Blame attribution and accountability in Palestinian academic discourse: a discursive analysis of student-instructor communication

2025, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 2562659 https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2562659

Sufyan Abuarrah , Bilal Hamamra, Mahmoud Ershaid and Ahmed Khouli
An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

ABSTRACT: This research examines how Palestinian university students use discursive practices to negotiate blame and accountability with their instructors regarding academic performance 
Drawing on discursive psychology, the study analyzed student messages to
explore how they explain low grades and negotiate outcomes. Three primary discourses
were identified: Expectation Discrepancy, Should-Be-Otherwise, and Failure-as-
Something-Else. Findings show that students frequently shift responsibility for poor
performance onto external factors, such as instructors’ decisions, socio-economic pressures,
and societal expectations. They employ discursive devices, including contrasts,
extreme case formulations, and stake inoculation, to manage their academic identities
and mitigate personal accountability. The study highlights the socio-cultural and economic
contexts shaping students’ perspectives in Palestine, where academic success is
often viewed not solely as an individual effort but as linked to familial, societal, and
economic pressures. By examining these discourses, the research contributes to understanding
how culture and socio-economic conditions intersect with education, shaping
accountability and identity management. The findings underscore the importance
of considering these broader contextual factors in studies of student discourse and
call for future research to investigate how similar practices manifest across diverse
educational settings globally.

Title

Cogent Education

Publisher

Cogent Education

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

1.0

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

12

Year

2025

Pages

1-12