COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND SELF-PERCEIVED COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE OF AT-RISK STUDENTS

One in five eighth-graders is at serious risk of failing in school or dropping out before graduating from high school. While other characteristics have been identified, few descriptions of the attitudes of academically at-risk students toward communication have been provided. This study examined the attitudes toward communication of 2,793 academically at-risk students at fourteen urban, large, predominantly minority middle or junior high schools from throughout the U.S. Primary attention was devoted to students' fear of communication and self-perception as competent communicators. Compared to national norms, academically at-risk students were found to be more apprehensive of communication and lower in self-perceived communication competence. Several pedagogical strategies for responding to academically at-risk students in the classroom are suggested.