Consequences of teachers' attributions for student failure

This study compared mean scores on expectancy, affective, and behavioral variables of teachers assigned to read protocols of students requesting help because they “didn't understand the material presented in class.” Protocols were arranged along the controllability dimensions so that the reasons for requesting help ranged from an uncontrollable factor (low ability) through a short-term uncontrollable factor (illness) to a controllable factor (low effort). Each protocol began: “A student asks for additional help and explanation of the material that you presented in class explaining that he/she did not understand the material.” The protocol then gave a reason for the student's need for additional explanation of the material. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant difference in teachers' responses to the three protocols. Discriminant analysis produced two significant discriminant functions. Behavioral variables (willingness to praise the student and willingness to help the student) defined the functions.