"LEARNING TO LEARN" AND THE FAMILY SYSTEM: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON UNDERACHIEVEMENT AND LEARNING DISORDERS

A new frontier for family therapy is emerging from recent studies of under-achievement in school, learning disabilities and parental communication. Although poor school performance is frequently the presenting problem (or an associated symptom) in family therapy, this topic still lacks a coherent conceptual framework. An ecological model is proposed for understanding child and adolescent achievement problems. Four dimensions of a family's learning environment are suggested as foci: (a) family communication deviances; (b) family structure; (c) family attributions; and (d) family achievement values. The metaphor of the family as "primary classroom" is offered as a way to think about learning styles across home and school contexts, and some treatment guidelines are suggested.