Great expectations: The lived experiences of high-achieving college graduates with faculty expectations as self-fulfilling prophecy

This qualitative study investigated how high or positive expectations affected the academic success of learners upon whom low or negative expectations have had a deleterious effect. A series of phenomenological interviews with five high-achieving Black college graduates were conducted to determine their experiences with faculty expectations as self-fulfilling prophecy. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) what are the experiences of high-achieving Black/African American college graduates relative to the phenomenon of faculty expectations as self-fulfilling prophecy and, 2) how have the experiences of high-achieving Black/African American college graduates with faculty expectations as self-fulfilling prophecy affected their academic careers? After careful data analysis, the following themes emerged: (a) participants perceived a faculty-learner connection, (b) participants perceived that faculty members cared about them, as well as their academic success, (c) participants perceived that faculty members were committed to helping learners achieve academic success, and (d) participants perceived that faculty members helped learners achieve academic success by challenging them. The findings of this study emphasize the influence of positive learner-faculty relationships on positive learner outcomes.