POSITIVE BIAS IN MAINTENANCE OF SELF-WORTH AMONG CHILDREN WITH LD

Despite their significant academic deficits, children with learning di sabilities (LD) often maintain favorable feelings of general self-wort h. This study examined whether a positive bias in the evaluation of ac ademic work is associated with such feelings. The Self-Perception Prof ile for Children (SPP-C; Darter, 1985b) was administered to a sample o f 84 third graders (42 with LD, 42 normally achieving). During individ ual interviews a subset of these children explained why they felt they were doing well or poorly.; Responses to the interview and to the ind ividual items of the SPP-C showed that most children with LD and norma lly achieving (NA) children perceived themselves as doing well academi cally, based largely on feedback on their performance in the classroom . Results support Renick and Darter's (1988) argument that children wi th LD recognize their specific skill deficits (e.g., forgetfulness and trouble figuring out problems), but do not perceive themselves as bei ng any less smart than their NA peers. Overall, findings indicate the importance of perceived teacher feedback in maintaining positive feeli ngs of self-worth among children with LD.