Assessed causal attributions for losing perceived by high school students (N=150). Subjects responded to questionnaire comprising three categories of activities (sports, academic, social) in which they had not won or achieved desired outcome. Found that adolescent girls indicated significantly more internal attributions and boys more external…

Discusses the self-serving bias effect and its motivational explanation, which suggests individuals minimize other group member's responsibility for success and maximize it for failure. Reports findings of a study, involving 96 undergraduates, that demonstrates only partial self-serving bias. Considers how minimal feedback on attributions…

This article describes three dimensions of attribution (locus of causality, stability, and controllability) and discusses the importance, with regard to athletic performance, of assigning appropriate attributions to success or failure. Guidelines are provided to help students and athletes choose appropriate attributions. (IAH)

Forty elementary-school learning-disabled children completed a design assembly task and a vocabulary task. Results indicated a significant performance (success and failure)-by-maternal involvement (presence and absence) interaction for children's attributional ratings of effort, task difficulty, and luck, and for mothers' attributional ratings of…

Reviews and assesses numerous educational policy statements of East African countries. Policy outcomes do not match expectations, mainly because of insufficient or no implementation. The reason for failure: vaguely stated policies and incompletely analyzed financing implications. Pleads for more concrete, feasible policies based on documented…

The relationships between achievement at university and self-reported characteristics of students and their social environment were explored. College freshmen were interviewed twice, first for their social and study experiences, and second regarding preparation for final examinations. (Author/MLW)

Discriminant analyses of 439 subjects who were asked to write an account of an achievement of failure, and to describe it in terms of locus of standards, conceptual focus, and initial expectations for success, indicated that cognitions were more readily patterned in terms of achievement domain than sex. (Author/BJV)

A coordinated effort by all segments of society, led by the schools, can decrease the number of dropouts, increasing the chances that more young people will lead productive lives. Included is a list of sources of dropout prevention activities. (TE)

A survey of 46 college teachers and 72 students identified factors perceived as important in student academic success or failure in college. Another survey of 112 teachers and 392 students compared perceptions of the 2 groups concerning their relative importance. Reasons for and consequences of group differences are examined. (Author/MSE)

Attributional style and academic persistence were assessed in 72 fifth graders. Findings revealed that attributional style predicted teacher-rated persistence but did not predict any of the behavioral persistence measures. Results suggest that students' self-reported attributional styles are related to teacher judgments of persistence. (Author/NB)

One-third to one-half of all candidates for dental licensure in 35 states fail part of their initial examination, but most pass the second with little or no attempt at knowledge or clinical skills improvement. These data highlight discussion of issues in dental licensure, including the validity of clinical skills testing. (MSE)

Reactions to 4 versions of a vignette describing a successful manager were obtained from 233 management students, including 50 executives in an extension course. Career success was perceived as a major cause of personal failure. The personal price paid by successful people was perceived differently depending on gender and marital status. (SK)

Describes how specially trained teachers working with small groups of children helped to reduce the risk of failure that was threatening many low-achieving first grade students. Provides details of the Early Intervention in Reading Program of a small school district in the midwest. (PRA)

This study, involving 49 teachers and 1,164 students, found that teachers tend to feel responsible for the academic successes of their students and to attribute their failures to external factors. Teachers with a high or medium rating on sense of responsibility exhibited more significantly positive attitudes toward their students. (Author/JDD)

Although research indicates that retention has little educational value for children, the retention process and rate continue to escalate. Retention consequences are devastating and pervasive. The paper discusses decisions regarding retention and notes positive alternatives (e.g., parental involvement, modifications in instructional practices and…