Middle and High School Teachers' Praise and Reprimand Delivery

Abstract

The benefits of increasing teacher praise and decreasing teacher reprimand (for both students and teachers) is well-established in the literature. The purpose of this study was to expand the literature on teachers' natural use of praise and reprimand, specifically in terms of how teachers deliver praise and reprimand. Sixty-six middle (sixth through eighth grade) and high school (ninth through twelfth grade) teachers' delivery of praise and reprimand to individual (one student), small clusters (two to six students), and large groups (seven or more students) during a 20-minute observation were examined. Teachers delivered significantly more general praise to individual students, rather than small clusters of students or large groups of students. However, there was no difference in teachers' delivery of behavior-specific praise to individual students, small clusters of students, or large groups of students. Teachers delivered significantly more mild reprimands to individual students compared to small student clusters; however, no differences were found between mild reprimand delivery to individual students and large groups of students. No significant correlations were found between praise delivery type and reprimand delivery type. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Margaret Floress (Supervisor)