Changes in Writing Self-Efficacy and Writing Products and Processes Through Specific Training in The Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Students with Learning Disabilities
Jesús N. García and Ana Maria de Caso
This study aimed at verifying whether a specific program on writing self-efficacy,
designed to train the four sources of self-efficacy suggested by Bandura
(1997), could improve not only productivity and quality of writing composition
in students with LD and their processes of writing, but also their writing
self-efficacy beliefs and other motivational constructs. Sixty fifth- and sixthgrade
students with LD were assessed on a series of measures prior to and following
the specific training on writing self-efficacy, which was applied to 40
of the students with the remaining 20 making up a control group. Results
showed that self-efficacy-trained students got better scores on most of the
variables than their peers in the standard curriculum group after the
instruction. This emphasizes the importance of modifying the writing selfefficacy
of students with LD and shows how it can improve their written
texts, not only in terms of quality and productivity but also in terms of the
time they spend thinking, writing, and checking as processes of writing.
Establishing the Link Between Working Memory
Function and Learning Disabilities
Elvira V.Masoura
Research findings concerning working memory impairment of children
with learning disabilities, poor readers, and individuals with severe learning
difficulties are examined within the framework of working memory.
Results from developmental and experimental studies indicate a close link
between the function of working memory and performance on academic
tasks. Converging evidence suggests that a deficit in working memory can
affect children’s ability to master language. Nevertheless, the causal relationship
between working memory and learning disabilities is less well
established. Limitations of the current study are discussed and suggestions
for future investigations are made.
Children’s Cognitions, Behavioral Intent,
and Affect Toward Girls and Boys of Lower
or Higher Learning Ability
Elizabeth A. Nowicki
The purpose of this study was to gain information about
the high school general educational context for students
with and without disabilities. A questionnaire was administered
to general education teachers who taught required high
school courses in which students with disabilities and
students who were low achievers were enrolled. Instructional
context was explored in terms of (a) teachers'
instructional roles and procedures; (b) curricular demands;
and (c) teachers' views of research-based practices
and standards. Participants were 70 high school teachers
employed in nine public high schools serving grades
9 through 12 in four states, who taught one or more
core classes in which students with disabilities were
enrolled. In terms of their instructional roles and
practices, teachers indicated that they preferred showing
students how to learn at the same time they taught content.
Planning time was limited, and unit tests or daily assignments,
homework and worksheets were the most common forms of
assessment. Teachers reported a willingness to make
accommodations in curriculum materials, but did not
report a high degree of use of accommodations in actual
instruction. In reporting curricular demands, teachers
put more emphasis on the mastery of content knowledge
for students without disabilities, but for students
with disabilities, the emphasis was on mastery of basic
skills and strategies. As expected, participants indicated
more learning deficits and reported lower expectations
for students with disabilities than for other students.
Teachers' perceptions of their schools' support for
the use of research-based instruction varied. Teachers
believed that typically achieving students were more
likely than students with disabilities to meet standards.
Teachers had recommendations they believed were needed
to ensure that students with disabilities would meet
standards.
Reading Disability Referrals: Teacher Bias and Other Factors That Impact Response to Intervention
Gay Goodman and Michael A.Webb
This study examined the reading achievement scores of 66 third- and
fourth-grade students who were referred by their general education teachers
on the basis of a suspected reading disability. Before a reading disability
diagnosis was conducted, each student was reviewed by an
Intervention Assistance Team and intervention assistance was provided.
Nevertheless, all students were ultimately referred. Findings indicated
that only 21 of the 66 students referred qualified as having a reading disability.
Three other students qualified in another area of exceptionality.
Forty-five percent of the students referred for a reading disability actually
passed the state minimum competency reading test the same year they
were referred for special education. The implications of these findings for
the newly approved Response-To-Intervention method of diagnosing reading
disabilities are discussed.
