Middle and high school teachers' praise and reprimand delivery.

Abstract

This exploratory study expands the literature on teachers' natural use of praise and reprimand, in terms of how teachers deliver praise and reprimand. Sixty-six middle and high school teachers' delivery of praise and reprimand to individual, small groups, and large groups during a 20-min observation were examined. Teachers delivered significantly more general praise (GP) to individual students, rather than small groups or large groups. However, there was no significant difference in teachers' delivery of behavior-specific praise (BSP) to individual, small groups, or large groups of students. Teachers delivered significantly more mild reprimand to individual students compared to small groups; however, no significant differences were found between mild reprimand delivery to individual and large groups of students. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).