When early childhood educators are not adequately trained in evidence-based behavior management strategies or do not have access to consultation supports, preschool students are at an increased risk of school failure and expulsion. Research suggests that supporting in-service teachers with praise training increases their use of praise and positively impacts student behavior. However, it is unclear to what extent preservice early childhood teachers use praise, in the absence of training. This study examined 13, preservice, early educators’ natural use and acceptability of praise. Praise and reprimand rates were collected during preservice educators’ field-based practicum via direct observation. In addition, the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale for Praise (BIRS-P) was used to measure preservice educators’ praise acceptability. On average, preservice educators reported high acceptability of praise; however, they used praise infrequently, compared to preschool, in-service teachers. Preservice educators used praise infrequently, suggesting they need direct training and support to use this evidence-based strategy. Implications and future research directions are offered.

当幼儿教育工作者没有接受过基于证据的行为管理策略的充分培训或无法获得咨询支持时，学龄前学生学业失败和被开除的风险就会增加。研究表明，支持在职教师进行表扬培训可以增加他们对表扬的使用，并对学生的行为产生积极影响。然而，在缺乏培训的情况下，尚不清楚职前幼儿教师在多大程度上使用表扬。13、这项研究考察了职前、早期教育者对表扬的自然使用和可接受性。表扬率和谴责率是在职前教育工作者实地实习期间通过直接观察收集的。此外，表扬行为干预评定量表（BIRS-P）用于衡量职前教育工作者的表扬可接受性。平均而言，职前教育工作者对表扬的接受度很高；然而，与学前班在职教师相比，他们很少使用表扬。职前教育工作者很少使用表扬，这表明他们需要直接培训和支持才能使用这种基于证据的策略。提供了启示和未来的研究方向。