Maintenance and Generalization of Preschool Teachers’ Use of Behavior-Specific Praise Following In Situ Training

Preschool children experience a variety of risk factors that could result in the development of more severe mental and behavioral health issues later in life. Simple, teacher-delivered interventions, such as behavior-specific praise, are effective for altering at-risk preschool children’s behavioral trajectory. However, preschool teachers are often not well-trained in the implementation of evidence-based classroom management strategies. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a school-based consultation modality, in situ training, for increasing and maintaining four Head Start teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise. Of particular interest was whether Head Start teachers generalized their use of behavior-specific praise to settings in which in situ training did not occur. Results indicated that all four Head Start teachers increased and maintain their use of behavior-specific praise and generalized their use of praise to settings in which in situ training did not occur. Furthermore, concomitant improvements in the Head Start teachers’ children were observed. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.