In an effort to reduce failure and attrition rates to increase on-time program completion and graduation rates, many schools are adopting a policy of assigning minimum grades. While justifications supporting the policy are often mathematical in nature, some proponents also claim the practice works to keep students motivated, hopeful, confident and…

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether gifted and nongifted students' preferences for different types of reward were affected by differential locus of control. In total, 181 gifted and 107 nongifted junior high school students in Taiwan participated. The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale was used as a measure of locus of…

A methodological analysis of 22 comparative and descriptive studies of locus of control among students with learning disabilities identified serious deficiencies regarding participant selection and description and concerns regarding the use and nature of locus-of-control measures. The analysis concluded that available data do not support the…

Four experiments were designed to identify socioeconomic differences in preschool locus of control, develop a measurement technique for differentiating between internal and external locus of control in preschoolers, and study the effect of four kinds of preschool programs on locus of control. During the first experiment, the Stephens-Delys…

The reasons 184 American and 399 Japanese fifth-graders gave for achievement and good conduct in school were compared. Responses of Japanese children may reflect stronger identification with adult authority. Japanese children gave fewer external reasons for actions than their American counterparts. Implications for the study of motivation are…

The SUCCESS program is a series of interactive computer programs designed to enhance student empowerment by allowing entering college freshmen to use computers in an environment of personal control and autonomy. To determine the effect of SUCCESS programs on students' perceived locus of control and empowerment, a study was conducted at New York's…

Academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and achievement expectations were investigated over a two-year period for 78 children identified as learning disabled (LD) and 71 normal children. It appears that negative school-related attitudes develop early in LD children and remain consistent through high school. (TJH)

Interviews were conducted with 15 Black and 15 Puerto Rican women students from Brookdale Community College, New Jersey, and with 15 Black and 15 Puerto Rican women not attending college in order to determine: (1) if adult, minority women enrolled in college were more self-directed than those who had not sought further education; (2) the…