Teachers’ Evaluative Comments and Pupil Perception of Control

Abstract

The effect of evaluative teacher comments upon pupil perception of control was investigated in a six-week experimental study conducted in an inner-city junior high school. A significant treatment effect was revealed which showed that pupils who were provided evaluative comments on all tests and assignments returned by their teachers showed greater “internality” as measured by the Bialer locus of control questionnaire than their peers in the control group. It was concluded that evaluative comments by teachers can affect the way in which pupils perceive their world.