www.jsser.org Journal of Social Studies Education Research Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 2021:12 (2), 233-259 233 Kuwaiti social studies teachers' expectations for the futures of students ordinarily sit near the teacher Abdullah J. Alhajri1 Abstract The current study aimed to reveal Kuwaiti social studies teachers' expectations for the future conduct of the students who ordinarily sit close to the teacher. These expectations are related to academic, behavioral, social, and vocational conduct domains. A descriptive, analytical method was used. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The study was applied to a random sample of social studies teachers in Kuwaiti schools in six educational districts. The sample consisted of 224 social studies teachers. The study revealed that the level of social studies teachers' expectations about the future conduct of students sitting in locations close to the teacher was closely aligned with both the scientific and behavioral domains and moderately aligned with both the social and vocational domains. It was also found that there were no statistically significant differences in teachers' expectations due to years of experience, and there were no statistically significant differences in teachers' expectations due to gender in all study domains except for the academic domain, in which male teachers showed higher future academic expectations than the females. It is recommended to provide training courses for teachers on classroom management, emphasizing the importance of rotating students' seating locations and encouraging teachers to use other seating arrangements that provide equal opportunities for all students to be close to the teacher. Keywords: teachers' future expectations, academic conduct, social conduct, vocational conduct, behavioral conduct. Introduction Szparagowski (2014) indicates that teachers spend 70% of the time allocated for classroom teaching with students who sit in the front of the class, especially in traditionally shaped classrooms consisting of rows and columns, in a manner that advantages the academic performance of those students sitting closer to the teacher. As a result, they experience enhanced achievement gains compared to the distanced students. Their abilities, as confirmed by Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013), Ngugi and Thinguri (2017), and Will, Bischof and Kingstone (2020), are positively affected. Classroom characteristics can affect students' performance, so every effort must be taken to provide the most enriching learning experiences. This effort includes improving student 1 Assoc. Prof., Kuwait Unversity, College of Education, Department of Curriculum &Instruction, alhajri1952@gmail.com mailto:alhajri1952@gmail.com Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 234 proficiency by addressing the disadvantages that may result from their proximity to or remoteness from the teacher, and it can positively or negatively affect classroom performance. The most important teacher characteristics that can enhance classroom interaction with students and classroom management are understanding and respecting students' personalities, meet their needs, stimulate motivation, and help them grow in and beyond the cognitive domain. These characteristics cannot be found in a teacher who holds negative expectations of students (Abu Daly, 2014). Perhaps one of the most important influencing factors in determining the interactions between teachers and learners is teachers' expectations. In 1968, Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted one of the first studies that provided strong evidence that teachers' expectations can significantly affect student achievement. Since then, teachers' expectations about students have been analyzed extensively for their impact on student's performance and achievements. Marx (1999) also claims that teachers' expectations toward students differ according to seat location, with teachers having certain perceptions about those who sit in the front seats and those who sit in the rear seats. He points to the need to increase teachers' awareness of these perceptions to develop their expertise in dealing properly with these expectations. It then becomes necessary to provide learning conditions in which students can comfortably learn and communicate by sitting near the teacher. That implies that more research is needed to elucidate the necessary learning conditions. Purpose of the study We aim to investigate whether students' locations in the classroom cause Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers to form expectations about students' future academic, social, behavioral, and vocational conduct. The study also investigates how teachers' genders and years of experience help form these expectations. Statement of the Problem The literature has shown that students who sit in the front rows have a higher intelligence level, higher achievement level, and more academic interests than students who sit in the back seats (Mayers, 1967; Lotfy, 2012; Woodson, 2013; Abu Al-Hassan 2016; Kuklinski & Weinstein, 2000). Teachers' expectations for students can affect how teachers interact with students. Ahmad (2010) claim that students who are the subject of high expectations are more oriented toward perfection, whereas A-Rayyes and Al-Majed (2016) add that expectations can affect students' Alhajri 235 attitudes toward education in general. That has led Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, & Wren (2013) to invite teachers' attentive observations of their expectations and the factors that cause them to form. There is a notable absence of attention to the impact of student seat location in the classroom on teachers' expectations in Kuwaiti schools. That led the researcher to conduct this study on Kuwaiti schools to reveal teachers' expectations and their influence on the future academic, behavioral, social, and vocational conduct of their students who sit in the front of the classroom. In addition, the relationship of these expectations with variables such as teachers' gender and years of experience is also examined. Significance of the study Teachers' expectations have been shown to have an impact on students. For example, Al-Rayyes and Al-Majed (2016) argue that these expectations can cause academic, social, and psychological harm for students, affecting students' attitudes toward education in general. In addition, students' proximity to or distance from the teacher can affect teachers' expectations of students. However, studies of such type in the Kuwaiti context are so scarce. Moreover, very few studies attended to teachers' awareness of the formation of such expectations towards students. Additionally, the effect of the student's location in which he sits has not been brought up in previous research. Therefore, the present study results can be of great significance to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education officials and Teacher Preparation Institutions. The results should be beneficial for both in-service and preservice teachers. They should make these teachers aware of forming false expectations that previous studies have proven to exist to avoid forming undesired consequences. Research Questions We seek to answer the following questions: 1- What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future academic conduct of students sitting close to the teacher? 2- What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future social conduct of students sitting close to the teacher? 3- What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future behavioral conduct of students sitting close to the teacher? Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 236 4- What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future vocational conduct of students sitting close to the teacher? 5- Are there statistically significant differences in Kuwaiti social studies teachers' expectations about students sitting close to the teacher according to teacher gender (male/female) or years of experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, or more than ten years)? Terminology of the study Teachers' expectations: Teacher expectations are inferences formed by the teacher about a student's ability to achieve in the classroom (Ormrod, Anderman, & Anderman, 2016), as well as about students' future performance based on students' present knowledge. These expectations affect teachers' perceptions and interpretations of students' actions (Ahmad, 2010, p. 8). The researcher defines teachers' expectations procedurally as the conclusions that Kuwaiti social studies teachers form about the students sitting close to the teacher regarding their academic, social, behavioral, and vocational conduct. They are also defined as teachers' perceptions and interpretations of students' actions affected by students' seat locations. Student location: The researcher procedurally defines student location as where a student sits in the classroom for the scholastic term. Literature Review Before the concept of teacher expectations for students emerged, researchers used the term "self- fulfilling prophecy" to point to the body of research about teachers' impressions of their students. This term is related to the expectations that affect students' performance, and student attempts to conform to these expectations. Farhan, Al-Kinani, & Rizk (2020) clarifies further by stating, "When we expect certain things from the student, this will lead to higher or lower performance and academic achievement" (Farhan, Al-Kinani, & Rizk, 2020, p. 389). Teachers' expectations are associated with what teachers think of students' ability or inability to achieve and succeed (Woodcock & Faith, 2021), and this confirmed by Kususanto (2012), who adds that these expectations do have their effects on improving such students' abilities as well as their achievements, whereas, in the same run, Alhajri's (2021) study results showed that teachers tend to form different expectations based on their attractiveness and uniform tidiness. Alhajri 237 Jimenez (2013), on his part, points that what the teacher observes in the student's socially desired behaviors can cause these expectations to be formed, thus positively affect the student's academic performance, Teachers' expectations determine the level of interaction between the teacher and the learner (Falsario, 2014; Jeon, 2017) and Denessen (2014) clarifies that by pointing that students are dealt with differently when interacting with teachers according to the teacher's expectation. This lead Rubie-Davies (2015) to invite the teachers to be keen in forming positive teacher expectations about students, and Korman (1967) and Mansfield (1973) refer to the effect of these expectations on students' self-esteem, which they consider can play a role on even choosing occupations. Robertson, Smeets, Lubinski, and Benbow (2010) support this notion and add that these expectations can reflect students' career choices, and in the same sense Papageorge, Gershenson, and Kang's (2020, p. 3) assert that teacher expectations can raise students' views about themselves and their performance. Besides the wide body of research confirming the effect of teacher expectations, other studies, such as those of Jussim (1994), Sweatt (2000), and Gentrup (2020), deny such effects of teacher expectations. However, Woodcock and Faith's (2021) study does not completely deny the existence of these expectations, but they deny relating their effects to certain students; rather, the study claims that lower expectations are formed towards all students regardless of their ability levels. Despite these conflicting results, Bergh, Denessen, Hornstra, Voeten, and Rob (2010), Turner (2015), Akifyeva (2018), and Barrigaa (2019) suggest that the formation of teacher expectations is generally based on students' characteristics, such as sex, race, household income, or past performance, and Farfan, Holla, and Vakis (2021) support the notion of the effect of household income and indicate that teachers' negative assessments of children's behavior are based on their low economic backgrounds. In the same manner, Teklu and Kumar (2013) found that teachers' expectations of academic achievement were positively correlated with students' social skills and behavior with emotional and behavioral disorders. Al-muzairi and Hanafi (2019) indicate that these negative effects are particularly found in students with low ability levels. Other studies refer to teachers' characteristics rather than students' characteristics' effect in forming expectations. For example, Watson et al. (2015) found that teacher gender was associated significantly with teacher expectations of student achievement, with negative implications for Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 238 students taught by male teachers. On the other hand, Harris, Rosenthal, and Snodgrass (1986) show no significant effects related to teacher gender. Some studies examined the effect of a teacher's years of experience. For example, Fox (2015) claims that more experienced teachers have higher expectations, whereas Barrigaa's (2019) findings show no differences between in-service and preservice teachers. Falsario (2014) and Jeon (2017) assert that the classroom must be made a better place to enhance students' interactions with the teacher; Malmberg (2019), as well suggests providing a supportive environment for students' daily interactions. Gronostay (2020) indicated that such an environment is an effective tool that influences learning activities and outcomes, and this has led Rayan (2013) to encourage teachers to work on improving the classroom environment to achieve better results, and it led Loughlin (2011) to indicate that educators need to understand better the relationship between learning environments and student learning outcomes which Malik (2010), Lotfy (2012), Woodson (2013), and Sowell (2013) claim as having advantages for the positive teacher conduct for student performance. Yigit, Alpaslan, Cinemre, and Balcin (2017), also referred to the classroom environment, but in terms of classroom size and its prominent role in increasing interactions between teacher and student and affecting students' performance, but this is not supported by Wright, Horn, and Sanders (1997) and Ngoboka and Schultz (2002), who deny such classroom size effects. All of that indicates that it is not easy for teachers to establish good, interactive relationships with all students (Jinam, 2016). Teachers must have the ability to interact with students positively; such abilities, as Abu Daly (2014) asserts, cannot be found in a teacher who holds negative expectations for students (Abu Daly, 2014). In addition to these studies about teachers' expectations, other studies have investigated the effect of student location in the classroom on the formation of teacher expectations. For instance, Parker, Hoopes, and Eggett (2011) point to such an effect, indicating that it affects student behavior and academic performance, and Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013), Ngugi and Thinguri (2017), and Will, Bischof, and Kingstone (2020) confirm this and point that students' proximity to teachers positively affects their abilities compared to the distanced students. Studies analyzing the effect of student location on performance have been conducted before the 1970s (Rist, 1970). Studies from that era assert that students sitting in front seats achieve more and that teachers interact more with them (Rist, 1970; Tagliacolloab, Volpatoac, & Pereira, 2010; Alhajri 239 Zomorodian et al., 2012; Ngware, 2013; and Smith, 2018). Since then, many researchers have dealt with the effect of a student's classroom location on his classroom performance (Lotfy, 2012; and Malik, 2010). These studies point to the relationship between student location and performance (Tagliacolloab, Volpatoac, & Pereira, 2010; Gronostay, 2020), which has made Thinguri (2017); Laiqa, Shah, and Khan (2011); and Parsons (2016) suggest allocating sufficient teacher-student distances to facilitate communication with students, and it also led Will, Bischof, and Kingstone (2020) to claim that low student performance is related to being sitting far from the teacher, and this is supported by Rist's (1970, p. 420); Zomorodian et al.'s (2012); Tagliacolloab, Volpatoac, and Pereira's (2010); and Marx, Urs, and Terry's (1999) findings of differences in students based on location. Zomorodian et al. (2012) identify the role of the "action zone,"; that is, the area of the classroom in which most of the student-teacher interactions take place; in elevating students' interactions, and this drove Ngware, Ciera, Musyoka, and Oketch (2013) to invite teachers to change student seat locations to improve learning gains. Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013), Woodson (2013), Smith, Hoare, and Lacey (2018), and Phoong, Phoong, Moghavvemi, and Sulaiman (2019) do not agree with the notion of such effects of student's seat location on his performance and claim this increased student performance is rather caused by being exposed to effective learning experiences, and Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013), however, claim that studies on the effects of student seat location on teachers' expectations are scarce. Since teachers' expectations for students seem to differ according to their seat locations (given that teachers' perceptions about those who sit in front seats and those who sit in rear seats vary), there is an urgent need to increase teachers' awareness of this to develop their expertise in dealing properly with these expectations (Marx, 1999). It becomes necessary, then, to provide learning conditions in which students can comfortably learn and communicate with each other by sitting near the teacher. Method Research Design Due to the descriptive nature of the study, a quantitative approach was used to describe and analyze the expectations of social studies teachers in Kuwaiti schools toward students sitting close to the Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 240 teacher. Therefore, a researcher-prepared questionnaire was utilized to collect data from the study sample of social studies teachers regarding the respondents' demographics and expectations for the future conduct of students sitting near teachers. The questionnaire was applied because it was the most appropriate tool for this descriptive study. Study Sample The total population of Kuwaiti social studies teachers consists of about 7.700 teachers. The study sample consisted of 224 participants of different genders (99 male teachers and 125 females; 44.2% and 55.8% consecutively ) and years of experience (49 less than five years, 42 between 6- 10 years, and 133 more than ten years; 21.9%, 18.8%, and 59.4% consecutively) who were willing to respond to the study questionnaire which was distributed using Google Forms (see Table 1 and 2). Table 1 The study sample according to gender. Sample’s Genders Sum Percentage Males 99 44.2% Females 125 55.8% Total 224 100% Table 2 The study sample according to years of experience. Sample's Years of Experience Sum Percentage Less than five years 49 21.9% 6-10 years 42 18.8% More than 10 years 133 59.4% Total 224 100% Study Instrument A questionnaire was used to collect data from the study sample. It asked for demographic information (gender and years of experience) and included 32 items developed by the researcher and related to the investigated domains. Each domain of the present study consisted of eight of Alhajri 241 these items included in this questionnaire which the researcher developed after reviewing previous studies. A triple Likert scale (high agreement, moderate agreement, and disagreement) was used to calculate the study sample's responses to the study tool. The high agreement response was given a score of three, the moderate a score of two, and the disagreement a score of one. The level and range of verification for each response to the three-point Likert scale were 2.34-3.00 for the high agreement, 1.67- 2.33 for the moderate agreement, and 1.00- 1.66 for the disagreement. Validity and Reliability of the Study Instrument Instrument's validity: Two methods were used to calculate the validity of the study instrument. Construct validity was determined by presenting the study tool to a group of six department colleagues to verify its validity. Their observations, which included deleting, adding, and modifying elements of the tool, were used to put the tool in its final form. Second, internal consistency validity was ensured as well. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure the coefficient correlations between the scores for each domain in the study, and the general score was used to ensure coherence and homogeneity between these domains (see Table 3). As a result, the correlation coefficients between all the questionnaire domains and the questionnaire's total score are statistically significant (1%), indicating high internal consistency validity. Table 3 Pearson correlation coefficient for the validity of the study tool. Domain Academic Social Behavioral Vocational Total Academic 1 **0.903 **0.906 **0.886 **0.931 Social 1 **0.771 **0.720 **0.778 Behavioral 1 **0.715 **0.794 Vocational 1 **0.796 Total 1 (**) Significant at level (0.01). Instrument's reliability: The Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to ensure the reliability of the study tool. The reliability coefficient on each of the study domains was high (0.897, 0.885, 0.876, and 0.926 for the academic, social, behavioral, and vocational domain consecutively), and the Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 242 general reliability score (0.965) was very high, indicating the reliability of the results reached by the study. Data Collection Data were collected during the 2020-2021 academic year, which involved distributing the questionnaire through Google Forms using the WhatsApp and MyU applications. Two hundred and twenty-four social studies teachers from Kuwait's government schools responded. Data Analysis To analyze the data, the researcher used the following statistical methods: 1- Pearson correlation coefficient to ensure the validity of the study instrument. 2- Cronbach's alpha laboratories to ensure the stability of the study tool. 3- Mean, and the standard deviation calculated the average of the responses to the questionnaire and the degree of deviation from it. 4- T-test was used to calculate the differences between respondents based on gender (male or female). 5- One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences between respondents based on years of experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, or more than ten years). Findings The following is a presentation of the results and findings of the study's statistical analysis, which encompasses its main questions. Research Question 1 The first research question investigating the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future academic conduct of students sitting close to the teacher, stating "What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers of the future "academic conduct" of students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher?" was addressed using means and standard deviations (Table 4). Alhajri 243 Table 4 The means and standard deviations related to the academic domain. # Statement Mean SD Level Rank 1 Always attains high levels of achievement. 2.43 0.602 Large 2 2 Has a great capacity to participate in discussions. 2.54 0.567 Large 1 3 Properly pursues his homework. 2.35 0.567 Large 5 4 Strives to achieve in all classes highly. 2.38 0.630 Large 4 5 Strives to outperform on classroom tests. 2.38 0.587 Large 3 6 Resorts to extra supplementary resources. 2.14 0.574 Medium 8 7 Will hold creative thinking abilities. 2.20 0.663 Medium 7 8 He will be self-determined to extra readings. 2.29 0.600 Medium 6 Total 2.34 .600 Large Table (4) shows that the total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations of the future conduct of the students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher in the "academic" domain came with a (large) agreement score. The scored mean was (2.34) and the standard deviation was (0.600). The means on each item ranged between (2.54) with a high degree of agreement and (2.20 ) with a medium agreement degree, and the standard deviation ranged between (0.567) and (0.663), which indicates the homogeneity of the opinions of the study sample. Statement No. (2), which refers to " has a great capacity to participate in discussions," came in the first place, with a large agreement rating of (2.54) and a standard deviation of (0.567). Statement No. (1) scored a large agreement as well. It refers to "always attains high levels of achievement" and ranked 2nd with a mean of (2.43) and standard deviation of (0.602). Last in the ranking was Statement No. (6), "Resorts to extra supplementary resources," with a mean of (2.14) and (0.574) standard deviation showing medium agreement precedented by Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 244 Statement No. (7) "Will hold creative thinking abilities," with a mean of (2.20) and standard deviation of (0.597) in penultimate rank. Research Question 2 The second research question investigating the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future social conduct of students sitting close to the teacher, stating " What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers of the future "social conduct" of students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher?" was addressed via mean and standard deviation (Table 5). Table 5 The means and standard deviations related to the social domain. # Statement Mean SD Level Rank 1 Will be highly skilled in communicating with others. 2.37 0.615 Large 1 2 Will contribute to solving community problems. 2.12 0.598 Medium 7 3 Social pressures will not constitute an obstacle to him. 2.00 0.599 Medium 8 4 Will intelligently deal with others. 2.25 0.593 Medium 4 5 Will be proficient in teamwork. 2.32 0.631 Medium 3 6 Will be able to transmit thoughts and ideas to others easily. 2.25 0.623 Medium 5 7 Will enjoy many leadership qualities. 2.34 0.684 Large 2 8 Will enjoy public awareness about community affairs. 2.18 0.566 Medium 6 Total 2.22 0.613 Medium Table (5) shows that the total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations of the future conduct of the students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher in the "social" domain came with Alhajri 245 a (medium) agreement score. The scored mean was (2.22) and the standard deviation was (0.613). Thus, the means on each item ranged between (2.37) with a high degree of agreement and (2.00) with a medium agreement, and the standard deviation ranged between (0.567) and (0.663), which indicates the homogeneity of the opinions of the study sample. Statement No. (1), which states "Will be highly skilled in communicating with others," ranked first in the sample's high agreement in this domain with an average of (2.37) and standard deviation of (0.615). Statement No. (7) was second in the rank with a mean of (2.34) and (0.684) standard deviation. It stated, "Will enjoy many leadership qualities." Statement (3) was pointing to "Social pressures will not constitute an obstacle to him." This Statement was the least in the sample's agreement, with a mean of (2.00) and standard deviation (0.599) showing medium agreement. Statement (2), which stated, "Will contribute to solving community problems," was in penultimate rank. It scored a mean of (2.12) with (0.598) standard deviation. Research Question 3 The third research question investigating the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future behavioral conduct of students sitting close to the teacher, stating " What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers of the future "behavioral conduct" of students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher?" was addressed via mean and standard deviation (Table 6). Table 6 The means and standard deviations related to the behavioral domain. # Statement Mean SD Level Rank 1 Will carry on good behavioral and moral conduct. 2.43 0.567 Large 2 2 He will grow as a self- disciplined person. 2.45 0.589 Large 1 3 Will become a persuasive individual. 2.18 0.539 Medium 7 4 He will avoid hassling and conflicting with others. 2.36 0.583 Large 4 Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 246 5 Will easily compete with other opponents. 2.42 0.622 Large 3 6 He has high confidence in his abilities. 2.35 0.602 Large 6 7 He will not commit what could expose him to penalties. 2.36 0.589 Large 5 8 He will exemplify tolerance with every affair. 2.17 0.525 Medium 8 Total 2.34 0.577 Large Table (6) shows that the total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations of the future conduct of the students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher in the "behavioral domain "came with a (large) agreement score. The scored mean was (2.34) and the standard deviation was (0.577). The means of each item ranged between (2.45) with a high degree of agreement and (2.17) with a moderate (medium) degree of agreement, and the standard deviation ranged between (0.525) and (0.622), which indicates the homogeneity of the opinions of the study sample. Statement No. (2) states, "He will grow as a self-disciplined person," and it ranked first in the sample's agreement with a mean of (2.45) and (0.589) standard deviation. Statement No. (1) ranked next. It stated, "Will carry on good behavioral and moral conduct." The mean was (2.43) with a standard deviation of (0.567). Statement No. (8) stated, "He will exemplify tolerance with every affair," and it came last in ranking with a mean of (2.17) and standard deviation of (0.525), and Statement No. (3) stated, "Will become a persuasive individual," was in penultimate rank. The mean of the sample's responses here was (2.18) and the standard deviation was (0.539), both showing medium agreement. Research Question 4 The fourth question investigating the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers for the future vocational conduct of students sitting close to the teacher, stating " What are the expectations of Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers of the future "vocational conduct" of Alhajri 247 students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher?" was addressed with means and standard deviations (Table 7). Table 7 The means and standard deviations related to the vocational domain. # Statement Mean SD Level Rank 1 Will properly choose the most suitable future job. 2.27 0.578 Medium 5 2 Will achieve a sophisticated future career. 2.22 0.572 Medium 8 3 Will easily acquire job skills and requirements. 2.30 0.595 Medium 4 4 Will be eager to attend to developments in the profession. 2.23 0.581 Medium 7 5 Will play an influential role in the improvement of the work environment. 2.26 0.574 Medium 6 6 Will win the trust of his employers. 2.45 0.597 Large 1 7 His colleagues will always resort to his consultations. 2.34 0.592 Large 2 8 Possesses teamwork abilities. 2.33 0.628 Medium 3 Total 2.30 0.589 Medium Table (7) shows that the total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations of the future conduct of the students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher in the "vocational" domain came with a (large) agreement score. The scored mean was (2.30), and the standard deviation was (0.589). The means of each item ranged between (2.45) with a high degree of agreement and (2.22) with a moderate (medium) degree of agreement, and the standard deviation ranged between (0.572) and (0.628), which indicates the homogeneity of the opinions of the study sample. Statement No. (6) ,which states "Will win the trust of his employers," ranked first with a strong agreement average mean of (2.45) and (0.597) standard deviation. Next in the ranking was Statement No. (7). This Statement stated, "His colleagues will always resort to his consultations," and the mean scored was (2.34) with (0.592) standard deviation. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 248 Ranking last was Statement No. (2) with a mean of (2.22) and standard deviation of (0.572). This Statement stated, "Will achieve a sophisticated future career." Statement No. (4) stated, "Will be eager to attend to developments in the profession," was in penultimate rank. The mean of the sample's responses here was (2.23) and the standard deviation was (0.581). Research Question 5 The fifth research question, investigating statistically significant differences in Kuwaiti school social studies teachers' expectations about students sitting close to the teacher according to teacher gender (male/female) and years of teaching experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, and more than ten years) stating "Are there statistically significant differences in the Kuwaiti school social studies teachers' expectations about students sitting in locations close to the classroom teacher according to the gender variable (male-female), and the variable of years of experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, and more than ten years)?" Following is a presentation of the results related to the effects of teacher gender and the effects of years of teacher experience on teacher expectations of students' future conduct in the four examined domains. 1- Differences according to gender A T-test was used to examine the differences between the study sample responses in the four domains of the study (see Table 8). Table 8 Differences according to gender. Domain Gender Sum Average SD T Value Significance Academic Male 99 18.9394 3.19700 0.866 0.049 Female 125 18.5120 4.00124 Social Male 99 18.0505 3.29308 0.752 0.752 Female 125 17.6800 3.93003 Behavioral Male 99 19.3131 2.89492 0.203 2.734 Female 125 18.0880 3.63898 Vocational Male 99 18.6970 3.60967 0.631 1.004 Female 125 18.1760 3.04224 Total Male 99 75.0000 11.66628 0.202 1.435 Female 125 72.4560 14.25997 Alhajri 249 The results presented in this table show that there are no significant differences between the male and female teachers in their expectations of the future social, behavioral, and vocational conduct of the student located near the teacher. Furthermore, the t Value showed no significance at either level 1% or 5%. 2- Differences according to Years of Experience A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences present in the study sample according to years of teaching experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, more than ten years). Table 9 presents the differences between the study sample's expectations of the students' future conduct in the four investigated domains. Table 9 Differences according to years of experience (less than five years, 6-10 years, more than ten years). Domain Experience Sub-Sum Mean SD F Value Significance Academic Less than 5 49 18.7959 3.59386 0.913 0.403 6-10 42 19.3333 3.52459 More than 10 133 18.4662 3.73669 sum 224 18.7009 3.66596 Social Less than 5 49 18.5918 3.43340 1.809 0.166 6-10 42 18.1190 3.17922 More than 10 133 17.4812 3.85062 Sum 224 17.8438 3.65897 Behavioral Less than 5 49 19.3469 2.78052 1.588 0.207 6-10 42 18.6905 2.93414 More than 10 133 18.3459 3.67845 Sum 224 18.6295 3.37907 Vocational Less than 5 49 19.2449 3.71108 1.954 0.144 6-10 42 18.6667 3.83607 More than 10 133 18.0150 3.88857 Sum 224 18.4063 3.85734 Total sum Less than 5 49 75.9796 11.86818 1.954 0.201 6-10 42 74.8095 12.30752 More than 10 133 72.3083 13.86580 Sum 224 73.5804 13.20935 Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 250 The results presented in this table show no statistically significant differences between teachers' expectations based on the variable of years of experience regarding the future conduct of the close sitting students in all study domains. The significance level of the F- value was greater than 5%. Discussion The following discusses the study's statistical analysis results and findings, which encompasses its questions. Research Question 1 The means and standard deviations of teachers' expectations for student's future academic performance sitting near teachers showed a high agreement score. Thus, the results of this academic domain indicate that students sitting near the teacher are expected to show constant academic potentials, such as creative thinking, achieving, and discussion participation, in the future. Classroom discussions in these locations are always higher in ratio than in other locations. Students in these locations have more chances than their counterparts to participate in classroom activities. Being in such close locations puts these students in direct eye contact with the teacher. Teachers can easily spot them, obliging them to interact with classroom activities continually. All of this might have caused teachers to form more positive expectations about the future academic conduct of these students. This finding supports previous research of Zomorodian et al. (2012) about teachers' formations of positive expectations regarding students in this "action zone." It also supports the findings of Kususanto (2012), Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013), Ngugi and Thinguri (2017), Will, Bischof, and Kingstone (2020), and Alhajri (2021). It refutes the findings of previous studies that deny such a relationship between teacher expectations and student achievements, such as Jussim (1994), Sweatt (2000), Wren (2013), Smith, Hoare, and Lacey (2018), and Gentrup (2020). Woodson (2013), on the other hand, links this performance to effective learning experiences rather than to students' locations in the classroom, whereas Phoong, Phoong, Moghavvemi, and Sulaiman (2019) relate improved performance to teachers' employment of technology-based smart classrooms. Alhajri 251 Research Question 2 The means and standard deviations of teachers' expectations for the social future of students sitting near the teacher showed a moderate agreement score. These results confirm that the students' locations affect teachers' expectations in the social domain. Students who sit near the teacher are the subject of more positive teacher expectations about their future social conduct because they have more chances to communicate with the teacher, which builds good communication capabilities and leadership qualities. These expectations may be due to what teachers notice of their students' keenness to communicate with them more than their counterparts sitting in distanced locations. That leaves a good teacher impression regarding the future social conduct of those students. Furthermore, students sitting close to the teacher are usually more ready to take on leadership responsibilities for classroom activities and groups, and they help teachers organize events, thus leading to teachers' formation of positive impressions leading to positive expectations of student's acquisition of such leadership qualities in the future. This finding supports previous research, such as Lane, Givner, and Pierson (2004), Parker, Hoopes, and Eggett (2011), Jimenez (2013), Teklu and Kumar (2013), Farhan, Al-Kinani, and Rizk (2020), Gronostay (2020), and Farfan, Holla, and Vakis (2021), in which teachers' expectations related to social conduct were found to be positively correlated with academic achievement. Research Question 3 The total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations of the future behavioral conduct of the students sitting close to the teacher came with a large agreement score. That may indicate that the students who sit in these closer front seats are motivated by their distinct academic excellence to commit to acceptable behavioral conduct. They often like, or maybe are obliged to, meet and abide by teachers' regulations, especially behavioral classroom conduct regulations. Academic achievement motivates them to be more committed to acceptable behavioral conduct. That is reflected in their teachers' positive expectations for their future behavioral conduct. Misbehaving students mostly reside in rear seats; they rarely sit-in near the teachers' locations. That conforms to Denessen (2014) and Parker, Hoopes, and Eggett (2011), who demonstrated that physical seat location affects student behavior. The findings also support Meeks, Knotts, James, Williams, Vassar, and Wren (2013, p. 377), who claim that "classroom arrangement and circulation have also been found to affect student performance and behavior." This study's results Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 252 also confirm Rist's (1970, p. 420) indication that students sitting at closer tables tend to be quieter than those at other tables, and they support Teklu and Kumar's (2013) study on students with behavioral and emotional disorders, which found that teachers' expectations of academic achievement positively correlated with students' social and behavioral skills. However, Farfan, Holla, and Vakis (2021) do not relate students' behavior to the location in the classroom; rather, they indicate that teachers' negative assessments of children's behavior are related to children's social, especially for those who come from poor backgrounds. Research Question 4 The total mean of the social studies teachers' expectations for the future vocational conduct of the students sitting close to the teacher came with a high agreement score. These results suggest that teachers' expectations of the future vocational conduct of students sitting in the front seats are related to academic, social, and behavioral expectations. Teachers tend to observe students' profound abilities and expect them to continue in the future. Therefore, teachers see these three phases of conduct (academic, social, behavioral) as a good indication of a successful vocational future. The results confirm Robertson, Smeets, Lubinski, and Benbow's (2010) results, which indicate that students' cognitive abilities are important for career choice and performance. Papageorge, Gershenson, and Kang (2020, p. 3) assert that "teacher expectations matter because they raise students' views about their performance and outcomes." In addition, Korman (1967) and Mansfield (1973) point to the importance of lifting students' self-esteem since high-self-esteem students are more likely to choose occupations that require high abilities. That implies that teachers' expectations can play a distinctive role in lifting students' self-esteem, leading to better future occupation choices. Research Question 5 The results show that there are no significant differences between male and female teachers in their expectations of the future social, behavioral, and vocational conduct of the students located nearer the teacher. That supports the findings of Barrigaa's (2019) study, which confirms that there are no statistical differences between male and female teachers' expectations. It also supports the findings of Rosenthal and Snodgrass (1986), Bergh, Denessen, Hornstra, Voeten, and Rob (2010), Turner (2015), Watson et al. (2015), and Akifyeva (2018). On the other hand, the study results showed significant statistical differences in the teachers' expectations about these students' future academic conduct according to gender in favor of male Alhajri 253 teachers. That indicates that male social studies teachers form positive expectations regarding the future academic conduct of the students sitting nearby. That could indicate increased attention by male teachers to academic performances at the expense of the other kinds of performance. That might be explained by the fact that the teachers consider themselves comfortably able to deal with and attend to the other performance domains. The low male and female teacher expectations regarding students' future vocational conduct might be interpreted by assuming that the students do not show any present career interests upon which the teacher can base his or her expectations regarding the student's future vocational conduct. These results support Will's (2020) findings of significant differences between the expectations of male and female teachers concerning the academic achievement of students located in close seats. Watson et al. (2015) also confirm the effect of gender on teachers' expectations. However, these results contradict Ahmed's (2010) study, which does not find differences between the expectations of male and female teachers regarding students' academic achievements. They also contradict Harris, Rosenthal, and Snodgrass (1986), who show no significant effects of teachers' genders on teachers' expectations for students' performance. The results showed no statistically significant differences between teachers' expectations based on years of experience regarding the future conduct of the closely sitting students in any study domains. That may indicate that teachers' years of experience have no impact on their expectations of the future academic, social, behavioral, or vocational conduct of the students sitting near them. The results conform to Sweatt's (2000) study, which indicates no relationship between teacher expectations and students' academic achievement and that all teachers sense their responsibilities toward the education of all their students. The results also conform to Barrigaa's (2019) results, which indicate no differences in teachers' expectations based on years of experience. On the other hand, the present study results did not conform to Ahmad (2010). That study shows differences between teachers' expectations of their students' academic conduct based on experience. They also did not conform to Fox's (2015) findings, indicating that teachers with more experience are more likely to have higher expectations for their students. Conclusion This study has shown that teacher expectations matter because they raise students' views about their performance and outcomes. The present study has produced several results. First, it Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2021: 12 (2), 233-259 254 demonstrated positive teacher expectations about the future conduct of the students sitting at locations close to the teacher in the academic and behavioral domains, whereas their expectations regarding future conduct in the social and vocational domains scored a moderate agreement. The results seem to show similarities in the expectations of both male and female teachers in most domains. For example, they did not differ in their expectations for future social, behavioral, or vocational conduct for students sitting close to the teacher, but male teachers differed from females in their expectations of these students' future academic conduct. The results showed no statistically significant differences in Kuwaiti schools' social studies teachers' expectations about the future conduct of students sitting close to the teacher according to years of experience in any domain of the study. The present study results should drive educators to carefully attend to teachers' expectations to ensure that they do not negatively harm students, specifically those sitting far from teachers. These results suggest teachers' provision of an adequate, educative classroom environment. They also suggest considering the invitations for teachers to form positive expectations about students and consider lifting their self-esteem. Recommendations Besides adding to the literature about teachers' expectations and the impact of students' proximity to teachers on the formation of positive or negative teacher expectations, the present study has some implications for the schools of Kuwait. The study recommends considering the following actions: 1- Exerting every effort to investigate further teachers' expectations toward students and their impact on academic and non-academic performance. 2- Teacher training programs need to focus on developing preservice teachers' attitudes and expectations toward students, especially students with low achievement. That may assure that students' futures will not be affected by teachers' expectations, 3- Providing training courses for teachers on classroom management and systematically alternating students' seat locations to grant students equal chances. 4- Encouraging in-service teachers to develop arrangement mechanisms of organizing students' seat locations that furnish appropriate teacher-student distancing. Alhajri 255 5- Reassuring teachers' development of the most appropriate communication skills with students. 6- Further studies are needed to investigate teachers' expectations toward students sitting in the rear seats and students from different socio-economic backgrounds. Study Limitations The scope of the current study is limited to Kuwaiti social studies teachers' expectations of the future conduct of students sitting close to the teacher. It was applied in the 2020-2021 academic year, and its sample is confined to social studies teachers in government schools in Kuwait. Thus, the researcher suggests future research covering other school subjects and private schools to see if similar results may be reached. Additionally, the researcher suggests replicating the study to examine teachers' expectations of students sitting in rear locations. 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