Mastery Motivation in Young Preschoolers: Effect of a Physical Handicap and Implications for Educational Programming

Abstract

According to much theory, children are born with the motivation to master their environment; however, the presence of a handicapping condition may interfere with the development of this motivation as the child grows. Sixty-nine preschool children were studied, including 25 with physical handicaps; these handicaps were primarily orthopedic, involving lower limb functioning. Two aspects of mastery motivation were assessed with structured tasks: persistence and curiosity. The children's free play was also observed to assess motivation in an unstructured setting. In addition, mothers' perceptions of their children's motivation levels were assessed. Results indicated that the presence of a handicapping condition affected the development of mastery motivation. Differences between children were most marked during play, when the children had to structure their own activities. During adult-structured tasks, handicapped children functioned more like their nonhandicapped peers but were less persistent. Mothers of handicapped children perceived their children as less motivated and more dependent on adults than did mothers of nonhandicapped children. The implications of these findings for edcucational programming are discussed.