The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between students' perceptions about their teachers' expectations of them and their sociometric status, investigated through the selection of groups of friends. Participants comprised 130 male and female elementary school children, aged between 9 and 10, in two public schools from the São Paulo state interior. Participants' perception was measured via a scale consisting of twenty statements, of which eleven were positively, and nine negatively, stated. To assess sociometric status, participants were required to indicate three classmates with whom they would like to study and to play, and three with whom they would not like to study and to play. Results showed that those students who believed that their teacher had a positive perception towards them also had a higher average peer group acceptance. Those participants who demonstrated a negative perception of expectations were the ones most rejected by their peers. This study points to the importance of the social relationships established at school and encourages a reflection on the importance of these relationships in the context of the teach/learn process.
Teacher-student interaction; Perceptual measures; Sociometric techniques
