Many adult students with learning disabilities have entered postsecondary schools in recent years. Many of these students experience cognitive, emotional, and behavioral limitations that may act as obstacles in their educational processes and subsequent careers. Research has shown that self-determination skills can help ameliorate the effects of…

The article offers suggestions for dealing with learning disabled children's apparent lack of achievement motivation, which may be a lack of belief that their actions affect academic and nonacademic achievement. Suggestions include establishing appropriate standards, focusing on effort rather than outcome, and promoting self-acceptance of credit…

Comparison of 54 students with learning disabilities (LD) and 71 non-disabled students found the LD group demonstrated higher school anger levels, more negative behavior, less positive behavior, and lower motivation for on-task performance. Students who reported both high anger and high perceived control tended to exhibit the most negative…

This article discusses the importance of attribution and strategy training for understanding motivation in students with learning disabilities, contributions of attributions to the larger motivational schema, and problems associated with measuring this affective variable. (DB)

The author of EC 608 658 reflects on her interest in the social life of students with learning disabilities, the relationship of her study to other studies on social behavior and self-concept, the finding that students with learning disabilities attribute both internal and external factors for successful outcomes, and the importance of attribution…

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…

Given a consistent interaction of student locus of attribution and mode of teacher response, the study sought to determine whether attribution levels could be changed for 69 elementary grade learning disabled students and poor readers. The results indicate that difficulty is encountered in trying to change students' attributions, (Author/SEW)

A study of 104 students (ages 16 to 22) with mental retardation (n=32), learning disabilities (n=34), or no disabilities (n=38) examined variables that contribute to perceptions of self-determination and increased student motivation. The students with disabilities were found to have more of an external locus of control orientation. (CR)

This paper reviews the research literature on the intervention methods practiced to enhance, and the measures used to assess, academic intrinsic motivation in the school-age population with learning disabilities (LD). According to the research surveyed, retention and generalization improve when learning is intrinsically rather than extrinsically…

This curriculum guide is a systematic instructional strategy designed to enhance the intrinsic motivation of learning disabled adolescents. The complete strategy encompasses three major phases. Phase P (Preparing for Challenges) describes steps in preparing the classroom environment and presenting program goals to students. Phase A (Attacking…

This article demonstrates how to improve students' learning motivation by means of an attributional dialogue between teachers and students. Students are asked to describe events and to explain to what they attributed success or failure. Dialogue pages of a typically achieving learner and a student with learning disabilities are provided. (Contains…

This follow-up article outlines goals, principles, and techniques for improving curriculum and instruction for secondary students with learning disabilities so that the following affective goals are fostered: intrinsic motivation, internal locus of control, academic and social self-concept, self-esteem, a sense of competence and confidence, an…

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)

This brief paper suggests ways of involving students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficits in their own learning, with a systematic program intended to build self-understanding and a healthy internal locus of control. The program is based on the concept of multiple intelligences and the many different ways in which students and…