Large numbers of African Americans learn early in life that they fail to perform adequately in mathematics and science, resulting in helplessness syndromes. Learned helplessness in science and mathematics can be ameliorated through desensitization of mathematics phobia, freeing educational environments of crowding and noise, and special career…

Students exhibiting failure syndrome approach assignments with low expectations of success and tend to give up at early signs of difficulty. This Digest delineates the nature of failure syndrome, suggests strategies for coping with failure syndrome students, and discusses how teachers can help. Some students, especially in the early grades, show…