Nicholas Colangelo

Perceived Parental Social Support and Academic Achievement: An Attachment Theory Perspective

The study tested the extent to which parental social support predicted college grade point average among undergraduate students. A sample of 418 undergraduates completed the Social Provisions Scale--Parent Form (C.E. Cutrona, 1989) and measures of family conflict and achievement orientation. American College Testing Assessment Program college entrance exam scores (ACT; American College Testing Program, 1986) and grade point average were obtained from the university registrar. Parental social support, especially reassurance of worth, predicted college grade point average when controlling for academic aptitude (ACT scores), family achievement orientation, and family conflict. Support from parents, but not from friends or romantic partners, significantly predicted grade point average. Results are interpreted in the context of adult attachment theory.

Developmental Potential of the Gifted

Many authors have addressed the question of the nature of giftedness and talent only to discover that many factors, components, traits, facets, and potentialities are not captured by the tests in use (Bloom, 1963; Gallagher, 1975; Hoyt, 1966; Nicholls, 1972; Passow, 1981; Wing & Wallach, 1971). That a gifted child is not reliably the parent to a gifted adult-not all gifted children fulfill their promise and adult late bloomers are not counted earlier among the giftedhas been established over and over again; it has been said that the psychometric approach has failed in its predictive promise (Feldman, 1977; Gruber, 1982; Renzulli, 1978). But the problem of what makes for mature giftedness and talent remains; what are all those contributing skills, endowments,

Underachieving Gifted Students: Review and Implications

In the thrust to meet the educational needs of gifted students, educators, researchers, and parents have been perhaps most concerned with those youngsters labeled &dquo;underachieving gifted students&dquo; (UAG). Given this concern, the purpose of this article is to review and analyze research and educational programs in the area of underachieving gifted over the past twenty years. The goal is to provide clarity on the concept of underachieving gifted as well as to offer educators insight into those interventions which have demonstrated effectiveness with this group of youngsters. Over the past twenty years a considerable number of articles, book chapters and books have been written about UAG. This quantity of publications might suggest profound and sophisticated information on the topic; however, the proliferation of material actually obfuscates the concept of underachieving giftedness because of inconsistent definitions. A minimum of replication studies were found, thus it was difficult to find consistent patterns between studies. Much of what we were able to find was either in &dquo;think piece&dquo; form based on hypotheses about UAG, or &dquo;one shot&dquo; research studies with no follow-up

Academic and Social Self-Concepts of Gifted, General, and Special Students.

no appreciable differences regionally. 4. There are no appreciable differences in the admission policies and practices of residential schools for the deaf by type of governance. 5. Local school districts playa major role in the admission process. Unless the referral is from the local school district, 53% of the schools do not accept students for admission. 6. The data reported in this study revealed that parents are included, as required by P.L. 94-142, in placement, individualized education plan development, and related decisions for students admitted. 7. State-operated residential schools for the deaf retain a high degree of autonomy in decisions to admit or deny admission to a prospective student. The authority to deny admission is established in policy in 70% of the residential schools included in this study.

A Review of Research on Parents and Families of Gifted Children

This article focuses on research and issues dealing with parents and families of gifted children. Although the importance of parents is seen as a key factor in the development of all children, discussion of the role of parents with their gifted children has been superficially treated. Many articles deal only with general rules of thumb about good parenting. In order to avoid this, the present article begins with an extensive review and synthesis of research in the area of parents and families of gifted youngsters. This information is important in order to make meaningful generalizations. The discussion section includes a synthesis of the most important themes that emerged from the literature review.

A Comparison of Gifted Underachievers and Gifted High Achievers.

The purpose of this study was to compare a national sample of gifted underachievers and gifted high achievers on a number of characteristics. Giftedness was measured as a composite score at or above the 95th percentile on the American College Testing Program (ACT). Underachievement was defined as reporting a high school grade-point average of ≤2.25 (on a 4.00 scale), and high achievement was defined as reporting a grade-point average of ≥3.75 (on a 4.00 scale). Participants for this study were 30,604 high school juniors and seniors: gifted underachievers n=257; gifted high achievers n=30,347. The underachievers generally had lower scores on the ACT and less extensive out-of-class accomplishments. Over 90% of the underachievers were Caucasian males. Comparisons are provided on a number of nonacademic variables between underachievers and high achievers.

Twice-Exceptional Learners: Who Needs to Know What?

Twice-exceptionality is gaining increasing recognition in the gifted education literature but little is understood about the knowledge and awareness of this concept within the educational and psychological community, or about professionals’ experience working with this population of learners. Three-hundred and seventeen individuals completed an online Twice-Exceptional Needs Assessment, which consisted of 14 questions assessing issues pertaining to twice-exceptionality knowledge and experience, as well as knowledge of policies relevant to both gifted and special education. Results indicated that educators were more familiar with standards within their specific area of expertise (e.g., gifted or special education) and that fewer professionals were familiar with the use of Response to Intervention with twice-exceptional children. Gifted education professionals had significantly more knowledge and experience with twice-exceptionality than did professionals in other domains. We conclude with implications for educators and recommendations for expanding professional understanding of twice-exceptionality outside the field of gifted education to meet twice-exceptional students’ multifaceted needs.

Effects of Academic Ability and Gender on Career Development

This investigation explored the effects of academic ability and gender on career maturity. Groups of gifted, regular curriculum, and special learning needs students were compared. Level of academic ability appeared to exert a strong positive effect on career maturity. Although gender differences were anticipated, the scores for male and female groups were almost equal. The results are discussed within the context of clarifying the career development needs of gifted students.

A Study of Student, Parent, and Teacher Attitudes Toward Gifted Programs and Gifted Students

concern expressed by parents and educators that a child who is identified as gifted and placed in a special program may be &dquo;rejected&dquo; by peers. Tannenbaum (1962) found that peer attitudes toward bright students who were studious and nonathletic were negative. Coleman (1961) found that, in general, the peer culture in high schools was not supportive of outstanding academic attainment. More recently, Fisher (1981), in her study on the effects of being labeled gifted, reported &dquo;Parents were articulate in stating that they did not want the label to arouse envy on the part of the child’s peers or their own contemporaries&dquo; (p. 50). Ford (1978) found that middle school gifted students wanted to participate in gifted programs as long as it did not lead to conflict with their peers or regular classroom teachers. Ford also found that peers (nongifted), parents, and teachers were &dquo;indifferent&dquo; in their reactions to gifted students.

Guidelines for Developing an Academic Acceleration Policy National Work Group on Acceleration

As an educational intervention, academic acceleration is decidedly effective for high-ability students. The research support for acceleration that has accumulated over many decades is robust and consistent and allows us to confidently state that carefully planned acceleration decisions are successful. Both grade-based and content-based acceleration are effective interventions in academic and social-emotional domains for high-ability students. Grade-accelerated students generally outperform their chronologically older classmates academically, and both groups show approximately equal levels of social and emotional adjustment. Accelerated students should be expected to achieve, relative to their new grade peers, at a high level that is generally comparable to their performance in the previous grade. Such students are typically among the top 10% in a class, and they should be expected to remain in the top 10% throughout their academic careers. To be clear, there is no evidence that acceleration has a negative effect on a students social-emotional development. Each school district should have a written acceleration policy stating that acceleration is an appropriate and effective intervention for select highly able students who have demonstrated high performance in one or more academic areas. The policy should be characterized by accessibility, equity, and openness. It should provide guidelines for the implementation of acceleration, including administrative matters, to ensure fair and systematic use of accelerative opportunities and recognition for participation in those accelerative opportunities. Finally, the policy should provide guidelines for preventing nonacademic barriers to the use of acceleration as an educational intervention and include features that prevent unintended consequences of acceleration.