Although some individuals excel during the transition from high school to university, many struggle to adjust and experience repeated failures. To facilitate academic adjustment in those most at-risk of failure, vulnerable students were identified based on their pre-existing levels of preoccupation with failure (PWF; low, high) and primary control (PC; low, high). These factors were combined to create four distinct psychosocial typologies (e.g., low PWF, low PC). Students were subsequently presented with Attributional Retraining (AR), a control-enhancing treatment intervention. An AR (no- AR, AR) by group (failure-acceptors, failure-ruminators, achievement-oriented, over- strivers) 2 x 4 pre-post, quasi-experimental treatment design examined longitudinal differences in causal attributions, achievement emotions, PC, and achievement outcomes. AR encouraged all students to de-emphasize two uncontrollable attributions for failure and emphasize a controllable attribution. Most interestingly, AR was particularly beneficial for at-risk students. Notably, only failure-acceptors (low PWF, low PC) and failure-ruminators (high PWF, low PC) receiving AR reported more adaptive activity emotions and higher PC than their no-AR peers. For only failure-ruminators, those in the AR condition exhibited more adaptive attribution-related emotions than their no-AR peers. Conversely, only failure-acceptors receiving AR had higher grade point averages and fewer voluntary withdrawals than their no-AR counterparts. Results suggest the efficacy of AR in facilitating functional causal thinking for all students, whereas they also underscore  AR’s  value in promoting adaptive emotions, PC, and academic achievement for failure-prone students.

According to Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model of secondary control, an individual can adapt to adverse circumstances by accepting the situation and adjusting the self. The present study examined this theory in a competitive achievement setting to determine whether vulnerable students who relinquish academic control (high acceptance/low adjustment beliefs) benefit from an Attributional Retraining (AR) treatment intervention compared with a Stress Reduction (SR) treatment. Based on an 8-month quasi-experimental treatment study, a priori t-tests were used to test the hypotheses within an Adjustment (low, high) x Treatment (AR, SR) Analyses of Covariance experimental design for individuals high in failure acceptance. Findings revealed that AR (versus SR) facilitated higher long-term learning-related affects and academic performance for relinquished control students. The findings reveal AR’s strategic utility for assisting vulnerable individuals who lack Fit-Focused SC, as well as provide empirical support for Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model.

Although some individuals excel during the transition from high school to university, many struggle to adjust and experience repeated failures. To facilitate academic adjustment in those most at-risk of failure, vulnerable students were identified based on their pre-existing levels of preoccupation with failure (PWF; low, high) and primary control (PC; low, high). These factors were combined to create four distinct psychosocial typologies (e.g., low PWF, low PC). Students were subsequently presented with Attributional Retraining (AR), a control-enhancing treatment intervention. An AR (no- AR, AR) by group (failure-acceptors, failure-ruminators, achievement-oriented, over- strivers) 2 x 4 pre-post, quasi-experimental treatment design examined longitudinal differences in causal attributions, achievement emotions, PC, and achievement outcomes. AR encouraged all students to de-emphasize two uncontrollable attributions for failure and emphasize a controllable attribution. Most interestingly, AR was particularly beneficial for at-risk students. Notably, only failure-acceptors (low PWF, low PC) and failure-ruminators (high PWF, low PC) receiving AR reported more adaptive activity emotions and higher PC than their no-AR peers. For only failure-ruminators, those in the AR condition exhibited more adaptive attribution-related emotions than their no-AR peers. Conversely, only failure-acceptors receiving AR had higher grade point averages and fewer voluntary withdrawals than their no-AR counterparts. Results suggest the efficacy of AR in facilitating functional causal thinking for all students, whereas they also underscore  AR’s  value in promoting adaptive emotions, PC, and academic achievement for failure-prone students.

This study examined whether two selected metacognitive classroom instructional strategies, attributional retraining instruction (ARI) and self-management (SM) training, improve the academic performance of three selected learning disabled (LD) African American high school male students enrolled in the ninth grade of a comprehensive urban high school located in the county of Los Angeles. A single-subject design was used to examine the selected interventions in a self-contained math instructional special education classroom. The participating special education teacher received trainings on how to implement the interventions in her classroom setting. This study replicated Barry and Messer's (2003) method of measuring academic performance by having the participating teacher design a point system that separately considered percentage of completeness of assignments and correct answers on all classroom assignments. The researcher also administered Likert-type scales to assess both the participating students' and the teacher's level of satisfaction with the interventions. The results of the study suggested the selected metacognitive strategies were both effective in promoting the academic performance of the selected participants. The desirable outcome was also maintained following the intervention phase. The surveys revealed the participating students and the teacher found the interventions to be favorable. The results of the study add to the existing literature suggesting both ARI and SM as viable classroom instructional interventions to promote the academic achievement of LD African American students. Implications for research and practice are discussed. The author also provided a synthesis which summarized historical perspectives and current knowledge about the multifaceted limitations of the current special education model when it comes to serving the students targeted in the study and advocates for advancement in the field of educational administration by systematically incorporating metacognitive strategies in curriculum and instruction across special education and general education institutions.