Academic achievement as a function of attributions of success and failure and socio-cultural variables in Mexican-American students

The purpose of this research was to examine Mexican-American 8th grade students' attributions of success and failure in school-related contexts. The relationship between and among these attributions, socio-cultural variables and academic achievement was also explored and analyzed. Attribution theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study.; The study utilized three instruments as the primary sources of self-reported data: the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS ), Student Achievement Responsibility Survey ( SARS) (Ryckman, 1985), and the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth (SASH-Y) (Barona & Miller, 1994). Other data including gender and migrant status were obtained from student records.; The sample of 584 students participating in the study was selected using a stratified, proportional, random sampling procedure. The students were selected from twenty-three middle schools representing twelve school districts in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.; The results of the study indicated the following: (1) There is a relationship between academic achievement in reading and attributions of success due to task ease; (2) between academic achievement in reading and attributions of failure due to ability; (3) between academic achievement in math and attributions of success due to ability; (4) between academic achievement in math and attributions of failure due to ability; (5) between attributions of success and socio-cultural variables, specifically SES, gender and acculturation level; and (6) between attributions of failure and socio-cultural variables, specifically, SES and acculturation level.