Effects of Labels and Competence on Teachers' Attributions for a Student / Bob Algozzine and Laura Stoller.

The extent to which 46 special education teachers judged the mathematics performance of a fourth grader to be a function of his handicapping condition and/or his competence was evaluated. A videotape presentation and brief case study were reviewed and teachers were asked the extent to which various attributes were influential in the child's performance. Difficulties were indicated for both labels and levels of competence. Results indicated that competence was a more powerful influence with regard to attributions for academic behavior than labels assigned. Teachers felt that the child's future performance would be similar to his past performance, which could be beneficial (as when success breeds success) or harmful (as when teachers may be unwilling to alter their expectations in light of contradictory performance). (Author/CL)

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