Learned helplessness in Barbadian adolescents

The transition from primary to secondary school appears to have a disturbing effect on some adolescents. The psychological reasons, why some students give up and refuse to learn is the focus of this book which attempts to discover if learned helplessness exists among Barbadian adolescents, and to examine the relationship between a number of psychosocial variables. The instruments employed in this study identified adolescents who exhibited learned helplessness deficit behaviours in the classroom and have a pessimistic explanatory style. They also found deficits in the behavioural, cognitive and emotional domains of learned helplessness. The implications of these results focus on interventions which are consistent with the challenges that adolescents with learned helplessness or school achievement problems experience. This book provides information to educators who work with adolescents about factors that contribute to student achievement and failure in Barbados' somewhat elitist secondary education system.