Victor R. D'Ilio

Student Leaders' and Their Parents' Perceptions of the Home Environment

The Family Environment Scale was used to measure the perceptions of students who were attending a leadership training program and those of their parents. Significant differences were found on the Inpependence, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation, and Expressive-ness scales, with the student leaders scoring significantly lower than their parents. Suggestions were offered for developing leadership potential in the home based on the perceived differences. Directions for further research were explored.

Leadership Positions and Sex Role Stereotyping among Gifted Children.

Forty-nine boys and 48 girls in grades four through six who were attending a program for intellectually gifted students were the subjects in this study. They were presented with a list of 34 leadership positions and asked whether men, women, or either sex could hold that position. Analysis of the findings indicates that boys tend to have more traditional sex role stereotypes than do girls. Implications for parents and teachers are discussed.

Locus of control in rural southern elementary gifted students

The locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale was investigated for 68 rural, southern elementary gifted students, ages 8 to 14 years. The scores became more internal with older ages, and the girls (n = 34) tended to have more internal locus of control across grades.

Correlations between personality and leadership concepts and skills as measured by the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory.

The correlations among the subscales on the High School Personality Questionnaire and the Leadership Skills Inventory, estimated for 95 student leaders, were numerous, significant, and positive but of small magnitude. Several significant differences were found between boys and girls.

PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENT LEADERS

95 students were nominated by their schools to attend the Leadership Studies Program, a summer residential program for students in Grades 6 through 11. Students were administered the High School Personality Questionnaire to assess their personality characteristics and differences between boys and girls on any of the factors on the instrument. Girls were significantly higher than boys on Emotional Stability (Factor C), Dominance (Factor E), and on the secondary factor of Independence.

Social Performance of Gifted Students as Measured by the Social Performance Survey Schedule

Few studies have investigated the relative contributions of both positive and negative behaviors in the social performance of intellectually gifted students. In the present study, the Social Performance Survey Schedule was administered to 80 gifted subjects in a special program. To determine whether the observed differences between boys and girls were significant, analysis of variance with repeated measures was performed on the Schedule Total, Part A, and Part B means. Consistent with previous research on the schedule, girls engaged in a greater number of positive social behaviors, engaged in fewer negative behaviors, and generally had higher over-all performance than boys. Suggestions were made concerning the implications of the findings for those who may have contact with gifted children in clinical or educational settings.

SELF-CONTROL IN A SAMPLE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGE GIFTED YOUTH

Self-control was studied for 34 boys and 34 girls who ranged in age from 8 to 14 years and resided in a rural southern area. Boys tended to rate themselves higher than did the girls.