The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of self-assessed dimensions of learned helplessness in a Polish sample of junior high school students. To qualify the students for the learning-disabled (LD) and the nonlearning-disabled (NLD) groups, the teachers' ratings of the students' learning disabilities (LDs) and comorbid disorders…

A significant number of students with learning disabilities encounter challenges in acquiring knowledge, particularly in mathematics. Nonetheless, having a disability or being disadvantaged is not a preference or decision made by these students - or more generally, by these individuals; rather, this label is assigned to them by the prevailing…

This study inquired into the structure and predictors of out-of-school learning assistance among adolescents. It used longitudinal data gathered from up to 4936 Polish lower-secondary school students. The analysis of the assistance structure, performed with latent class analysis, showed that about 50% of students belonged to the latent class with…

Do you support a child or adult with sensory perceptual issues or cognitive impairment? For people with challenging sensory and cognitive conditions, everyday life can become so unpredictable and chaotic that over time, lack of engagement can often lead to a state of learned helplessness. In this insightful text, Paul Pagliano shows how "learned…

This article is about the feelings of powerlessness that professionals feel to cure learning disability and to answer questions such as "why do I have a learning disability?". We describe how Emma showed us through role play what it was like to have learning difficulties. This article is interesting to people with learning disabilities because…

Twenty-four learning disabled students (10 to 14 years old) assigned to three reward schedules (response contingent reward, 100 percent noncontingent reward, and 50 percent random noncontingent reward) were asked to replicate block designs and solve coding problems. No differences were found in errors, but Ss in noncontingent conditions…

Learning specialists and classroom teachers can help eliminate negative suggestions among students with learning problems and replace them with positive ones. Indirect suggestive techniques, such as visualization, are described. (CL)

Sixteen "helpless" learning disabled students (grades four to five) assigned to an attribution training group demonstrated greater reading persistence and showed significant increases in effort attributions for failure as well as more internal attributions for achievement situations when compared to Ss in the control group. Treatment gains for…

The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, which measures perceived locus of control of academic outcomes, was administered to 28 emotionally handicapped (EH) and 25 learning disabled (LD)/EH children. Between group comparison revealed that EH children took significantly more personal responsibility for academic failure than did…

A study involving 30 learning disabled and 30 normally achieving grade four girls suggested that helplessness effects may be stronger for learning disabled than for normally achieving children. Comparison to an earlier study with grade four boys suggested the possibility of sex differences regarding effectiveness of helplessness alleviation…

The article explores attribution theory and the concept of learned helplessness in teaching learning disabled individuals. Suggestions are given for areas of future research with learning disabled populations. The discussion includes current teaching techniques which may be related to the self regulatory behaviors and perception of personal…

To prevent learned helplessness in learning disabled students, teachers can share responsibilities with the students, train students to reinforce themselves for effort and self control, and introduce opportunities for changing counterproductive attitudes. (CL)

Passivity in learning disabled children is identified as either inborn or as "learned helplessness," and the role of the teacher in overcoming passivity is noted. Teachers can help students understand themselves, become active agents in learning, and use self monitoring devices. (CL)

Learned helplessness is an insidious condition involving undeveloped executive functioning, lack of persistence, and an undeveloped sense of connecting new words or concepts into a web of meanings. Remedial teaching in most small-group, diagnostic/prescriptive settings encourages continued learned helplessness because students are dependent on the…

The application of learned helplessness theory to achievement is discussed within the context of implications for research in learning disabilities. Finally, the similarities between helpless children and learning disabled students in terms of problems solving and attention are discussed. (Author)