ENHANCING ACHIEVEMENT-MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGE-STUDENTS - AN ATTRIBUTIONAL RETRAINING PERSPECTIVE

Academic performance in higher education ultimately Involves a complex interplay of student attributes and the educational environment. Alth ough instruction is regarded as the major environmental factor affecti ng scholastic success, other factors can become more important when le aching does not produce the desired results. Attributional retraining is one alternative that shows considerable promise for enhancing stude nts' motivation and achievement striving by changing how students thin k about their successes and failures. This paper reviews attributional retraining studies published since 1985 having a higher education foc us. Their conceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses are d iscussed in relation to Weiner's attribution theory. Within this conte xt, attributional retraining is presented as a potentially viable and important intervention for improving college students' academic develo pment, especially those students deemed to be at risk. In particular, attributional retraining is considered as an adjunct to, and possible aspect of, effective teaching.