Learning Disabled Locus of Control Orientation : Birth Order and Parental Perceptions

This study compared the locus of control orientation of learning disabled (LD) students with their non-LD peers, as well as the relationships of birth order and parental perceptions to students\u27 locus of control orientation. Twenty-four LD students and twenty-six non-LD students were recruited for the study, as well as one parent per child. Subjects completed the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. Data were analyzed with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with birth order and parental perceptions serving as covariates. Firstborn children were found to be more internally oriented as compared to later-born children. The results of this study do not indicate support for the hypothesis that LD students hold a more external locus of control orientation than do non-LD students. The expected pattern of differences in locus of control orientation between LD and non-LD children was evident at each grade level, although the results were not statistically significant. Support was not found for the hypothesis that children are governed more by their learning type than by their birth order. Implications of these results for future research and practice are discussed