Coping behaviour, perceived control, and the self concept of elementary school children with learning disabilities educated in regular and special education classrooms was examined using a comparative design. In addition, the influence of teachers' classroom management orientation on children's self-perceptions and coping behaviour was investigated. Children attending a special school for students with learning disabilities were found to be more adaptive copers than children in special education classes in regular schools, children receiving resource room assistance, and children mainstreamed in regular classes. Children with learning disabilities were found to have positive perceptions of their global self-worth regardless of the type of class they were in, although they indicated less confidence in their academic abilities compared to their self-perceptions of physical appearance and athletic competence. In general, most children believed that they were responsible for their academic successes and at the same time perceived academic failure as unavoidable. The students who coped most effectively demonstrated the most realistic appraisals of their academic situation. They recognized that they could not control academic failure, however, they believed that the best way to succeed in school was by continuing to exert effort. Additionally, successful copers held high expectations for future academic success and believed that they possessed the capacities needed to achieve this success. Children who coped most effectively strongly endorsed beliefs in their capacity to have a positive relationship with their teachers. Children who were rated as effective copers had teachers whose instructional orientation promoted autonomous functioning in their students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.35648 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Weintraub, Gerald A. |
| Contributors | Derevensky, Jeffrey (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001610491, proquestno: NQ44625, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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