The causal attribution theory represents an interesting theoretical framework in which to analyze how students explain their academic success or failure. This paper analyzes if the causal attributions are different according to gender and school grade. The sample comprised 868 students from 5th to 9th grade. The evaluation of the attributions was conducted by means of a school results Attribution Questionnaire (known in Brazil as QARE), in which students rank six possible causes (effort, studying methods, academic background, teacher support, luck and ability) according to their importance in explaining personal academic successes and failures. The data suggest that students, regardless of gender and grade, related their academic achievement (success and failure) to effort, citing poor studying methods as a secondary reason to explain academic failure. Progressing through the school system, the academic knowledge base becomes more important when explaining success at school. On the other hand, male students resort more to ability to explain their academic success, while female students cite effort and existing academic knowledge. For the explanation of failure at school, effort and studying methods are more significant than lack of ability as their education progresses, which seems to reinforce the students' self-esteem.
School learning; Motivation; Academic achievement
