Gender Differences in Causal Attributions for Success and Failure in Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students

Abstract

This study investigated the gender differences in causal attributions for success and failure in Kenya. Students may form causal attributions, which may influence their academic achievement either positively or negatively. The study was guided by Weiner’s model of Achievement Attribution. The participants were 585 students (315 males, 270 females). The participants completed the Multidimensional Multi-attributional Causality Scale (MMCS). The main findings of the study were that there were significant gender differences in the causal attributions for failure while the differences in causal attributions for success were not significant. The results also indicated there were differences in the causal attributional styles of boys and girls. Taking into account that students can form inappropriate causal attributions that might negatively affected their academic achievement, the study made recommendations to the stakeholders on intervention measures. The researcher also recommended for further research in the area of gender differences in causal attributions for success and failure.