Cognitive—Motivational Factors That Contribute to the Achievement of Learning-Disabled Children

Almost everyone who deals with learning-disabled children, researchers and teachers alike, recognizes that many of these children have attitudinal or motivational problems that interfere with their classwork. In like manner, most educators recognize that chronic failure in school can cause children to become less involved in their school work. Up until recently, however, these ideas have remained quite vague and supported mostly by anecdotal evidence. This month's Topical Review discusses a developing body of research that seeks to understand the effects of failure on children more precisely. Increased understanding of the specific ways that failure affects children's attitudes and motivation toward their classroom tasks should help teachers deal more effectively with these problems in learning-disabled children.—JKT