Editorial: Behavior-Specific Praise in preK-12 Settings -Expanding the Knowledge Base

David James Royer^1*Robin Parks Ennis²

• ¹Special Education, Early Childhood, and Prevention Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, kentucky, United States
• ²Special Education and Multiple Abilities, The University of Alabama System, Tuscaloosa, United States

Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is a low-intensity strategy that involves providing explicit acknowledgment of desired behavior. This typically serves as positive reinforcement (attention) and increases the future likelihood the recipient will display the behavior again. BSP provides a statement of approval (e.g., “thank you for...”) and reference to a behavioral expectation (e.g., “...sharing your materials”). BSP thus serves as a consequence for appropriate behavior and a teaching strategy that emphasizes desired behaviors for the recipient and other students who overhear. Focusing on praising desired behaviors instead of waiting for and reprimanding misbehavior can lead to a more positive, productive, safe learning environment.As a low-intensity strategy, BSP has been explored in educational and psychological research since Madsen et al. (1968). Numerous studies evaluated methods (e.g., coaching, self-monitoring, bug-in-ear) for increasing BSP rate (an evidence-based practice; Ennis et al., 2020), but few studies focused solely on the effects of BSP on student behavior (a potentially evidence-based practice; Royer et al., 2019). Additional studies explored having peers praise one another, perhaps due to repeatedly finding natural rates of teacher general and BSP are often close to zero (e.g., Scott et al., 2017). Therefore, the purpose of this special issue was to broaden understanding of BSP and add new evidence to the research base for this low-intensity strategy.In This IssueWe were fortunate to be able to accept six articles for this special issue on expanding the knowledge base for BSP in preK-12 settings. Looking at the new experimental studies first, Newton et al. (2024) had second grade co-teachers deliver BSP during literacy, which increased on-task behavior for four students with disabilities at high risk on the Student Risk Screening Scale – Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE). A functional relation was established for all, with a large between-case standardized mean difference (BC-SMD) effect size of 1.90 (95% CI [1.16, 2.63]). Notably, the special education teacher supported her general education co-teacher with encouragement and reminders to increase BSP. Hogg et al. (2024) similarly trained a high-school automotive teacher to deliver BSP, resulting in four students at high risk on the SRSS-IE increasing on-task behavior with large 0.89 BC-SMD effect size (95% CI [0.08, 1.71]), but only establishing a functional relation for two. Surprisingly, the teacher delivered all BSP at the end-of-class debrief and still had positive effects. Spurlock et al. (2024) showed training 1:1 paraprofessionals to deliver BSP increased their confidence to support students with significant needs, with mixed results for on-task behavior possibly due to long 1-min partial interval recording in short 16 min observations creating a ceiling effect.Thoele & Sayeski (2024) investigated tootling, where students praise one another on paper slips that are read aloud at the end of the day. Researchers compared student-led, teacher-led, and no-tootling conditions and found both tootling conditions reduced all five students’ disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement, with some variability. Teachers and most students preferred student-led tootling, demonstrating the students’ ability to facilitate positive classroom supports. Royer & Ennis (2024) similarly explored peer-delivered BSP in a systematic literature review with quality appraisal and meta-analysis. They determined student-delivered BSP in the form of tootling had a large effect size and was an evidence-based practice (CEC, 2014); positive peer reporting, where peers praised a daily “star” during designated class time, had mixed evidence and a small effect size; and peer praise notes needed more studies to fully evaluate. Perez et al. (2025) revisited past BSP literature reviews, microcoding professional learning elements. Results revealed few BSP studies reported fidelity of BSP trainings or included a check for understanding. These literature reviews, combined with lessons learned from the experimental studies in this special issue highlighting challenges faced with applied research, further stress the need for researchers to design studies with quality indicators in mind, sufficient participant numbers, and to report fidelity data across all conditions and trainings.Educational implicationsEach article in this special issue on BSP added unique contributions toward understanding the strategy’s effectiveness, such as appearing to be more effective for younger students and when attention is the function of challenging behavior. Together, these articles serve as a call for future researchers and educators using this strategy: First, more research is needed on the effectiveness of teacher-delivered BSP on student outcomes, using a variety of students and contexts (e.g., across ages, ability, school levels, classroom types). Further, researchers using single-case research design should consider including four or more participants to protect against attrition because three are needed to contribute to the evidence base. Second, while BSP has potential to reinforce desired behavior, it is likely most effective when behavioral function involves seeking attention. This was possibly evidenced when some students responded more dramatically to BSP than other students in the same study (e.g., Newton et al., 2024; Hogg et al., 2024). Future researchers should explore performing brief functional analyses to determine if BSP attention would be reinforcing for participants, and if not, consider adding low-intensity strategies for a packaged intervention (Lane et al., 2018).Third, to ensure studies are methodologically sound to contribute to the evidence base, we strongly encourage researchers to design studies with quality indicators in mind (e.g., CEC, 2014). Fourth, and relatedly as a quality indicator, researchers should plan for, collect, and report procedural fidelity across all conditions, including baseline/control and training (Perez et al., 2024). This confirms interventions occurred as described and allows the field to develop a clear picture of what has worked, not worked, and not yet been tried, thus forming future steps to investigate BSP effectiveness. While examining BSP with students, researchers should keep in mind educators may need varying levels of support to increase praise. Just like tiered approaches to supporting students, researchers should plan on coaching beyond initial BSP training. Coaching may not be needed (e.g., Hogg et al., 2024; Newton et al., 2024; Spurlock et al., 2024 for two paraeducators), but should be ready, with a phase change. Finally, given demands placed on teachers, we remind readers students can praise each other with great success. Student-delivered BSP can take numerous forms, including student-led tootling (Thoele & Sayeski, 2024), and has a wide research base documenting its effectiveness (Royer & Ennis, 2024).