Teachers’ expectations and racial mismatch in Brazilian public school¹

ABSTRACT

This article examines the extent to which racial similarities or discrepancies between teachers and students in Brazilian public school classes influence teachers’ expectations. Additionally, it analyzes the occurrence of gender differences in the expectations and their intersection with racial differences. The data used come from the 2013 Prova Brasil (BRASIL, 2015). The main conclusion is that racial similarity between teachers and classes of black students is associated with higher expectations of teachers, especially regarding the completion of elementary school and university entrance. Moreover, the fact that the classes are taught by female teachers is also linked to higher expectations. However, expectations are largely explained by the students’ learning of mathematics and the teaching environment in the classroom.

Keywords:
Teachers; Expectations; Academic Achievement; Race Relations