The relationship between teacher regard and college attendance expectations: socioeconomic and racial–ethnic disparities

This study uses data from wave one of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health to analyze the relationship between middle and secondary school students’ perceptions of their teachers, or “teacher regard,” and students’ expectations for college attendance. Variation in this relationship is further examined by respondents’ socioeconomic status, as measured by parents’ highest level of education, as well as respondents’ race and ethnicity. I find that for respondents whose parents have not completed high school, hold high school diplomas, or have completed only some post-secondary work, expectation ‘gains’ due to increases in teacher regard are substantially greater than are those for respondents whose parents hold college degrees. Adolescents whose parents hold graduate degrees experience an inverse relationship between teacher regard and college attendance expectations. Hispanics, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, additionally display higher expectations as teacher regard increases.