Effects of Participation in a Learning Center on Children’s School Performance and Attitudes

AbstractTwo hundred-sixteen children at three grade levels (second, fourth, and sixth) served in one of three experimental conditions. One group spent an average of 75 minutes a week (90 minutes for disadvantaged children, 60 minutes for non-disadvantaged children) in a learning center for a period of two months, another group served in a Hawthorne control condition for approximately the same length of time, and a third group received no treatment. Measures of achievement responsibility, self-esteem, school attitudes, and teacher ratings of skills were obtained before and after the treatments. Learning center participation had little influence on the behaviors measured, although disadvantaged children showed some gains relative to non-disadvantaged children in teacher-rated math skills and achievement responsibility. Notes1. This research was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. GU 3320 to the Bradley University Board for Research, Creative Production, and Sponsored Programs. The author thanks Mary Bogard, Judy Carta, Marilyn Gnaedinger, and Suzanne Rose, who tested subjects, and Marian Frobish, who helped with the data analyses. The cooperation of the children, teachers, principals, and administrators of East Peoria School District 86 who participated in this study is gratefully acknowledged.