Examining special education labels through attribution theory: A potential source for learned helplessness

Special education, as mandated by federal law, is specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of a handicapped child. However, the federal mandates create categories of disabilities which lack neurological basis, are linked to biases, lack instructional relevance, and may contribute to learned helplessness. This article develops a theoretical basis for the latter observation. It suggests that special education labels could be perceived as stable, internal, and uncontrollable attributions of failure, which are linked to learned helplessness. Suggestions for future research are proposed.