Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1979

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Rothberg, Robert A.

Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair

Wiegman, Robert R.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the locus of control orientation between regular class and selfcontained emotionally handicapped students within the elementary, middle and high school settings. Two samples of students were selected from the third through eleventh grades of the Seminole County school system using a randomized block design . One group consisted of sixty students enrolled within the self- contained program for the emotionally handicapped from elementary, middle and high school classes. A second group of sixty regular class students were selected from the same schools. The Nowicki- Strickland Locus of Control Scale was administered to small groups of subjects, out of the classroom, but within the school setting . The mean scores for each group were analyzed using a 2x3 analysis of variance with the effects tested at the .05 level of significance across all levels. The emotionally handicapped students were found to be significantly more external than the regular class students. In addition, both groups exhibited a shift in locus of control orientation, becoming significantly more internal as they progressed from elementary to high school. No significant interaction was found to exist between regular class and emotionally handicapped students in elementary, middle and high school. It was concluded that although the emotionally handicapped students maintained a more external orientation than the regular class students, as both groups approached adolescence and experienced an increased mastery of the environment, there was a shift towards a more internal locus of control. However, regardless of the school level involved, the emotionally handicapped students maintained a more external orientation. Since behavior modification procedures have been shown to foster an internal locus of control orientation, it was concluded that behavioral techniques would be effective in the education and treatment of self-contained emotionally handicapped students. It was further concluded that the locus of control construct could provide both teachers and administrators of programs for the emotionally handicapped with valuable information and insight into the dynamics of the disability. This knowledge combined with an understanding of behavior modification principles could prove to be a viable means of altering unacceptable behavioral patterns, improving academic performance levels and ultimately result in a more productive life style for their students.

Extent

129 p.

Comments

Thesis (Educat.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.|College of Education|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (Educat.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1979.

Identifier

FADT11726

Format

pdf

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