Management & Marketing no. 4/2013

Pygmalion teaching style, is there a need for it?

Sandra Teodora Carmen STOICESCU,
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Valentina Mihaela GHINEA,
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Abstract. Herein follows a research and analysis concerning the possible occurrence of the Pygmalion effect, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy, in the classrooms of the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest. The purpose of the paper lies in outlining the possible impact the Pygmalion effect can have on students’ experience in class, as well as ways of harnessing the positive aspects of this effect in the context of teaching as an act of negotiation between professor and student. While it may be said that the term “self-fulfilling prophecy” is not an accurate way to describe the phenomena in question (Eden, 1992), due to the fact that it is not the prophecy which fulfills itself, but the prophet who, unwittingly, takes a course of action that brings about the initially expected result, the facts described in theory and proven through studies remain accurate. Whatever the approach chosen for the future, the matter certainly proves itself to be a significant one, with a possibly great impact on the quality of education and student engagement, and it certainly deserves a closer look

Keyword: Pygmalion effect, teaching style, communication effectiveness, self-fulfilling prophecy, ideal teacher profile.

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