Middle school students' preferences for praise

Praise, defined as public or private expression of approval for behavior, is recognized as a critical component in many classroom behavior interventions. Historically, praise has been viewed from the perspective of educators in terms of both increasing educator‐preferred behaviors and in terms of educators' perspectives. Little is known about students' perceptions of praise, particularly middle school students in the United States. The current study explored ways middle school students preferred to be praised and the behaviors students believed warranted praise. This included whether middle school students preferred praise to be delivered for effort or ability, and quietly or loudly. Using the Preference for Teacher Praise scale (PTP), 511 students were surveyed from an ethnically diverse middle school in the western half of the United States. Additional analysis investigated preferences based on age/grade, gender, and ethnicity. Results indicated that most students preferred to receive praise sometimes or almost always for both academic success and socially expected behaviors. However, most students preferred praise to be delivered quietly and to be focused on effort rather than ability. While girls were significantly more likely than boys to prefer effort praise to ability praise, all students preferred effort praise regardless of gender.