Natural Rates of Teacher Approval and Disapproval in British Primary and Middle School Classrooms

S ummary . The classroom behaviour of 128 British primary and middle school teachers was observed using a schedule (OPTIC) designed to record the frequency of use of approving and disapproving responses. Whilst the teachers observed tended to use more approval than disapproval, a high proportion of this was in response to children's academic behaviour. In contrast, whilst children were rarely commended for appropriate conduct, they were frequently reprimanded for inappropriate conduct. The implications of these and other findings for classroom management are discussed.