Examining teachers' ratings of feedback following success and failure: A study of Chinese English teachers

Background: Previous research has explored the impact of different types of praise and criticism on how children experience success and failure. However, less is known about how teachers choose to deliver feedback and specifically whether they deliver person (ability) or process (effort) feedback.

Aim: The aim of the current study was to use vignettes to explore how teachers would deliver feedback following success and failure.

Sample: The sample consisted of Chinese Primary school English teachers (N=169).

Method: Participants read vignettes depicting children’s educational successes and failures. They rated their perceptions of task difficulty, likelihood of giving feedback, and likelihood of giving both person and process forms of feedback. They also completed measures of whether they viewed intelligence as fixed or malleable.

Results: Results suggested that teachers stated that they would be more likely to give praise than criticism and would be more likely to give feedback for tasks perceived to be more challenging than easy. Following success, teachers endorsed the use of person and process feedback interchangeably, while following failure they endorsed more process feedback. Finally, teachers’ understanding of intelligence was also associated with feedback delivery. If teachers believed that intelligence was fixed (vs. something that can be developed), they said that they were more likely to give more person and process praise, but following failure gave more process feedback.

Conclusion: The current research gives insight into how teachers give feedback, and how perceived task difficulty and teachers’ views of intelligence can influence these choices. Further research is needed to understand why teachers may make these decisions.