Coping Strategies of High School Students with Learning Disabilities: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study and Grounded Theory
Source: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Volume 23, Issue 3 (June 2010) , pages 283 - 303.
The purpose of the study was to identify the core coping strategies of students with learning disabilities.
The authors interviewed 20 Israeli high school students with learning disabilities over a three-year period.
Four emotional-cognitive strategies were identified: 'Avoidance,' 'Rebellion,' 'Reconciliation,' and 'Determination.' These strategies appeared in hierarchical order, leading to students' integration of, acceptance of, and coming to terms with their difficulties.
Interventions of early and accurate diagnosis of difficulties, accompanied by remedial teaching and social support, were important in the students' developing effective coping styles.
Results, in the form of a hierarchical continuum, provide a map within which school counselors and teachers may place their students' current functioning, and help students progress toward coping strategies effective for attaining emotional and academic success.