Failing forwards
attributions and building strong teacher-student bondS
We are in the second week of the year and one thing I have noticed is the effort that everyone is making to get to know each other. What a great starting point, relationship before anything else. Relationships are a key in shaping learning experiences. Teacher-student relationships are a crucial determinant of the academic journey, and it is important for us to understand how these may work. In Amos 3:3, the bible counsels us ‘How can two walk together, unless they agree?’. This verse underscores the importance of alignment and understanding in the teacher-student relationship, particularly mutual agreement on the causes of success or not achieving, which create a path to growth and achievement.
“How can two walk together, unless they agree?”
At the beginning of each academic year, there is a hype of expectation from both teachers and students. Students expect to breeze through their studies and get the best results. Teachers too have expectations about their students’ learning abilities and readiness to learn. At this point, everyone is excited and expectant. However, the reality of education and schooling is, that it is punctuated by success and failures, and how we respond to the latter is of utmost importance.
One proposition that is used to explore and explain the dynamics of human interactions, in the context of success or failure, is the Attribution Theory. The Attribution Theory explores how individuals attribute the causes of their successes and failures. I believe it is important for us as a community to understand how attributions work, as it helps us create positive learning environments in classrooms. This assists in fostering high attributions and maintaining high expectations for both our teachers and students. Through being mindful of these dynamics, we can, as a community, better support our students in overcoming challenges and achieving academic growth and achievement.
According to the Attribution Theory, ‘individuals are particularly motivated to seek specific explanations for negative educational outcomes, with these causal attributions, in turn having important consequences for academic development’ (Wang & Hall, 2018). Such explanations can be internal (e.g. ability or effort), or external (task difficulty, luck, or perceived teaching style or learning styles). Both types of attributions are crucial for relationships because our attributions for teachers and students impacts their motivation, self-image, persistence, and growth. When our students and teachers experience failure and attribute to internal factors, they may experience feelings of helplessness and will have decreased motivation. On the other hand, if attribution is to an external factor, they may be motivated to improve, as they perceive the outcome as something they can control (Graham, 2012). What is clear is that causal attributions influence self-esteem, motivation, and approaches to teaching and learning. I hope our community realises its role at this point. The nature of our relationships with teachers and students through continuous feedback and support, plays a crucial role in shaping their attributions.
“individuals are particularly motivated to seek specific explanations for negative educational outcomes, with these causal attributions, in turn having important consequences for academic development”
In learning, success and failure remain possibilities, but when our relationships are grounded in supportive and integrous constructive feedback, the negative impact of misattributions can be mitigated. Our feedback to both teachers and our students needs to emphasise on effort and strategies, rather than fixed abilities. Believing in the malleability of our teachers and students to transformative learning always enables them to view challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth, rather than opportunities to apportion blame.
Higher expectations for our teachers and students lead to better academic outcomes. Our high positive expectations will influence not only how our teachers and students interact but also how they perceive their abilities. When we speak positively and affirm constructively, our teachers and students will be most likely to attribute their successes to internal factors, which really enhances their self-confidence and motivates them to strive for further achievements. Each one of us need to model and encourage adaptive attributions so that we have a positive relationship with failure, thus, seeing it as part of learning. Concurrently we also need to encourage our teachers and students to agree on the causes of success and failure. Such a shared sense of understanding will strengthen the teacher-student bond and contribute to improved student outcomes.
Heading out into this academic mindset let us foster constructive attributions, and align expectations with our teachers and students’ efforts and strengths. Let us work together to cultivate motivation, persistence, and a positive self-concept in our students. As a collective, let us work to ensure that both teachers and students walk together on the journey toward growth, achievement, and purposefulness, and when they fail, they fail forwards!
Lifeas Kapofu – Principal
