Frank C. Worrell

Rethinking Giftedness and Gifted Education A Proposed Direction Forward Based on Psychological Science

For nearly a century, scholars have sought to understand, measure, and explain giftedness. Succeeding theories and empirical investigations have often built on earlier work, complementing or sometimes clashing over conceptions of talent or contesting the mechanisms of talent development. Some have even suggested that giftedness itself is a misnomer, mistaken for the results of endless practice or social advantage. In surveying the landscape of current knowledge about giftedness and gifted education, this monograph will advance a set of interrelated arguments: The abilities of individuals do matter, particularly their abilities in specific talent domains; different talent domains have different developmental trajectories that vary as to when they start, peak, and end; and opportunities provided by society are crucial at every point in the talent-development process. We argue that society must strive to promote these opportunities but that individuals with talent also have some responsibility for their own growth and development. Furthermore, the research knowledge base indicates that psychosocial variables are determining influences in the successful development of talent. Finally, outstanding achievement or eminence ought to be the chief goal of gifted education. We assert that aspiring to fulfill one’s talents and abilities in the form of transcendent creative contributions will lead to high levels of personal satisfaction and self-actualization as well as produce yet unimaginable scientific, aesthetic, and practical benefits to society. To frame our discussion, we propose a definition of giftedness that we intend to be comprehensive. Giftedness is the manifestation of performance that is clearly at the upper end of the distribution in a talent domain even relative to other high-functioning individuals in that domain. Further, giftedness can be viewed as developmental in that in the beginning stages, potential is the key variable; in later stages, achievement is the measure of giftedness; and in fully developed talents, eminence is the basis on which this label is granted. Psychosocial variables play an essential role in the manifestation of giftedness at every developmental stage. Both cognitive and psychosocial variables are malleable and need to be deliberately cultivated. Our goal here is to provide a definition that is useful across all domains of endeavor and acknowledges several perspectives about giftedness on which there is a fairly broad scientific consensus. Giftedness (a) reflects the values of society; (b) is typically manifested in actual outcomes, especially in adulthood; (c) is specific to domains of endeavor; (d) is the result of the coalescing of biological, pedagogical, psychological, and psychosocial factors; and (e) is relative not just to the ordinary (e.g., a child with exceptional art ability compared to peers) but to the extraordinary (e.g., an artist who revolutionizes a field of art). In this monograph, our goal is to review and summarize what we have learned about giftedness from the literature in psychological science and suggest some directions for the field of gifted education. We begin with a discussion of how giftedness is defined (see above). In the second section, we review the reasons why giftedness is often excluded from major conversations on educational policy, and then offer rebuttals to these arguments. In spite of concerns for the future of innovation in the United States, the education research and policy communities have been generally resistant to addressing academic giftedness in research, policy, and practice. The resistance is derived from the assumption that academically gifted children will be successful no matter what educational environment they are placed in, and because their families are believed to be more highly educated and hold above-average access to human capital wealth. These arguments run counter to psychological science indicating the need for all students to be challenged in their schoolwork and that effort and appropriate educational programing, training and support are required to develop a student’s talents and abilities. In fact, high-ability students in the United States are not faring well on international comparisons. The scores of advanced students in the United States with at least one college-educated parent were lower than the scores of students in 16 other developed countries regardless of parental education level. In the third section, we summarize areas of consensus and controversy in gifted education, using the extant psychological literature to evaluate these positions. Psychological science points to several variables associated with outstanding achievement. The most important of these include general and domain-specific ability, creativity, motivation and mindset, task commitment, passion, interest, opportunity, and chance. Consensus has not been achieved in the field however in four main areas: What are the most important factors that contribute to the acuities or propensities that can serve as signs of potential talent? What are potential barriers to acquiring the “gifted” label? What are the expected outcomes of gifted education? And how should gifted students be educated? In the fourth section, we provide an overview of the major models of giftedness from the giftedness literature. Four models have served as the foundation for programs used in schools in the United States and in other countries. Most of the research associated with these models focuses on the precollegiate and early university years. Other talent-development models described are designed to explain the evolution of talent over time, going beyond the school years into adult eminence (but these have been applied only by out-of-school programs as the basis for educating gifted students). In the fifth section we present methodological challenges to conducting research on gifted populations, including definitions of giftedness and talent that are not standardized, test ceilings that are too low to measure progress or growth, comparison groups that are hard to find for extraordinary individuals, and insufficient training in the use of statistical methods that can address some of these challenges. In the sixth section, we propose a comprehensive model of trajectories of gifted performance from novice to eminence using examples from several domains. This model takes into account when a domain can first be expressed meaningfully—whether in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. It also takes into account what we currently know about the acuities or propensities that can serve as signs of potential talent. Budding talents are usually recognized, developed, and supported by parents, teachers, and mentors. Those individuals may or may not offer guidance for the talented individual in the psychological strengths and social skills needed to move from one stage of development to the next. We developed the model with the following principles in mind: Abilities matter, domains of talent have varying developmental trajectories, opportunities need to be provided to young people and taken by them as well, psychosocial variables are determining factors in the successful development of talent, and eminence is the aspired outcome of gifted education. In the seventh section, we outline a research agenda for the field. This agenda, presented in the form of research questions, focuses on two central variables associated with the development of talent—opportunity and motivation—and is organized according to the degree to which access to talent development is high or low and whether an individual is highly motivated or not. Finally, in the eighth section, we summarize implications for the field in undertaking our proposed perspectives. These include a shift toward identification of talent within domains, the creation of identification processes based on the developmental trajectories of talent domains, the provision of opportunities along with monitoring for response and commitment on the part of participants, provision of coaching in psychosocial skills, and organization of programs around the tools needed to reach the highest possible levels of creative performance or productivity.

Validating the Cross Racial Identity Scale

Validation work on the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; B. J. Vandiver et al., 2000) is described in 2 studies using African American college students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis supported the presence of 6 CRIS subscales. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a 2-factor higher order model of the 6 CRIS subscales and the nigrescence model. Correlational analyses between the CRIS and the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (R. M. Sellers, M. A. Smith, J. N. Shelton, S. A. J. Rowley, & T. M. Chavous, 1998). supported the convergent validity of the CRIS. CRIS subscale scores were not meaningfully linked to social desirability or personality traits but were differentially linked to self-esteem.

The Relationship of Time Perspective to Age, Gender, and Academic Achievement among Academically Talented Adolescents

Time perspective is a useful psychological construct associated with educational outcomes (Phalet, Andriessen, & Lens, 2004) and may prove fruitful for research focusing on academically talented adolescents. Thus, the relationship of time perspective to age, gender, and academic achievement was examined among 722 academically talented middle and high school students. Time perspective was measured using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Regression analyses yielded several significant results: An increase in age was associated with present hedonism, females had fewer negative thoughts about the future than males, and academic achievement was negatively associated with present fatalistic attitudes and positively associated with future positive attitudes. Findings support the examination of time perspective as a multidimensional construct including past, present, and future orientations in academically talented populations. Implications of these results for educational and developmental theory and practice are discussed.

A Validity Study of Scores on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Based on a Sample of Academically Talented Adolescents.

This study examined the validity of scores on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) in a group of 275 academically talented adolescents attending a summer enrichment program. The two-factor solution reported by Phinney was essentially replicated with this sample using exploratory factor analysis. Factor I (Ethnic Identity) scores had a reliability coefficient of .89, and Factor II (Other Group Orientation) scores had a reliability coefficient of .76. Although the replication of Phinney’s results provides supportive evidence for the factor structure of the MEIM, the instrument would benefit from work on its psychometric soundness, particularly as ethnic identity is hypothesized to be related to many important variables in adolescence.

Ethnic Identity, Academic Achievement, and Global Self-Concept in Four Groups of Academically Talented Adolescents.

In this study, academically talented African American (n = 28), Asian American (n = 171), Hispanic (n = 28), and White (n = 92) middle and high school students are compared on ethnic identity (EI) and other group orientation (OGO) attitudes as measured by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. The contributions of these variables to self-esteem and academic achievement are also examined. Results indicate the ethnic minority groups had significantly higher EI scores than their White counterparts but do not differ on OGO. EI predicts self-esteem for the Hispanic students, and OGO predicts self-esteem for the African American students, but neither variable predicts self-esteem for the other two groups. EI and OGO are negative and positive predictors of school achievement, respectively, but only for African American students, and neither variable predicts achievement in a summer program for academically talented youth. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Introducing English and German Versions of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale

In this study, the authors report on the development of English and German versions of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS). The ATAS consists of six subscales assessing Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Positive, Present Negative, Future Positive, and Future Negative time attitudes. The authors describe the development of the scales and present data on the reliability and structural validity of ATAS scores in samples of American (N = 300) and German (N = 316) adolescents. Internal consistency estimates for scores on the English and German versions of the ATAS were in the .70 to .80 range. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a six-factor structure yielded the best fit for scores and that the scores were invariant across samples.

Generalizing Nigrescence Profiles Cluster Analyses of Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) Scores in Three Independent Samples

The two studies in this article examine the interpretability and generalizability of nigrescence profiles based on Cross Racial Identity Scale scores across different educational contexts. Study 1 participants (N = 333) came from a predominantly White institution (PWI) and were grouped into six clusters labeled Afrocentric, multiculturalist, assimilated, immersion, low race salience, and miseducated variant. The two samples in Study 2 consisted of students from PWIs (N = 314) and from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs;N = 306), respectively. Both PWI and HBCU participants were grouped into five clusters. Four of the six original clusters (assimilated, immersion, low race salience, and miseducated variant) replicated in both samples, and one (multiculturalists) replicated only in the PWI sample. The results indicate that there are generalizable racial identity profiles in the Black population. The authors discuss the implications of the findings.

The Relationship Between Racial and Ethnic Identity in Black Adolescents: The Cross Racial Identity Scale and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure

Ethnic identity and racial identity are related terms that are often used interchangeably, although the theoretical models differ. In this study, we examined the relationship between ethnic identity attitudes operationalized by Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) scores and racial identity attitudes operationalized by Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; Vandiver et al., 2000) scores in a sample of 143 adolescents. Bivariate analyses indicated that scores on the MEIMs Ethnic Identity subscale had modest positive correlations with Afrocentricity scores of the CRIS and negative correlations with Assimilation and Self-Hatred scores. Other Group Orientation scores from the MEIM were positively related to Multicultural scores on the CRIS and negatively related to Anti-White scores. A canonical correlation yielded 2 interpretable functions labeled Black Racial/Ethnic Identification and Grounded Multiculturalism. Black Racial/Ethnic Identification was characterized by high proethnic and pro-racial scores and low scores on non-ethnic/racial subscales, and Grounded Multiculturalism was characterized by high pro-ethnic scores as well as high pro-other scores.

Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Scores in a Sample of Adolescents From Zimbabwe

This study examined the structural validity of scores on the 20-item Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) in a group of 196 students attending secondary school in Zimbabwe. MEIM scores yielded 2 factors (Ethnic Identity, or EI, and Other Group Orientation, or OGO) as in previous studies, with the EI factor being more viable. Factor analysis of the 14 EI items resulted in a single factor, in contrast to findings of previous studies. The authors suggested that the OGO factor may be less viable in majority groups, that the EI items may best be explained by a single factor, and that the MEIM would benefit from more scale development work.

Assessment Practices and the Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted and Talented Education

Several scholars have asserted that the underrepresentation of minority students in gifted and talented education (GATE) programs is the result of biased assessment practices. However, an examination of the psychometric properties of scores on cognitive ability, achievement tests, and rating scales do not support these claims. We contend that the underrepresentation of some racial/ethnic groups in GATE program is another manifestation of the longstanding and intractable achievement gap in the United States. Although we agree that the goal of having more equitable representation of the school population in GATE programs is laudable, we argue that the solution is one that needs to come from policy changes rather than changes in assessment instruments. We provide recommendations for identifying gifted students who may be at a disadvantage because of their group membership and illustrate this process using recent data from a summer program for academically talented students.