Teacher judgements of children's academic potential

Abstract

First, this study measures the judgements of teachers' various potentials of the child to determine if "academic potential" is a specific judgement (or two or more specific judgements) or a general judgement of the child's various aptitudes. Then, specific characteristics of the child for three trait areas are rated by teachers, namely: social, personal, and academic traits. Social traits engage the child's family background and attitudes towards classmates, teachers, authority figures, and team work. Personal traits pertain to the child's personal habits, appearance, and work qualities. And academic traits involve qualities of the child thought to be intrinsic to academic performance, such as concentration, comprehension, imagination, and creativity. Forty-four teachers of year-5 students of various State schools have completed questionnaires involving rating scales for six child potentials (four-point scales) and seventeen characteristics of the child for three trait areas (four point scales). After a factor analysis of child "potentials", "academic potential" is identified as two specific judgements. The academic potential factor is then correlated (Pearson Product-Moment and Point Biserial correlations) with child characteristics judged by the teacher.