In inclusive and culturally diverse educational settings, teachers play a key role in fostering academic learning and social inclusion among diverse groups of students (Farmer, 2019). For instance, teachers' attributions influence teacher feedback that affects students’ behavior and achievement (Reyna, 2000). Attributions are made on two dimensions: location (internal vs. external) and stability (stable vs. unstable; Weiner, 1976). These attributions reflect relatively stable tendencies based on repeated observations but allow for situational variation depending on context and evaluation demand. Consequently, teachers’ attributional patterns tend to be stable over time (Reyna, 2000), yet are influenced by socio-demographic characteristics of students (Espinoza et al., 2014; Reyna, 2000). For example, teachers tend to explain boys’ successes and failures to internal and stable causes, whereas girls’ outcomes are more often attributed to internal and variable causes (Espinoza et al., 2014). Teachers also tend to attribute academic success in students with migration backgrounds (MB) and/or low socio-economic status (SES) to external (stable or variable) or internal-variable causes (Wiley & Eskilson, 1978).

Previous research on teachers’ attributions has predominantly addressed academic performance and student behavior (Reyna, 2000), with limited attention to attributions on students’ social inclusion, which includes  social interactions, acceptance, and friendships in class (Koster et al., 2009). This study addresses this gap by examining teachers’ attributions of students’ positive peer experiences, such as inclusion, acceptance, and friendships.

Student social behavior (SSB), as a consistent and observable pattern over time (Reyna, 2000, Perren et al., 2012), is particularly relevant for teachers’ attributions along the stability dimension, indicating whether the causes for positive peer experiences are assessed as stable or unstable over time (Weiner, 1976).

Teacher-student relationships (TSR) also play a crucial role in shaping teachers' attributions by acting as a relational filter shaping how teachers perceive and interpret these experiences, especially affecting the locus of causality dimension (internal vs. external) through emotional and relational context (Pianta, 2001). As SSB influences the quality of TSR (Magro et al., 2025), it is reasonable to assume that teachers’ attributions are likely shaped first by observable social behaviors of the students and subsequently by TSR.

Socio-demographic variables are associated with SSB and TSR. For example, boys with a MB and low SES show lower levels of social behavior (Luo et al., 2022) and are more likely to have a conflictual TSR (Li et al., 2020). Furthermore, social behavior and TSR have been found to correlate with teachers’ attributions (Fleming et al., 2025). The different mechanisms by which SSB and TSR influence teachers’ attributions, and their possible mediating role between socio-demographic variables and teachers’ attributions, remain insufficiently studied. In particular, it remains unclear whether and how TSR and SSB translate students’ socio-demographic characteristics into teachers’ attributions of peer experiences.

Our analysis aims to close these gaps by examining the following research questions: To what extent do students’ socio-demographic variables predict teachers’ attributions of positive peer experiences and are these effects mediated by SSB and TSR? Additionally, how do these relationships vary across the dimensions of stability (stable vs. unstable) and locus of causality (internal vs. external)?

Drawing on the reviewed literature and theoretical background, we hypothesize (1) that students’ socio-demographic variables (i.e., gender, MB, and SES) predict teachers’ attributions of positive peer experiences, and (2) that the effects are mediated by SSB and TSR. We further explore whether these mediation effects differ between the dimensions of stability and locus of causality.

The hypotheses were tested using a sample of N = 955 Students from 60 classes (mean age =8.2, 44.6% female, 30.4% have MB, mean HISEI = 61.2,), attending Grades 1 to 6, predominantly Grades 2 to 4 (1st class: N = 100, 2nd class: N = 268, 3rd class: N = 291: 4th class: N = 255, 5th class: N = 13, 6th class: N = 2). 58 teachers (mean age = 37.1, 89.9% female) provided ratings for the students. Schools and classes were randomly selected from the seven preselected German speaking Swiss cantons and contacted. Data was collected from students, parents, and teachers at the beginning of the school year (t1). Teachers additionally completed a questionnaire at the end of the school year (t2). Teachers’ attributions of positive peer experiences were rated for each student along the dimensions locus of causality (1 = external – 6 = internal) and stability (1 = unstable – 5 = stable) using 3 items each for acceptance, inclusion, and friendship (Ωloc_t1=.97, Ωstab_t1=.93, Ωloc_t2=.92, Ωstab_t2=.92). TSR was measured at t1 using three items from the Conflict subscale of the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (Pianta, 2001; Ω = .81). SSB was assessed with peer ratings. Students rated four classmates on their helpfulness and cooperation based on the SOCOMP instrument (Perren et al., 2012). Individual social behavior scores reflect the mean of received peer ratings. Students’ gender was reported by students themselves and by their parents (0 = female, 1 = male). MB was defined according to OECD standards as having at least one parent born abroad. Students’ SES was assessed via parents’ occupations using the International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status 2008 (ISEI-08; Ganzeboom & Treiman, 2010). The higher ISEI score of either parent was used to represent the family SES. To reduce teacher time, missing data of teacher attribution was deliberately introduced (planned missing) and subsequently imputed using multiple Imputation in R (jomo, mitml; m = 50), pooled following Rubin’s rules (1987). Structural equation models (SEM) with robust maximum likelihood estimation were estimated separately for locus of causality and stability. The multilevel structure (Level 1 = students, Level 2 = classes) was accounted in Mplus using TYPE=COMPLEX. Data were assumed to be missing at random (Graham, 2009) and treated using full information maximum likelihood (FIML).

The SEM examined the effects of students’ gender, MB, and SES on teachers’ attributions, mediated by SSB and TSR. One SEM included the attributional dimension stability, the other locus of causality as dependent variable. Both models had a good fit. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, both SEMs showed significant effects from gender, MB, and SES to attributions. Consistent with Hypothesis 2, the SEM for stability showed significant negative indirect effects from gender and MB and positive indirect effect from SES to attributions, mediated by SSB. Boys and students with MB showed less, students with higher SES showed more SSB, linked to more stable attributions. The SEM for locus of causality showed significant negative indirect effects from gender and MB on attributions serially mediated by SSB and conflictual TSR. Boys and students with MB showed less SSB, leading to more conflictual TSR and consequently to more external attributions. Additionally, there was a significant negative indirect effect from gender mediated by conflictual TSR. Boys had a more conflictual TSR and consequently more external attributions. SES showed a significant positive indirect effect mediated by the same variables. Students with higher SES, showed more SSB, leading to less conflictual TSR and consequently to more internal attributions. Additionally, both SEMs showed a significant negative direct effect from MB to attributions, indicating positive peer experiences of students with MB were attributed as less stable and more external. Thus, mediation effects differed between stability and locus of causality dimensions, emphasizing that teacher attributions are shaped by socio-demographics, social behavior, and TSR. We find evidence for inequalities in teacher attributions students’ positive peer experiences based on their gender, MB, and SES, disadvantaging boys, students with MB, and with low SES. Fostering social behavior and strengthening TSR may reduce these inequalities and promote inclusion in culturally diverse educational settings.

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