Social Competence of Learning Disabled Children: Cognitive and Emotional Aspects

The aim of the study was to investigate the structure of social competence among learning disabled children, as reported by themselves and their teachers, and the cognitive and emotional aspects that mediate its level. The sample consisted of 40 learning disabled children and 37 matched nondisabled children. Within Harter's competence model and Schaefer's spherical model, the learning disabled group demonstrated lower levels of competence and adjustment and a less mature concept of competence than did their peers. The social competence of the learning disabled children was accounted for by emotional and physical aspects of competence, similar to that found in younger and in children with an intellectual disability, whereas the social competence of the nondisabled peers was accounted for by a combination of academic, cognitive and self‐esteem aspects. Teachers rated the social competence of both groups of children as mediated by introversion and general competence. However, teachers added physical competence to the explanation of the learning disabled group's social competence, whereas they added task orientation to the explanation for the nondisabled group. Intervention planning should be geared toward increasing the social competence of LD children, through alerting teachers to their less mature self‐competence concept, with its special emphasis on nonacademic aspects.     

Comparisons of Self‐Efficacy,Mood, Effort,and Hope Between Students with Learning Disabilities and Their Non‐LD‐Matched Peers

The goals of this study were to compare self‐perceptions of self‐efficacy, mood, effort, and hope between 123 adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) and a group of 123 Non‐LD peers, who were matched for their level of academic performance and gender, and to explore the relations between measures of self‐perception and achievement. The results showed that students with LD reported lower academic self‐efficacy and lower social self‐efficacy. They also rated their mood as more negative and reported lower levels of hope and less investment of effort in their academic work. At the same time, no significant differences were found for emotional self‐efficacy in comparison to the Non‐LD peer group. In addition, among students with LD who were successful in their studies, a subgroup continued to report low levels of hope. The results demonstrated that even when the academic performance of students with LD is similar to their Non‐LD peers, their specific and global self‐perceptions continue to reflect their distress. It is not clear if these results represent past difficulties, day‐to‐day struggles, and/or future worries. Resilience models are proposed and research limitations are specified.     

The educational-cultural edge: A participative learning environment for co-emergence of personal and institutional growth

The paper addresses the failure of the Professional Development Schools movement in bridging the cultural gap, existing between schools and academic institutions. A model, based on the ‘ecological edge’, is suggested. It is believed that this metaphor has a higher potential for constructing collaborative communities because of the unique nature of ecological edges as environments of growth and change. The paper describes an edge community that was constructed between a school and a teacher education program, the new grounded understandings and knowledge that emerged within this community and the diffusion of these to the core institutions. The concept of boundary objects is suggested as the medium through which new understandings are promoted.     

Reflections on “promoting classroom adjustment and social skills for students with mental retardation within an experimental/control group design”

This investigation reports the current status of 10 adults with mental retardation who at one time had been institutionalized in either a state-owned facility or a 60-bed, community-based, intermediate-care facility for individuals with develop- mental disabilities. These individuals, who were 19 to 53 years old in 1979, were interviewed and assessed in 1979 and again in 1992. During the intervening 13 years, their lives had been stable and satisfying by their own reports and the reports of their case managers. Their claims of satisfaction with rules and supervision increased significantly. Their claimed satisfaction also rose, although not significantly, regarding food, leisure, and learning. Case managers reported moderate satisfaction with their clients' competence in the areas of travel and social skills. Case managers' predictions of continued placement success, although generally positive, dropped significantly from 1979 to 1992 in the areas of homemaking, money management, and competitive employment. All things considered, it appears that the optimism expressed during the early months of placement in 1979 was fully justified and, with realistic qualifications, remains sustained 13 years later.