Natural rates of teacher approval and disapproval and their relation to student behavior in intermediate school classrooms

08/01/2025 | PAXIS Institute |

Studied the natural rates of teacher approval of appropriate student behavior and off-task student behavior and disapproval of off-task behavior in 84 intermediate school 6th–9th grade classrooms. Six students were selected at random from each class, and their behaviors were recorded using a behavioral assessment instrument. Teachers’ interactions with students were recorded using an event-recording procedure. Higher rates of approval of off-task behavior were associated with lower rates of on-task behavior. The lowest rates of teacher disapproval were associated with the highest rates of student on-task behavior. Mean rates of teacher approval were found to exceed rates of disapproval, in contrast to previous studies. Inappropriate approval also appeared to be a relevant factor in managing classroom behavior. Results suggest that to achieve an acceptable level of on-task behavior, teachers must provide high rates of appropriate approval combined with low rates of both inappropriate approval and disapproval.

Citation: Nafpaktitis M, Mayer GR, Butterworth T. Natural rates of teacher approval and disapproval and their relation to student behavior in intermediate school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology 1985;77:362-7.

Recent Posts

Categories