Other Aspects of Sutherland and Singh's Take on Learned Helplessness and Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders.

Sutherland and Singh (2004) raise several important areas related to students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) and classroom learning. Specifically, they focus on the relationship between these students' inappropriate behaviors and academic failure. In acknowledging the complexity of this relationship, they offer a behavioral explanatory model adding the complementary variable learned helplessness (LH) to the problem behavior/academic failure cycle.In this discussion, we offer some thoughts on selected issues they raise, addressing (a) the nature of disciplined inquiry, (b) a contextual framework for research, (c) the need for clearer terminology, (d) the necessity of a broader context of motivation and how it relates to learning, (e) the need for a multivariate approach broader than the LH/problem behavior/failure cycle, and (f) a rough working model that might result in better outcomes.Disciplined InquiryResearch is separated from other ways of knowing by the application of methods that will answer the research question reliably and validly. Research methods must, however, be applied in a systematically rigorous and verifiable way through disciplined inquiry, because this is our best chance of establishing the most effective practices for most children with E/BD mosl of the time. Perhaps Cronbach and Suppes (1969) said it best: "Disciplined inquiry has a quality that distinguishes it from other sources of opinion and belief. The disciplined inquiry is conducted and reported in such a way that the argument can be painstakingly examined" (p. 15). The painstaking examination of arguments in E/BD research has not always been used, much to the detriment of the field (e.g., facilitated communication, see Mostert, 2001; social skills instruction, see Kavale, Mathur, & Mostert, in press), and must be applied here to what seems to be promising work.Based on Sutherland and Singh's comments, it is clear that we are some distance away from research results that might reveal definitive answers to the vexing questions they pose. We think they have made a sincere effort in the right direction, but perhaps need to go further in the interests of clarity and purpose. As they plan further endeavors, they must lay out four critical areas (Shulman, 1988) that could be reformulated as underlying research objectives:1. Distinguish research from opinion, belief, and rhetoric.2. Gather and analyze data that will withstand scrutiny.3. Explain how the nature of the research fits within the field of special education and which disciplines will inform the research.4. Establish generalizability for optimal intervention use in educating children with E/BD.These four objectives are best achieved by the understanding that new research should begin with and uniquely build on previous theories or ideas. This means, first and foremost, articulating the amalgam of disciplines that contribute to the new research view.Incorporating Related Disciplines: The Context of Motivation and LearningAny study of motivation and learning must take into account the broader context from which such study emanates. Understandably, Sutherland and Singh take a narrow a view of learned helplessness as it relates to students with E/BD. However, the research picture they provide is incomplete. They attempt to recast learned helplessness through the principles of applied behavior analysis but almost overlook its attachment to much larger motivational principles.Essentially, learned helplessness must be viewed as a subset of motivational theory with a distinct research history within educational psychology. Thus, "motivation is the study of why people think and behave as they do" (Graham & Weiner, 1996, p. 63). This definition includes why students with E/BD think and behave as they do with regard to learning in the classroom. Describing observable behavior accurately is possible without too much research effort. …