Abstract

Praise has been found to be an effective promoter of positive school and classroom environments and is used commonly by school adults to promote positive behavior among students. Praise can be given using many different methods; the method studied in this research project was praise notes. As part of a school-wide Positive Behavior Support program, faculty and staff from an elementary school were encouraged to write praise notes to students, identifying targeted positive behaviors. Over a 2-year time period, 2,839 notes were collected, examined for the content of the praise, and further examined according to recipient's gender. This study of praise notes was completed to determine if school adults provided more praise notes or different types of praise to male and female students. The findings showed that the school adults at the research setting were gender fair in the praise that they gave. They did not praise one gender more than would be expected, given the population; however, males were praised more than females in two areas: responsibility and cleaning. It appears from this population that school adults may have praised students for non-typical gender behaviors in order to promote positive behavior in their classrooms and school.

Degree

EdS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Counseling Psychology and Special Education

Rights

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