From blame to support in China: action research on kindergarten teachers’ attributions and coping strategies for behavioural challenges

This study examined whether attribution-focused, practice-embedded professional learning could strengthen kindergarten teachers’ attributions and coping strategies for children’s behavioural challenges. Guided by Weiner’s attribution theory and Kemmis and McTaggart’s action research spiral, two teachers and 31 children in a public provincial demonstration kindergarten in Henan Province, China participated in three cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection. Data came from event-sampling observations, semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. Teachers’ explanations shifted from internal, stable and child-controllable interpretations towards more contextualised accounts emphasising classroom environment, task design, developmental needs and child-uncontrollable factors. Their coping strategies also moved from criticism, separation and avoidance towards teaching/guidance, environmental adjustment and home-kindergarten communication. Behavioural-challenge incidents decreased from 33 at baseline to 14 after the intervention, a 57.6% reduction, and remained below baseline at the six-month follow-up. The findings suggest that attribution reconstruction can be a useful cognitive route into supportive classroom practice when embedded in collaborative action research rather than delivered as a stand-alone workshop.