THE TEACHERS PET PHENOMENON, STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS DIFFERENTIAL BEHAVIOR, AND STUDENTS MORALE

The relationships among the teacher's pet phenomenon, students' perceptions of teachers' differential behavior, and students' morale were investigated in 80 upper elementary Israeli classrooms. The intensity of the teacher's pet phenomenon (rate of students' consensus in identifying teachers' pets in each classroom) was related to perceived teachers' differential behavior, particularly to teachers' differential (also preferential) affect. In turn, teachers' perceived differential affect was negatively related to students' morale and satisfaction. In classrooms of teachers who had pets who were not popular, students demonstrated lower morale, whereas students in ''popular-pet'' classrooms did not demonstrate lower morale. Previous findings on the teacher's pet phenomenon and on students' and teachers' perceptions of teachers' differential behavior were replicated.