I learned a fascinating new phrase today: External locus of control. Heres an explanation of this term that Ive been searching for my entire teaching career... Locus of control: this can be divided into two separate sources of control: internal and external. People with an internal locus of control believe that they control their own destiny. They also believe that their own experiences are controlled by their own skill/efforts. (eg: The more I study, the better grades I get. Gershaw, 1989) On the other hand, people who tend to have an external locus of control attribute their experiences to fate, chance, or luck. (eg: if a student attributes either their successes or failures to having a bad day, unfair grading procedures on their teachers part, or even Gods will. It doesnt matter how hard I study. The teacher doesnt like me, so I know I wont get a good grade) These students generally dont learn from previous experience. Since they attribute both their successes and failures to luck or chance, they tend to lack persistence and not have very high levels of expectation. Fascinating...
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 13:56:58 +0000
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