When harassed by peers, elementary school students often face a dilemma of whether to ask their teacher for help. Assistance may be useful, and perhaps necessary. However, there can be social costs; children generally are expected to resolve interpersonal conflicts on their own. Two theoretical perspectives (i.e., coping and self-regulation)…

Adaptive help seeking is a unique strategy of self-regulated learning that involves social interaction with others. This paper discusses ways in which teachers can satisfy students' self-system needs and contribute to their competencies and motivational resources required for adaptive help seeking. It also discusses how peers, within the classroom…

Investigates how different types of achievement goals influence elementary school students' help seeking. Goals were conceptualized on two dimensions: locus of the goal (i.e., personal goals and contextual goals) and emphasis of the goal (i.e., learning goals and performance goals). Interactions among goals and their resultant patterns of help…

The types of help students sought while solving mathematics problems under the tutelage of an adult were studied for 118 3rd and 6th graders classified as high, medium, and low achievers. Sixth graders were more likely to ask for process-related hints. Other age and ability differences are discussed. (SLD)

Examines how what is known about academic help seeking can inform an understanding of children's response to peer harassment. Details: (1) What is adaptive help seeking?; (2) Which students are most likely to seek help?; and (3) Under what conditions are students likely to seek help? Presents directions for future research. (Author)

Investigated situations where asking for assistance from a teacher is appropriate and necessary in resolving conflict with an aggressive peer. Relations between help seeking and children's grade level, gender, and self perceptions are discussed in terms of goal and strategy components in a social-information-processing model of conflict…

When schoolchildren are harassed by peers, it sometimes is necessary to seek help from a teacher. However, students and teachers may have a different sense of when it is necessary. The authors investigated students' perceptions of harassment and help seeking, examining whether students' perceptions are related to popularity and whether perceptions…

Thirty-four boys and 31 girls in grades 2, 4, and 6 were asked about seeking help with mathematics and reading from their parents, teachers, and classmates. Results, discussed in terms of sex and age differences, suggest that low achievers know they need help but hesitate to ask for assistance. (SLD)

Characteristics related to help-seeking (perceived competence, motivational orientation, attitudes and beliefs, and age) were examined for 177 children in grades 3, 5, and 7. By grade seven, positive and negative attitudes were influential. Developmental and individual difference factors are discussed in connection with help-seeking and academic…

Maintains that adaptive help seeking exemplifies how elementary- and middle-school students regulate their own learning and intellectual development. Discusses how parents, teachers, and peers contribute to the development of children's skills and attitudes associated with adaptive help seeking. Traces early help-seeking behaviors in the home and…