부산대학교 도서관

Students with learning disabilities (LD) have been found to have more positive attitudes towards school as compared to school learning (Wilson & David, 1994). The findings of this exploratory study will offer educators an insight into the self-concept of students with LD in academic and athletic settings. Data were collected from a survey of 48 students in grades 5 through 12 in a private school for individuals with LD. Total enrollment in the school is about 182 boys and girls, with no more than 12 students per class. About 65% of the respondents felt that they were not very good at sports, but almost 38% felt that they were better than same-age peers at sports. Just over 27% felt they did very well at all types of classroom tasks almost all the time, and about 46% felt that they didn't do very well some of the time. About 77% of the respondents felt that doing well in school was important and about 31% felt that being athletic was. Approximately 38% felt that they were as smart as their same-age peers most of the time. Less than 11% of the students felt that they were able to make close friends and about 28% felt socially accepted by their peers. When asked about their primary reason for playing sports, about 83% said they did so because their parents expected them to. Only about 6% did so because they really wanted to play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]