Locus of Control & Children’s Performance in Schools Jennifer Elias, Don Ghrist, Negar Zivari California State University, Northridge

Previous Research Adalbjarnardottir (1995) states older children exhibit more internal locus of control than younger children. Anderson, et al. (1976) state that intrinsic motivation will decrease with the addition of external awards which alone are supposed to be reason enough for a child’s performance.

Previous Research Grolnick (1987) Looked at the impact of environmental conditions and children’s motivational orientations on learning outcomes. Day (1999) examined the predictive ability of locus of control and academic success among college students.

Purpose To further investigate changes in locus of control in elementary school children. Study looked at locus of control and Stanford-9 scores, grades, and grade level.

Method 36 students ranging in grades from 3 to 6 from a suburban elementary school in Ventura County, CA. Male to female ratio was approximately equal. Grades tested separately. Majority Caucasian of primarily low-middle to upper-middle class.

Measures Norwicki and Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. Paper pencil test of nineteen questions with a yes/no response mode. Reviewed student Cum files for most current Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Science grades. Reviewed student Stanford-9 Total Reading, Total Math, and Total Language scores.

Results Wilkes’ Lambda multi-linear regression model. Overall p=.047 that internally motivated students score higher across the board. Mathematics grades p=.004. Language Arts grades p=.008. Social Studies was not significant p=.217.

Stanford-9 scores Stanford-9 Total Reading was not significant p=.113 Approached Stanford-9 Total Language p=.052 Stanford-9 Total Mathematics p=.005

Correlation Matrix Relationship between dependent variables (Grades and Stanford-9 scores) Positive for all factors at 0.01 level (2- tailed) except Social Studies grades which did not correlate with Stanford-9 Total Math or Total Reading.

Discussion Schools do not change locus of control as children progress through elementary grades. Internal locus of control played a major factor in regards to achievement in Math and Language Arts grades. Internal locus of control played a major factor in regards to Stanford-9 Total Math and approached Total Language.

Suggestions for Future Research Investigate children’s perceived social status in regards to locus of control. Teacher’s gender in relation to the gender of the child, and the child’s performance in the classroom and on standardized tests. Looking at children of different ethnicities, and recent immigrants.