Parents' implicit beliefs and the motivational response patterns of children with a history of reading failur

While it has been clearly demonstrated that one's own implicit beliefs about intelligence as either stable or malleable predict a helpless or mastery motivated response pattern following failure (Dweck, 1999), this study was the first to examine whether the influence of parental beliefs would extend across generational lines and be associated with the motivational response patterns of children who had a common history of reading failure. The possible moderating effect of parental beliefs about their ability to influence their children was explored (Wells-Parker, 1990), as well as the tendency for implicit beliefs to serve as an organizing framework for parental attributions, goals and behaviors related to their children's learning difficulties.;Sixty children with average cognitive abilities, ages 7--12, were classified as primarily Helpless or Mastery motivated based on student clinician ratings at the end of the assessment process in a training clinic for educational and psychological services. The study found the range of variability expected among the children in their motivational response patterns. An observational rating scale (Fincham, 1989) proved to be a reliable, cost-effective, non-intrusive measure for determining motivational response style separate from academic achievement. Telephone interviews were conducted with parents to assess implicit beliefs, goals and attributions, and parental behaviors related to persistence and follow-through with recommendations in the report were monitored. Parental beliefs and behaviors were not associated with the child's motivational response pattern as predicted. The lack of any relationship between parental beliefs and behaviors and children's motivational response style was not conclusively demonstrated because of the lack of variability among the parents regarding some of their implicit beliefs and their uniform persistence in supporting their child's assessment process. Additionally, child and parental variables were assessed at the end of the clinic experience and not before, making it difficult to parcel out the situational effects of participating in an educational clinical experience. Suggestions for further research and possible alternate explanations for children's motivational response styles are discussed. The need for effective intervention techniques that will ameliorate the persistent helpless response patterns found among a significant number of children in this study is also discussed.