How Russian teachers, mothers and school psychologists perceive internalising and externalising behaviours in children

A Systematic Review of Teachers’ Causal Attributions: Prevalence, Correlates, and Consequences

“…Findings have additionally shown that whereas severity of student learning difficulties was positively correlated with teachers’ attributions to student ability (e.g., intelligence), severity of student behavioral problems instead corresponded to more personality attributions (Medway, 1979). Other studies have similarly revealed that whereas ability and effort tend to be the most commonly cited reasons for student learning problems, personality and parental factors are more often endorsed as reasons for behavioral difficulties (e.g., Medway, 1979; Hughes et al, 1993; Savina et al, 2014).…”

“…Despite these differences, findings concerning teachers’ attributional tendencies for student misbehavior are largely similar to those observed regarding attributions for low achievement. When faced with student behavioral problems (e.g., disobedience, disruption, aggression; mild, moderate, severe), teachers’ attributions tend to not implicate themselves (e.g., instructional method, curriculum, teacher attitudes, discipline) or administrative factors (e.g., teaching demands, class size) but instead consistently cite factors internal to the student (e.g., ability, effort, personality, social/physical skills) and parental variables (e.g., dysfunction, attitudes, interest; Vernberg and Medway, 1981; Christenson et al, 1983; Miller, 1995; Bibou-Nakou et al, 2000; Mavropoulou and Padeliadu, 2002; Ho, 2004; Kulinna, 2007; McAuliffe et al, 2009; Andreou and Rapti, 2010; Ding et al, 2010; Kauppi and Porhola, 2012; Savina et al, 2014). For example, whereas more than half of the teachers in Ding et al’s (2010) study attributed students’ misbehaviors to students’ lack of effort, with substantial proportions citing various other factors internal to students (e.g., laziness: 32%, study habits: 23%, low interest: 20%), only 0.8% of teachers attributed students’ behavioral difficulties to their own instructional effectiveness or classroom management skills.…”

“…Similarly, Kleftaras and Didaskalou (2006) found teachers to primarily attribute student behavioral and emotional problems to family issues (74%) or student-related factors (17%; e.g., biological or psychological deficits), with only 6% of teachers reporting school context or teaching practices as important contributors. A study by Savina et al (2014) that specifically examined teachers’ attributions for students’ externalizing behaviors (e.g., disruption, aggression) also showed problematic parental and peer relationships to be most often cited by teachers as critical determinants of students’ overt classroom misbehavior. However, although teachers have consistently been found to perceive the causes of student misbehavior as beyond their personal control and scope of responsibility (e.g., Bibou-Nakou et al, 2000; for atypical contradictory results, see Poulou and Norwich, 2000), research by Hughes et al (1993) suggests that teachers may nonetheless perceive themselves as responsible for the success of their subsequent in-class behavior management efforts.…”

“…As for student ethnicity , results from Jackson (2002) indicated that teachers more frequently provided situational explanations (e.g., other people) for the misbehavior of Caucasian students, whereas internal explanations (e.g., student personal characteristics) were more often reported for non-Caucasian American students. Finally, studies have also found student gender to moderate teachers’ attributions, with mixed results suggesting that teachers may be more likely to attribute female students’ misbehavior to internal and uncontrollable factors (e.g., personality characteristics; Savina et al, 2014), or more inclined to attribute male students’ behavioral problems to unintentional (i.e., uncontrollable) factors (Arbeau and Coplan, 2007).…”

The Study of Teachers' and Parents' Needs for Psychological Consultation from School Psychologist

“…Желание получить помощь от педагога-психолога может быть также опосредовано тем, как взрослые воспринимают проблемы ребенка и объясняют их причины. Так, было показано, что учителя, считающие себя в какой-то степени ответственными за проблемное поведение ребенка, склонны, скорее, рекомендовать помощь психиатра и медикаментозное лечение, нежели помощь психолога [12]. В то же время учителя, которые объясняют проблемы ребенка семейными факторами, отдают предпочтение психологу.…”