One of our principals shared an
interesting post (click
here to read) with me that posed this question: Does
calling a school a “failing school” make it one?
There seems to be a self-fulfilling
prophecy when you’re labeled as an individual. “If someone
believes you're smart and successful, they're going to treat you that way. And,
if you're treated like you're smart and successful, then you're more likely to
behave that way.”
The same thing happens when you label someone a failure. The
phenomenon is known as The Pygmalion Effect, and it is based on a
famous 1965 Harvard Study: “Pygmalion in the Classroom, confirmed
that the beliefs teachers
have about their students matter. When teachers in the study saw students as
failures, sure enough, those kids were more likely to fail.”
Would it not be true that labeling a school as a failure
contributes to its lack of success?
The post indicates another relationship may exist, too. A researcher (Kevin Kosar) has noticed an
increase, since 1995, in the number of books using the term “failing school.” There’s been a corresponding increase in the number
of schools being identified as a “failing school” since that same year. Can this also be a “chicken and egg” debate?
