Carrots, not sticks, hold the key to well-behaved and attentive pupils

‘Students need feedback to understand what behaviour is expected of them’

THE adage “spare the rod, spoil the child” may not be the best way to increase discipline in youngsters, researchers have suggested.

The phrase implies that punishment is the key to instilling a sense of focus and obedience.

Yet a three-year study of more than 2,500 American children aged five to 12, found that it is carrots and not sticks that are the key to effectively educating youngsters.

Researchers, led by Dr Paul Caldarella at Brigham Young University, Utah, examined the number of praise statements teachers gave out, compared with the number of reprimands

– which they termed the praise-toreprimand (PRR) ratio. They then studied the effect that differing ratios had on the behaviour of children.

In classes with the highest PRR, pupils spent 20 to 30 per cent longer paying attention to the teacher or their task, compared with those classes where the PRR was the lowest.

Dr Caldarella said: “Previous research has shown that teachers often tend to reprimand students for problem behaviour as much or more than they praise appropriate behaviour, which can have a negative effect on classrooms and student behaviour.

“Praise is a form of teacher feedback, and students need that feedback to understand what behaviour is expected of them and what behaviour is valued by teachers.”

In half of the classes taking part in the study, teachers followed a behaviour programme in which students were told the social skills they should be demonstrating in lessons, and were then rewarded for using them, while in the other classes, teachers used their typical classroom management measures.

But the researchers found that whichever classroom technique was used, the PPR ratio could predict how attentive the pupils were.

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Educational Psycholog y.