In addition to the important features of adolescents' school structure, one study has documented a potential link between adolescents' perceived teacher support for their education and their educational expectations and aspirations. In a sample of mostly Caucasian and African American students in a mid-Atlantic school, Murdock et al. (2000) found that students whose perceived that their teachers had higher levels of expectations for their school success and displayed lower levels of disrespect and criticism toward them in 7th grade were more likely to expect to go to college in 9th grade. This relationship was found even after the authors controlled for key variables that might influence teachers' expectations and displays of criticism and disrespect toward students, such as adolescents' prior levels of achievement, academic self-concept, and perceptions of limitations to schooling.