Academic self‐attributions for success and failure in mathematics and school refusal

Abstract

The aim of this research is twofold: to analyze the mean differences scores in mathematic self-attributions based on school refusal and to verify its predictive capability on high scores in school refusal. The Sydney Attribution Scale and the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised were administered to 1078 Spanish students (50.8% boys) aged between 8 and 11 years (M = 9.63; SD = 1.12). School refusers based on negative affect or anxiety attributed their failures more to the lack of capacity and effort, whereas students searching for tangible reinforcements outside of the school were more likely to attribute their successes to capacity. In turn, academic attributions acted as both positive and negative predictors of high-school refusal.Results are discussed considering more adaptive attributional styles. K E Y W O R D Sacademic self-attributions, mathematics, school refusalThe interest in determining the results of academic performance on a massive scale through international assessments began during the mid-20th century. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement initiated these reports and mathematics was the first domain to be assessed. Today, the Program for International Student Assessment is one of the principal world scales used to evaluate the quality, equity, and efficiency of the educational systems in the areas of mathematics, sciences, and reading. More and more countries are participating in this study.In its first edition, held in 2000, 43 countries participated, while in the last edition of 2015, 72 countries from the five continents participated, including the 34 belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the latest reports produced by this organization, it has been noted that the academic performance of Spanish children has improved slightly in sciences and language, although it is below the OECD average for mathematics (OECD, 2012(OECD, , 2015. made to educational professionals: (1) to introduce a favorable working atmosphere in their day-to-day practice; (2) to foster the attribution of achievements to internal, unstable, and controllable factors such as effort, as opposed to external factors such as fate and luck; and (3) and to improve the students' level of aspiration by promoting attributions to the effort exerted and by maintaining appropriate expectations based on their level. ORCID Carolina Gonzálvez

Identifying Profiles of Anxiety in Late Childhood and Exploring Their Relationship with School-Based Distress

“…On the other hand, Attention Training (AT) could be used with children who show High School-based performance Anxiety, since its efficacy to develop flexibility of attentional focus by reducing self-focused attention and enhancing attentional deployment has been widely demonstrated in subjects with social anxiety symptoms [87][88][89]. Finally, the results of this research support the suggestions of Gonzálvez et al [90] to Spanish educational professionals: "to introduce a favorable working atmosphere in their day-to-day practice [ . .…”

School Refusal and Absenteeism: Perception of Teacher Behaviors, Psychological Basic Needs, and Academic Achievement

“…School refusal is a complex issue that can be determined by different individual and contextual risk factors that interact with each other; these act as predisposing, precipitating, and/or perpetuating factors (Heyne et al, 2014; Maynard et al, 2018) that could lead to a rapid decline in school adjustment and achievement (Dembo et al, 2016; Gonzálvez et al, 2017, 2018).…”

Some Psychological Constructs and Mathematics Performance in Nigerian Secondary Schools

“…Researchers have variously carried out studies on attributions and its relationship to Mathematics performance of students (Gonzálvez et al 2018;Banerjee 2016;Tachie and Chireshe 2013). The study of Gonzálvez et al (2018) investigated the academic self-attribution and school refusal.…”

“…Researchers have variously carried out studies on attributions and its relationship to Mathematics performance of students (Gonzálvez et al 2018;Banerjee 2016;Tachie and Chireshe 2013). The study of Gonzálvez et al (2018) investigated the academic self-attribution and school refusal. School refusers premised on negative affect, attributed their failures to lack of efforts and lack of capacity, at the same time, the students looking adequate reinforcement beyond the school attribute their achievement to capacity.…”