The current research goes through three stages, which namely, validations study, pilot intervention programme study and finally, main intervention programme study. This paper devised two original scales, namely the Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASC) and Self-Regulation Scale (SRS). These two scales and three other existing scales- Myself-As-A-Learner Scale ( MALS) (Burden, 1998), Self-efficacy for Self-regulated Learning Scale (SSLS) (Usher and Pajares, 2008) and Locus of Control Scale (LCS) ( Nowicki and Strickland, 1973) were subjected to a validation analysis through utilising Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Each of these scales was discovered to have acceptable reliability, construct validity, content validity and criterion validity. Following this test, the researcher adopted these five scales in order to investigate the differences between 802 students (aged 10-12 years) with and without learning difficulties in Saudi. The statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences, with a moderate impact across all of the scales on students with and without learning difficulties, apart from a small impact on the (LCS).
The researcher subsequently designed an intervention programme, based on a theoretical framework that emphasised social cognitive theory. The effectiveness of the intervention programme was investigated in terms of improving students with learning difficulties’ (SRS), (SSLS) and (ASC). In order to investigate effectiveness in relation to each of these areas, the researcher utilised all of the five scales mentioned previously, apart from the (LCS), with 40 students divided equally between experimental and control groups. The statistical analysis indicated that the proposed intervention programme significantly enhanced students’ scores on the (MALS) and (SRS), in favour of the experimental group. However, the discrepancies between the experimental and control groups were not statistically significant for the (ASC) and (SSLS). However, students in the experimental group acquired higher scores than those in the control group for these two scales.
