Exploring the contribution of attribution retraining to student perceptions and the learning process

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This paper looks at current research into how thinking influences learning. How people explain to themselves why they fail and succeed inevitably impacts on how well they learn new skills. Researchers have been developing attribution retraining programmes targeted at improving student academic achievement and learning experience through the promotion of positive thinking. These findings can often be found in scientific psychological journals far removed from the educational practitioners and learning environments they attempt to influence. This paper introduces the educational practitioner to the principles underlying attribution theory. The potential benefits of incorporating attribution retraining programmes into the school curriculum are then outlined and the future of this area for both researchers and educational psychologists alike is discussed.