associated with student beliefs. Besides teachers’ professional knowledge and motivational characteristics, teacher beliefs are significant for instructional quality as well as student learning progress (Blömeke et al., 2015). For example, teacher expectations, as one type of teacher belief, influence student achievement and beliefs (Rubie-Davies et al., 2020). Two studies showed that after controlling for teacher professional knowledge (content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and general pedagogical knowledge) teacher expectations related significantly and positively with student achievement (Hollenstein et al., 2019; Muntoni et al., 2020). Teacher expectations positively predict student achievement as well as student self-concept (for an overview, see the review of Wang et al., 2018). Nevertheless, there are few investigations of how teacher expectations predict student achievement and beliefs when considering more than one student outcome (Rubie-Davies et al., 2020).

However, many determinants influence student academic success (Hattie, 2013). In addition to factors that relate to the teacher, the individual factors of students play an important role. Academic achievement, self-concept, and anxiety, for example, are also considered important predictors of academic success (Brühwiler & Helmke, 2018; Valentine et al., 2004). An interdependence between achievement, self-concept and anxiety is assumed, which has been partially confirmed empirically. For example, a positive relation between achievement and self-concept and a negative correlation between anxiety and self-concept (Gogol et al., 2017; Hembree, 1988) have both been reported in the literature. Although an interdependence has been commonly assumed to hold between these three student outcomes, there are very few longitudinal studies that have included more than two characteristics at the same time (Praetorius et al., 2016).

Based on previous findings, it can be assumed that student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety relate to each other, and all three outcomes are important for academic success. If studies could show that expectations relate to an increase in achievement and self-concept and to a decrease in anxiety, teacher expectations gain importance for academic success. Previous findings have confirmed positive relations between teacher expectations and achievement as well as self-concept (see for an overview the review of Wang et al., 2018). However, it remains questionable how teacher expectations and anxiety relate to each other. That question underlines the assumption that reducing anxiety potentially needs more time and sometimes even a therapeutic approach (Stallard et al., 2012; Zeidner, 2014). On the other hand, teacher expectations can relate to a decrease in anxiety when high expectations are perceived as activating and not deactivating. Low to moderate anxiety can lead to increased investment and to better learning outcomes (Zeidner, 2014). Additionally, the findings would underline the importance for considering more than one student outcome. Theoretical models already show that teacher expectations are likely to affect achievement as well as beliefs (Brophy & Good, 1970; Rubie-Davies, 2014). Empirical research has less frequently analyzed the relations of teacher expectations to more than one student outcome (Wang et al., 2018). Consequently, little is known about how teacher expectations and different student outcomes interact.

The aim of this paper was to examine the relations between teacher expectations and the three student outcomes of achievement, self-concept, and anxiety in mathematics in Swiss primary schools. For that reason, multilevel regression models as well as a cross-lagged panel model were employed.

2 Theoretical background

2.1 Teacher expectations

Teacher expectations are important. They often form the basis for instruction, lesson planning, and the kinds of learning opportunities provided. In the pedagogical-psychological field, the focus is mostly on interpersonal expectations between teachers and students. For this context, the following definition can be formulated: Teacher expectations can be seen as beliefs about the probable levels of current and future student achievement (Dusek & Joseph, 1983; Friedrich et al., 2015; Good & Brophy, 1997; Rubie-Davies, 2004). Teacher expectations can have a self-fulfilling prophecy effect (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968) on achievement (e.g. Gentrup et al., 2020; Hollenstein et al., 2019; Rubie-Davies et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018) but also on student affective-motivational beliefs (e.g. Friedrich et al., 2015; Hollenstein, 2020; Wang et al., 2018). The starting point of this process is inaccurate expectations—that is, teacher expectations that overestimate or underestimate the relevant characteristics of the learners (Jussim et al., 2009).

Expectations help to have important information quickly available without having to use many cognitive resources. Thus, from a social-psychological perspective, they are seen as a tool for survival that guides and regulates behavior (Roese & Sherman, 2007). Expectations thus influence a person’s perceptions, decisions, and behavior. For example, events that are expected are perceived more strongly, whereas the unexpected tends not to be seen (Good & Nichols, 2001). Expectations thus help to reduce complexity (Fiske & Tayler, 2017). Since teachers encounter complexity in the classroom while teaching, as they receive a lot of information at the same time and have to process it quickly, expectations can guide and regulate teacher actions in the classroom.

2.2 Student outcomes

Student academic success depends on student achievement on the one hand and on student beliefs on the other hand. Both can be affected by teacher expectations. In the present paper we focus on student mathematics achievement, self-concept, and anxiety. The importance of these three student outcomes and the relation with teacher expectations is described in more detail in the following sections.

2.2.1 Student achievement

Essential for student learning are accurate evaluations of student achievement and progress in school. For students, grades and standardized test results are both common indicators of student achievement (Friedrich et al., 2015; Hansford & Hattie, 1982).

In the present paper we focus on standardized test scores. Standardized test scores allow comparisons across classes or schools as test results are assumed to be less influenced by the class as a reference standard than grades. Standardized tests are common in many school systems. Studies have confirmed their predictive validity for various student outcomes (Kuncel et al., 2001, 2010).

2.2.2 Student beliefs

Beliefs are a significant determinant of academic success within the framework of individual characteristics (Beane, 1994; Valentine et al., 2004). Beliefs can include student self-concept, on the one hand, but also emotions, such as anxiety towards a subject.

The self-concept can be understood as a person’s mental model of their own abilities and characteristics (Marsh & Hattie, 1996; Nagy et al., 2010; Shavelson et al., 1976). Student mathematics self-concept is thus a domain-specific belief about one’s own abilities to solve tasks in the field of mathematics (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002) and is seen as part of the academic self-concept (Shavelson et al., 1976). Student academic self-concept is significantly related to their achievement (Valentine et al., 2004). There are different views and empirical findings on the direction of the relations. Ultimately, a reciprocal relation is assumed (Guay et al., 2003; Praetorius et al., 2016). However, differences in self-concept cannot only be explained by academic achievement. Furthermore, gender differences can be found in mathematical self-concept. Boys have a higher mathematical self-concept even in the first grade compared to their female classmates, but not necessarily greater achievement (Fredricks & Eccles, 2002; Jacobs et al., 2002).

Another significant student belief about academic success is anxiety towards a subject—in this case towards mathematics. Anxiety is considered a negative-activating emotion (Pekrun, 2006, 2018), which, in relation to mathematics, can be seen as a state of discomfort around the performance of mathematical tasks (Ma & Xu, 2004). Again, achievement is considered a significant influencing variable (Barroso et al., 2021; Hembree, 1990; Ma, 1999; Zhang et al., 2019). In the absence of longitudinal studies, the directional relations are unclear. In addition to achievement, negative correlations have also been found with social status and self-concept. Likewise, correlations between anxiety and gender have become apparent. Girls and women show greater anxiety than boys and men (Hembree, 1988). However, a review from Barroso et al. (2021) did not indicate gender as a significant moderator.

2.3 Teacher expectations and relations with student outcomes

The review by Wang et al. (2018) identified that most studies of teacher expectations focus on the impact on student achievement, followed by studies on self-concept, student achievement expectations, or achievement motivation. All these studies posited a positive relation between teacher expectations and student achievement or student beliefs (e.g., Friedrich et al., 2015; Pesu et al., 2016; Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968; Szumski & Karwowski, 2019; Wang et al., 2018; Zhu & Urhahne, 2015). Students are aware of their teacher’s expectations (e.g. Weinstein & McKown, 1998). Students who perceive high teacher expectations tend to develop more positive beliefs (Rubie-Davies et al., 2020). In consideration of these findings, it can be assumed that teacher expectations would relate positively to student self-concept and negatively to student anxiety.

Teacher expectations can play a decisive role and explain differences in the academic self-concept of students (Friedrich et al., 2015; Zhu & Urhahne, 2015). In their study of 505 Chinese fifth-grade students and their 16 English teachers, Zhu and Urhahne (2015) demonstrated that students who were underestimated by their teachers had a lower self-concept. In a study of 73 mathematics teachers and their 1289 fifth-grade students in Germany, Friedrich et al. (2015) also tested and confirmed this with a multi-level analysis. Pesu et al. (2016) focused on 152 Finnish first graders and their teachers as well as parents. They showed a positive correlation for high-achieving students with their self-concept and teacher expectations in both reading and mathematics. However, this correlation was not shown for low-performing students. In addition to teacher expectations, they also focused on parent expectations. The results emphasized the important teacher role for high-achieving students and their self-concept because there was no significant correlation between parent expectations and student self-concept. Although, these studies focused on different subjects (mathematics, English, reading), different grades (first and fifth grade) and were conducted in different countries, every study showed a positive correlation between teacher expectations and student self-concept. These findings suggest that a positive relation between teacher expectations and student mathematics self-concept could be predicted in the current study.

The extent to which student emotions such as anxiety can be influenced by teacher expectations has rarely been investigated (Zhu & Urhahne, 2015). Urhahne and his team (2011; 2010) as a rare exception examined in depth the relations between teacher judgment and student anxiety. In one study, they analyzed 235 fourth grade students in Austria and the German-speaking part of Italy. The results showed that underestimated students reported significantly greater anxiety even though they had the same test score in mathematics as the overestimated students (Urhahne et al., 2011). These findings replicated Urhahne et al. (2010) results, where 144 fourth-grade students from Germany and 272 fourth-grade students from China were investigated. In addition, some studies have shown that teachers tend to underestimate highly anxious students (Urhahne et al., 2011). Furthermore, student expectations of their own achievement correlate negatively with their anxiety (Meece et al., 1990). Given these findings, a negative relation between teacher expectations and student anxiety could be predicted in the current study.

2.4 Research question

The present paper examined how teacher expectations related to changes in primary school student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety within a school year in mathematics. The following research questions were investigated:

  1. 1.

    How do teacher expectations relate to any changes in primary school student mathematics achievement, self-concept, and anxiety within one school year?

  2. 2.

    How are primary school student mathematics achievement, self-concept, and anxiety associated with each other within one school year with respect to teacher expectations?

3 Method

3.1 Sample and research design

These data were from a longitudinal study “Outcomes of teacher education”, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation based on 28 teachers and 509 primary school students. The present analyses focused on the third year of teacher teaching experience (beginning and end of the school year). The students were in the 3rd to 6th grade (3rd grade: n = 130; 4th grade: n = 71; 5th grade: n = 134; 6th grade: n = 174).

Written informed consent was obtained from parents and teachers for the data collection. On the day of the survey, the children could decide independently whether they wanted to participate or solve another task in another room or in another class.

At the time of the survey, the students had been taught mathematics for one year (34.4%), two years (31.0%) or three years (34.6%) by the same teacher. Preliminary analyses showed no statistically significant relations between the duration of time that the class was taught and either teacher expectations or student achievement; therefore, this was not considered in the analyses.

The teachers were on average 25 years old (min = 23; max = 34). The proportion of women in the teacher sample was 86.1%, which corresponds to the average proportion of women teaching at the primary level in Switzerland (Federal Statistical Office, 2018). On average, each teacher taught a class of 18 students. All students in their classes participated in the study. The students were on average 11 years old (min = 8; max = 14). The gender ratio among the students was balanced (49.7% male).

The data set showed missing values related to student achievement at the beginning (1.2%) and the end (4.9%) of the school year, as well as teacher expectations (10.8%) and student socioeconomic status (SES) (16.7%). There were no missing values in relation to student sex.

3.2 Instruments

All the variables we used to answer the research questions are described below. Their descriptive statistics are provided in Table 1.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of the Variables used in the Analysis
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3.2.1 Teacher expectations

Teacher expectations were provided for each student. At the end of the school year the teacher provided the expected score in the end of year mathematics test for each student. However, the teachers had no access to the beginning-year standardized test and students had not yet taken the end-of-year test. Hence, the expectations were based on teachers’ own judgments of each student. This expected score was the basis to calculate teacher expectations in relation to the student current achievement (see more details in the “Analysis” section). The student mathematics test was available to the teachers during their assessments, but the students had not undertaken the test at that time.

Teacher expectations were operationalized using the Madon et al. (1997) residual approach (Hinnant et al., 2009; Rubie-Davies & Peterson, 2016). The indicator for teacher expectations was the standardized residual of the multiple regression. The test scores that teachers expected were regressed onto student beliefs (intrinsic motivation, self-concept in mathematics) and mathematics achievement, at the beginning of the school year. The standardized residuals indicated the proportion of the teacher expected score that could not be explained by the above-mentioned student factors and provided information about the level of teacher expectations (Min = -3.19; Max = 2.49). Positive residuals indicated overestimation and therefore teacher expectations that were above where students were achieving. Negative residuals, on the other hand, indicated low teacher expectations. This residual approach has been used in many studies as an indication of teacher expectations (De Boer et al., 2010; Gentrup et al., 2020; McKown & Weinstein, 2002; Rubie-Davies & Peterson, 2016).

3.2.2 Student mathematics achievement

Student mathematics achievement was measured at the beginning and end of the school year, using elements of a standardized mathematics test from Switzerland (Lehrmittelverlag, 2020; Moser, 2003). The four tests related to the corresponding curriculum for each class level and covered 30–70 mathematical tasks in the fields of arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and stochastic theory. The tests were specifically designed for each class level (third to sixth grade) so that the tasks were formulated according to student age. In this study, the risk of tasks being answered incorrectly due to low reading competence was, therefore, kept as low as possible. However, one disadvantage is the fact that the four level-specific tests have their own metrics. At the time of the survey, no standardized test existed that could be used from the third to the sixth grade that had a common metric. Due to the lack of anchor items and the small sample size within the grade levels, IRT (Item-Response-Theory) scaling was not possible. Nevertheless, in order to create a common metric, the test values were z-standardized within each grade level and then merged across the grade levels. The standardized variable considers the achievement of one student in relation to the achievement of other students in the same grade (e.g., third grade). Footnote 1

3.2.3 Student mathematics self-concept

To assess student mathematics self-concept, the items from PISA 2003 were used (OECD, 2013). The scale comprised a total of five items, that the students could rate on a four-point Likert scale from 1 “not true at all” to 4 “completely true” (example item: “In mathematics lessons, I understand even the most difficult tasks”).

3.2.4 Student mathematics anxiety

Student mathematics anxiety was also measured with the items from PISA 2003 (OECD, 2013). The students were able to rate these five items on a four-point Likert scale from 1 " not true at all” to 4 “completely true” (example item: “I often worry that it will be difficult for me in mathematics.“).

3.2.5 Control variables

Student sex was ascertained using the student questionnaire (boys were coded as 1; girls were the reference category). SES was represented by a z-value derived from student data relating to the highest educational attainment of parents and the number of books at home. This is a short form of the ESCS (Economic, Social, and Cultural Status), widely used in PISA. The short form of the ESCS correlates significantly with the long form of ESCS (at least in terms of the Swiss data; r > .90).Footnote 2

3.3 Analysis

The multi-level structure was considered in the analyses, because the interclass correlation of student mathematics achievement, student beginning of year anxiety and teacher expectations exceeded the critical value of 10% (Lüdtke et al., 2009). Furthermore, not only individual achievement but also the achievement level of the class can influence self-concept as well as mathematics anxiety (Gogol et al., 2017; Marsh, 1987). For that reason, six random intercept models were specified. A cross-legged-panel model (CLPM) was specified in Mplus v8 testing the complex relations between student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety over one school year. In the CLPM the hierarchical structure was considered by centering each variable on the class mean using z-standardization within the classes before specifying the CLPM. Hence individual-level correlations were the focus of this paper; this procedure has been used in previous studies (Hollenstein, 2020; Zhu et al., 2018).

4 Results

Table 2 provides the intercorrelation matrix and shows that teachers had higher expectations for female students compared to their male classmates. Further, expectations were positively related to SES. Teacher expectations were moderately to highly related to mathematics achievement, mathematics self-concept, and mathematics anxiety.

Table 2 Intercorrelation Matrix
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4.1 Relations of teacher expectations and change in achievement, self-concept, and anxiety in mathematics

Table 3 shows that teacher expectations were positively related to achievement development (β = 0.37, p < .001) as well as self-concept change (β = 0.18, p < .001) and negatively related to change in anxiety towards mathematics (β = − 0.18, p < .001). That means that high teacher expectations related to increased student mathematics achievement and student self-concept in mathematics and related to decreased student anxiety towards mathematics. Nevertheless, the strongest predictors for each student outcome were achievement (M1a-M2a: β = 0.65, p < .001), self-concept (M1b-M2b: β = 0.59, p < .001), and anxiety (M1c-M2c: β = 0.45, p < .001), respectively, at the beginning of the school year. Teacher expectations explained only R2within = 3% (Cohen’s f2 = 0.06) additional variance in anxiety, and R2within = 1% (Cohen’s f2 = 0.09) self-concept. This corresponds to a small effect size in the change in explained variance. The change in the explained variance in achievement development was large, however, with R2within = 9% (Cohens f2 = 0.36). That means, teacher expectations predicted achievement and self-concept positively and anxiety negatively. Regarding student characteristics (sex and SES) both showed very small correlations with the dependent variables when teacher expectations were considered.

Table 3 Multilevel-Regression-Models on the Relations of Teacher Expectations and the Change in Achievement, Self-Concept, and Anxiety in Mathematics
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4.2 Relations between student mathematics achievement, self-concept, and anxiety within one school year with respect to teacher expectations

The results of the CLPM are graphically presented in Fig. 1. In the CLPM neither gender nor SES were considered as control variables to reduce the complexity of the model. It was possible to omit the control variables, because in the regression models the relations of gender and SES to the other variables was weak. For all three (student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety) the autoregressive paths were substantial and statistically significant (mathematics achievement: β = 0.63; se = 0.03; p < .001; self-concept: β = 0.66; se = 0.03; p < .001; anxiety: β = 0.41; se = 0.04; p < .001). Regarding the cross-lagged path, student mathematics achievement predicted student self-concept (β = 0.16; se = 0.03; p < .001) as well as anxiety (β = − 0.22; se = 0.04; p < .001). Student self-concept predicted student mathematic achievement (β = 0.23; se = 0.03; p < .001) as well as student anxiety (β = − 0.19; se = 0.05; p < .001). Student anxiety did not significantly predict mathematics achievement (β = − 0.02; se = 0.03; p = .499) but did predict self-concept (β = − 0.07; se = 0.03; p = .040). Teacher expectations remained statistically significantly related to all three end-of-year outcomes (mathematics achievement: β = 0.33; se = 0.03; p < .001; self-concept: β = 0.14; se = 0.03; p < .001; anxiety: β = − 0.17; se = 0.04; p < .001) and the relations between expectations and all outcomes were substantial.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Cross-lagged-panel model

Notes: No correlation between control variables; Model-Fir-Indices: RSMEA = .14, p < .001; TLI = .87; CFI = .95; SRMR = .10

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5 Discussion

The results extend findings on the expectation effect in the classroom, as they focus not only on student achievement but also on student self-concept and anxiety. The significance of teacher expectations for academic success is discussed in the following section.

A strength of the present paper is that it explored the relations between teacher expectations and three student outcomes. Regarding the interdependence between student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety, the relations between these three outcomes and teacher expectations were examined. Teacher expectations are one aspect of many other teacher beliefs that can relate to student learning progress. Nevertheless, during the long tradition of teacher expectation research, findings have consistently indicated that teacher expectations are important for student learning (Wang et al., 2018)—even compared to teacher professional knowledge (Hollenstein et al., 2019; Muntoni et al., 2020). The present results showed that high teacher expectations can lead to greater student achievement, greater student self-concept, and lower student anxiety in mathematics.

5.1 Teacher expectations and student achievement

Regarding student achievement in the multilevel regression models, significant predictors were beginning-of-year achievement, self-concept, and teacher expectations. This finding supports the positive relations between teacher expectations and student achievement commonly found in the literature (Wang et al., 2018). Beginning-of-year anxiety was not a significant predictor for achievement when teacher expectations were accounted for. The present findings supported the importance of student self-concept as well as teacher expectations for student achievement. Anxiety seemed to be less related to student achievement when the other variables were considered. If other studies replicated the present findings, this could lead to an assumption that teachers should be aware of their expectations and endeavor to enhance student self-concept as well as student achievement. A focus on improving achievement rather than directly focusing on student anxiety may result in both an increase in achievement and a decrease in anxiety.

5.2 Teacher expectations and student beliefs

The present results also provide support for the idea that not only achievement is important for student academic success; student beliefs are important, too (Szumski & Karwowski, 2019; Wang et al., 2018). Student self-concept changes within one school year were predicted taking account of beginning-year achievement, self-concept, and anxiety although anxiety was negatively related and the others positively. Additionally, teacher expectations also related positively to student self-concept at the end of the school year. These findings affirm prior findings, which also found positive relations between teacher expectations and student self-concept (Friedrich et al., 2015). Student anxiety towards mathematics was negatively predicted from beginning-of-year achievement and self-concept and teacher expectations. These findings support prior research about teacher judgment and student anxiety (Meece et al., 1990; Urhahne et al., 2010, 2011; Zhu & Urhahne, 2015). Teacher expectations may be associated with a decrease in anxiety if high expectations are perceived as activating rather than deactivating (Zeidner, 2014). The present results strengthen the assumption that high expectations lead to a decrease in anxiety.

Prior research has only focused on two of these student outcomes and mostly there have been no longitudinal studies (Praetorius et al., 2016). An interdependency had been assumed in the literature, but we were unable to locate any studies where these relations had been tested. The present findings indicated that anxiety predicted self-concept and achievement less than self-concept and achievement predicted anxiety. This results in several possibilities that can be considered to prevent anxiety in mathematics. In addition to a direct influence, for example, by teaching strategies for dealing with anxiety, a decrease in anxiety can also be supported by promoting student self-concept as well as providing individualized support in mathematics achievement and having high teacher expectations. The present findings point to the importance of high expectation teachers (those who have high expectations for all students; (Rubie-Davies et al., 2015) because high expectations could lead to an increase in achievement and self-concept and decrease anxiety.

5.3 Teacher expectations and academic success

Nevertheless, the effect size of the change in explained variance was small for student self-concept and anxiety and large for student achievement. That indicates that teacher expectations explained more variance in achievement compared to self-concept and anxiety. However, the CLPM showed that all three student outcomes were related to each other, and, additionally, teacher expectations were related to all three outcomes. Hence, teacher expectations seemed to be more important for student achievement than student self-concept or anxiety. Nevertheless, the model did show that student achievement could lead to a decrease in student anxiety and an increase in student self-concept. These beliefs, especially student self-concept, also related to student achievement. However, the present findings revealed that achievement appeared to influence anxiety more than the opposite.

The present findings strengthened the idea that high expectations are especially important for achievement. On the other hand, achievement can predict an increase in self-concept as well as a decrease in anxiety. The importance of indirect effects on the complex relations between teacher expectations and student outcomes has been supported in other studies (Rubie-Davies et al., 2020; Hollenstein, 2020). Nevertheless, in most studies, achievement has been the dependent variable, and, for example, self-concept has been the mediator (see theoretical models of the influence of teacher expectations on student achievement; Brophy & Good, 1970; Rubie-Davies, 2014; Hollenstein, 2020). The present findings provide initial evidence that the relations between expectations and academic success could be more complex than assumed in previous models.

5.4 Strengths and limitations

A strength of the current paper is that it extends the findings on teacher expectations effects, because the study focuses not only on student achievement but on three student outcomes simultaneously. Additionally, the analyses were based on data from three different data sources (teachers, student ratings, and standardized tests) and showed significant associations. Furthermore, the hierarchical structure was considered in the analyses which enabled us to consider the nested nature of the data.

However, the study also has limitations. First, although the current results extend prior literature especially for mathematics in primary school, they cannot be generalized to other school levels or other subjects. Second, teacher expectations were measured near the end of the school year. One advantage of recording expectations near the end of the school year is that teachers have had at least one year to get to know their students (De Boer et al., 2010). According to Raudenbush (1984), this leads to more precise and possibly more accurate expectations of student future performance. However, traditionally teacher expectations have been measured at the beginning and not at the end of a school year.

The third limitation is focused on the two measurement points. Timmermans et al. (2021) showed the importance of the between and within individual effects of teacher expectations. Following these results, it would be interesting to replicate the present findings with more than two measurement time points to employ a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged-Panel Model (RI-CLPM) and get more information about the changes between and within individual effects on these three student outcomes and teacher expectations. Therefore, teacher expectations could be assessed at a number of time points and not just at one time point like in the present study.

The final limitation focuses on the student mathematics achievement test. The mathematics achievement tests have no common metric, due to the lack of anchor items. Although the data could be merged into one variable by z-standardization (see the section, “Student mathematics achievement”), future research projects should use the same test (see, for example, e-asTTle in New ZealandFootnote 3) or use a test design that allows common (IRT) scaling using anchor items. However, the key advantages of level-specific tests include the curriculum-specific links to respective grade levels, broad content coverage, and formulation of tasks adapted to grades.

5.5 Implications for future research and teacher practice

The present paper points to the relevance of teacher expectations not only for student achievement, but also for student beliefs. Therefore, further research on teacher expectations should consider more than one student outcome to find out more about the importance of teacher expectations for academic success.

Pre-service teachers as well as in-service teachers should be aware of the influence of their expectations not only for student achievement but also for self-concept and anxiety. The findings do not support the idea that high teacher expectations could lead to more anxiety and pressure. On the contrary, they emphasize the positive influence of expectations not only on achievement, but also on student beliefs. Further, encouraging teachers to have high expectations may prevent anxiety in mathematics. The results also indicated that additional ways of decreasing anxiety involve increasing achievement as well as self-concept.

If future research confirmed the present results about teacher expectations effects on student outcomes, this information could be part of teacher education of pre-service teachers as well as further professional development for in-service teachers. In addition, the high expectation intervention of Rubie-Davies et al. (2015) also offers practical ways in which teachers can raise expectations and influence student achievement and beliefs. As the presented findings underline, not only is achievement relevant for student success at school, but student beliefs such as self-concept and anxiety also need to be considered, because such individually varying student beliefs can be just as important for successful teaching and learning processes as cognitive characteristics. The task for teacher education is to sensitize future teachers to these aspects and to show them possibilities for a sustainable strengthening of the self-concept and a constructive handling of performance anxiety. In line with the present findings, one possibility could be to form high teacher expectations for every student and implement the teaching practices likely to enhance student achievement and beliefs.