Self-perceptions of specific domains of competence, judgments of the importance of these domains, and perceptions of global self-worth were examined among children with learning disabilities (LD), low achievement (LA), and normal achievement (NA) in a full-time integrated classroom setting. Results showed that children with LD and LA held lower self-perceptions of scholastic competence than children with NA, and children with LD had lower self-perceptions of behavioral conduct than children with LA and NA. Both children with LD and children with LA had significantly larger discrepancies between perceived competence and importance in the scholastic domain than did children with NA. We found little evidence that children with LD employ a discounting mechanism to protect their self-worth. Overall, results offer little support for the use of importance ratings or discrepancy scores in understanding the relation between children's self-perceptions of competence and global self-worth.
Alvarez, V., & Adelman, H.S. (1986). Overstatements of self-evaluations by students with psychoeducational problems. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 567‐571.
3.
Anderson, K.M.The usefulness of importance ratings in predicting the relationship between self-esteem and self-concept scores. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Kansas City, MO.
4.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
5.
Bear, G.G., Clever, A., & Proctor, W.A. (1991). Self-perceptions of nonhandicapped children and children with learning disabilities in integrated classes. The Journal of Special Education, 24, 410‐426.
6.
Chapman, J.W., & Boersma, F.J. (1979). Academic self-concept in learning disabled children: A study with the “Student's Perception of Ability Scale.. Psychology in the Schools, 16, 291‐306.
7.
Cooley, E.J., & Ayres, R.R. (1988). Self-concept and success-failure attributions of nonhandicapped students and students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21, 174‐178.
8.
Coopersmith, S. (1959). A method for determining types of self-esteem. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59, 87‐94.
9.
Cronbach, L.J., & Furby, L. (1970). How should we measure “change”&or should we. Psychological Bulletin, 74, 68‐80.
10.
Defrancesco, J.J., & Taylor, J. (1985). Dimensions of self-concept in primary and middle school learning disabled and non-disabled students. Child Study Journal, 15, 99‐105.
11.
Dweck, C.S., & Leggett, E.L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256‐273.
12.
Grolnick, W.S., & Ryan, R.M. (1990). Self-perceptions, motivation, and adjustment in children with learning disabilities: A multiple group comparison study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23, 177‐184.
13.
Harris, K.R., Graham, S., & Freeman, S. (1988). Effects of strategy training on metamemory among learning disabled students. Exceptional Children, 54, 332‐338.
14.
Harter, S. (1983). Developmental perspectives on the self-system. In P. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child development (pp. 275–384). New York: Wiley.
15.
Harter, S. (1985a). Manual for the self-perception profile for children. Denver: University of Denver.
16.
Harter, S. (1985b). Processes underlying the construction, maintenance and enhancement of the self-concept in children. In J. Suls & A.G. Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 3, pp. 137–181). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
17.
James, W. (1892/1983). Psychology: Briefer course. Franklin Center, PA: Franklin Library.
18.
Jastak, S., & Wilkinson, G. (1984). Wide range ochievement test-Revised. Wilmington, DE: Jastak Associates.
19.
Kistner, J., Haskett, M., White, K., & Robbins, F. (1987). Perceived competence and self-worth of LD and normally achieving students. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10, 37‐44.
20.
Kistner, J., & Osborne, M. (1987). A longitudinal study of LD children's self-evaluations. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10, 258‐266.
21.
Loper, A.B. (1984). Accuracy of learning disabled students' self-predictions of decoding. Learning Disability Quarterly, 7, 172‐178.
22.
MacIver, D. (1987). Classroom factors and student characteristics predicting students' use of achievement standards during ability self-assessment. Child Development, 58, 1258‐1271.
23.
Marsh, H.W. (1986). Global self-esteem: Its relation to specific facets of self-concept and their importance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1224‐1236.
24.
Marsh, H.W. (1990). Causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement: A multiwave, longitudinal path analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 646‐656.
Priel, B., & Leshem, T. (1990). Self-perceptions of first- and second-grade children with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23, 637‐641.
29.
Psychological Corporation. (1989). Stanford achievement test. San Antonio, TX: Author.
30.
Renick, M.J.Measuring the relationship between academic self-perceptions and global self-worth: The self-perception profile for learning disabled students. Paper presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore.
31.
Renick, M.J., & Harter, S. (1989). Impact of social comparisons on the developing self-perception of learning disabled students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 631‐638.
32.
Rogers, H., & Saklosfske, D.H. (1985). Self-concept, locus of control and performance expectation of learning disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 18, 273‐279.
33.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
34.
Shinn, M.R., Ysseldyke, J.E., Deno, S.L., & Tindal, G.A. (1986). A comparison of differences between students labeled learning disabled and low achievers on measures of classroom performance. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 545‐552.
35.
Slife, B.D., Weiss, J., & Bell, T. (1985). Separability of metacognition and cognition: Problem-solving of learning disabled and regular students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 13, 437‐445.
36.
Stephens, J. (1986). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
37.
Vaughn, S., Hogan, A., Kouzekanani, K.B., & Shapiro, S. (1990). Peer acceptance, self-perceptions, and social skills of learning disabled students prior to identification. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 101‐106.
38.
Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler intelligence scale for children-Revised. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.
