Kindergarten Teachers Praise Behavior Research

Praise plays an important role in the kindergarten education situation. Existing researches mainly based on rational thinking or laboratory study to explore the value of praise, or through questionnaire survey to show the kindergarten teachers'praise behavior situation, including praise strategy, problems of teachers praise and try to give the corresponding suggestions. Few research focus on the occurrence and process of teachers' praise behaviors, its actual functions and influence factors. In view of this, the researcher designed and carried out this study.This study adopted qualitative research design. The researcher selected three classes of X kindergarten in Nanjing, observed the teachers'praise behavior and conducted interviews with teachers and children. Based on the sorting, coding and analysis of 179 teachers'praise behavior cases and nearly thirty thousand words of interview materials, the researchers developed the basic framework of the paper.The study found that the kindergarten teacher's praise behavior mainly occurred in the following three situations:the behavior specification situation, the study management situation and the emotion expression situation. Teachers praise in the context of specification situation is intended to make children's behavior in accordance with certain norms of behavior or the current requirements, such as quiet, fast, behavior norms. Learning management situation of teachers praise is to sure the children's learning achievement, stimulate children's learning motivation and approve children's approaches toward learning. Emotional expression situation of teachers praise is response to the children's innocent, lovely behavior and attachment of children to teachers.Based on the response of the question "effective for whom" and "effective for what", the researcher analyzed positive and negative effects of teachers' praise behavior from aspects of "children" and "the process of education and teaching activities". Connected to the further integration of interview data, research proposed that the concept of teacher education, teacher expectations of children and children's performance influence teachers' praise behavior. Teacher's education strategy, children's psychological needs, understanding between teachers and children and parents'praise influence the effect of the teachers' praise. The research proposed that kindergarten teachers' praise behavior is a complicated process, teachers need to correct recognize and use of praise. Finally, the researcher made a reflection on the whole research.