Σχολική αποτυχία: αιτιακή απόδοση και συμπεριφορά

Περίληψη

Attribution theory, or we study or perceived causation, claims that the way in which one explains a certain outcome influences his or her attitudes and behavior towards the affected person. This study aimed to examine the relationship between teacher attributions of student failure and the treatment of low achieving students in class. Teachers in an educational district of Cyprus received a questionnaire asking them to identify a failing student in their class, explain the reason for this failure by attributing it differentially to several causes and finally to describe their own behavior towards the student. The teachers who responded (N=275) showed a «self-.serving bias>>by attributing student failure to almost everybody else (parents, students, educational system) but to themselves. The more these teachers attributed failure to the student's low ability (as opposed to low effort), the more they tended to feel pity for him or her and to give up trying to help. Attributions of failure to the student's low ability and to his or her family were highly related to the teacher's rejecting behavior towards the student in class. The teachers personal explanation of a particular student's low performance affects the formers attitude and behavior towards the latter and interferes negatively with the teaching and learning process.