Family and school factors related to internal-external locus of control in kindergarten children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of selected school and family factors to internal-external locus of control in children enrolled in a public school kindergarten. The 43 children in the study included 18 boys and 25 girls; 31 children were white and 12 were black. The 52 parents of the children who participated in this study included 38 mothers, 12 fathers, and 2 grandmothers. Locus of control was defined as the degree to which a person believes that he possesses or lacks the power to control the occurrence of reinforcing events in his life. While persons with internal control (internals) tend to perceive events as a consequence of their actions, those persons with external control (externals) tend to believe that reinforcing events are beyond personal control (Rotter, 1954). Locus of control was measured by the Preschool and Primary Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale (Nowicki & Duke, 1974)