Books in brief

This investigation examines the use of the MPAA television advisory ratings in the decision‐making of parents of intellectually gifted children and explores the manner by which ratings information is incorporated into rules and regulations about television in the home. It comes on the heels of published reports suggesting the general inadequacy and counter productivity of the age‐based ratings. In comparison to parents of non‐gifted children, parents of gifted children were more likely to utilize TV ratings information in the mediation of their children's televiewing. They tended to employ a highly inductive (communication‐oriented) style of child rearing and a highly evaluative (discussion‐based) method of TV mediation, tended to believe that television can have significant positive and/or negative effects on children, and were more concerned with cognitive‐ and affective‐level effects. The possible ramifications of these findings with regard to the new content‐driven ratings campaign and forthcoming V‐chip technology are discussed.     

The Possession and Use of Toys in Elementary‐School Boys and Girls: does giftedness make a difference?

This study investigates whether gifted children differ from non‐gifted regarding the possession and use of toys and whether gifted are less affected by traditional gender roles in these two variables. The parents of 286 fourth‐grade elementary school students (151 intellectually gifteds [IQ >= 130] and 135 children of average intelligence) responded to a list of 30 toy groups. It was assessed (a) which toys are present in the household and (b) how often they are used by the child. The analysis revealed that only the use of toys typical for boys displayed a mildly significant effect for giftedness. Dramatic gender effects were found: with the exception of the use of athletic equipment and group games, both groups exhibited gender‐specific toy possession and toy use to an equal degree.     

‘Troublesome boys’ and ‘compliant girls’: gender identity and perceptions of achievement and underachievement

Working within a methodological framework that identified four focus groups, high‐achieving boys and girls and underachieving boys and girls, this article presents teachers' perceptions of how gender identity is seen to influence achievement levels. Beliefs about gender identity informed the teachers' perceptions in relation to each of the four focus groups, whereby the underachieving boy and the high‐achieving girl were seen to conform to gender expectations; the high‐achieving boys were seen to challenge gender norms; and the underachieving girl emerges as largely overlooked. The perceived characteristics of the high‐achieving girl are presented as describing all girls. There appears to be a tendency to associate boys with underachievement and girls with high achievement.     

A Developmental,Person-Centered Approach to Exploring Multiple Motivational Pathways in Gifted Underachievement

Research on underachieving gifted students has uncovered a large number of characteristics differentiating gifted underachieving and achieving students. However, less is known about the way in which underachievement develops across schooling. Using a person-centered theoretical framework and key constructs from current motivational theories, we propose that there are multiple developmental trajectories in underachievement that arise from early school experiences. Two primary pathways are proposed: (a) a Maladaptive Competence Beliefs Pathway whereby underachievement results from the development of particular beliefs about giftedness and maladaptive coping behaviors, and (b) a Declining Value Beliefs Pathway in which underachievement develops from declining value beliefs and increasing perceptions of costs associated with academics. Avenues for future empirical research with these pathways are discussed.     

A five year follow‐up study of the Nebraska project: Still a long way to go...

Numerous projects funded by the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act in 1989 contributed to answering important questions in the field of gifted education. However, little evaluation has examined how their findings are used or linked to current educational practices. This pilot‐study followed up on 18 students, identified as potentially gifted during the 1992 Javits‐sponsored Nebraska Project which used a teacher observation protocol. This follow‐up study examined the students' current status in gifted education programs, academic performance, and social/behavioral attributes, and the stability of the attributes associated with able/creative students over the past five‐year period. Results indicate a continued use of traditional identification practices in the school districts studied, and a presence of underachieving behaviors in students believed to be gifted during the Nebraska Project but not recognized as such currently by their school districts. The attributes associated with able/creative students in 1992, however, were found to be stable over the five year period. Results are discussed in light of the paradigm shift in gifted education practices and possible suggestions for reducing perpetual research‐practice gaps.     

Recent doctoral dissertation research on gifted

The objective of this study was to determine whether electrophysiologic techniques can be used to identify central auditory processing difficulties in low‐achieving gifted adolescents. The electrophysiologic measures utilized included the middle latency response and the P300 response. These measures were obtained from four groups: achieving‐gifted, low‐achieving gifted, learning disabled, and non‐gifted non‐disabled. It was found that P300 wave morphology was significantly poorer for the low‐achieving gifted group compared to the achieving gifted and the non‐gifted non‐disabled groups. There was no significant difference between the low‐achieving gifted group and the learning disabled group.     

About Creativity,Giftedness, and Teaching the Creatively Gifted in the Classroom

In this case study the author explored a teacher's beliefs about creativity and gifted‐ness and investigated the classroom practices of this teacher of gifted students for 20 years. Seven semi‐structured and 2 open observations were carried out in her classroom, and 2 prefigured interviews were conducted with her. She believed that creative children are those who are “free thinkers” and have “imaginative intelligence.” The thin line between an academically gifted child and a creatively gifted child is built by “imagination,” “emotional intensity,” and “curiosity.” In creative writing, she tried to implement activities such as learning to write poetry, personal narratives, research reports and essays posing solutions to real world problems, and mystery stories decorated with similes, metaphors and imaginative expressions. In reading, students analyzed characters, problems, places and times in stories and novels, and then rewrote stories.     

Pretend play and maternal scaffolding: Comparisons of toddlers with advanced development,typical development,and hearing impairment

This study used measures of pretend play and maternal scaffolding to explore and compare the early development of deaf children, typically developing children, and children showing advanced intellectual development. Marked differences were found among the groups in both play development and characteristics of mother‐child interactions. In particular, children who scored above 130 IQ at four years of age were found, as toddlers, to have demonstrated significantly advanced pretend play. In addition, the mothers of the high IQ children engaged in scaffolding behaviors involving higher stages of pretend transformations, verbal analogies and world links. The findings are discussed in relation to children's learning in Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, as well as possible implications for future research on early gifted development.     

Development of a student perception inventory

Students learn new or difficult information most effectively when the classroom environment is compatible with their learning style preferences. Determining learning style preferences can be accomplished by administering the Learning Style Inventory (LSI). However, to understand compatibility with the classroom, an instrument that quantifies student perceptions of elements within the environment is essential. This paper describes development and field‐testing of such an instrument‐the Student Perception Inventory (SPI). The SPI was administered to 80 gifted middle school students and was found to provide useful student perception data. Information needed to improve learning environments for gifted learners, especially underachieving gifted students, was found when using the LSI in conjunction with the SPI.     

Psychosocial Aspects of the Development of Gifted Underachievers: Review and Implications

Gifted underachievers are children who display a discrepancy between expected high achievement and actual performance. Focussing on gifted children with a long‐standing pattern of underachievement not explicable in terms of learning disability, this paper adopts a developmental perspective to the problem of gifted underachievement. Literature is reviewed on the affective development of gifted underachievers and the environmental factors which may foster or diminish success in school. It is argued that cognitive and affective variables do not operate independently and should not be considered in isolation from the environmental context of development. Further, gifted underachievers are not a homogeneous group, and some influences on achievement are situation‐specific and highly variable. Finally, implications for intervention are discussed in light of the need to view children's development not as a dichotomy of cognitive and affective change but holistically, as a complex interaction of child and environment.     

Adjustment problems,self‐efficacy,and psychological distress among Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong

The relationships among adjustment problems, self‐efficacy, and psychological distress were investigated in a sample of 207 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. A mediation‐effect model specifying that adjustment problems had an effect on psychological distress mediated by self‐efficacy was hypothesized and tested using structural equation modeling procedures. For comparison, a direct‐effect model and a direct‐and‐mediation‐effect model were also fitted to the data. The results indicated that the direct‐and‐mediation‐effect model provided the best and a reasonably adequate fit, suggesting that the effects of adjustment problems on psychological distress could be direct, but more importantly the effects could also be mediated by self‐efficacy. Implications of the findings for enhancing the self‐efficacy of students to promote their psychological well‐being are discussed.     

The self‐regulated learning aspect of metacognition: A component of gifted education

As interest increases in the connection between metacognition and gifted, a shift in the definition of giftedness from person to performance variables allows an even closer link to skills of self‐regulatory metacognition such as defining, focusing, persisting, guiding, coping, correcting, reinforcing, and solving. Researchers recommend explicit instructional models that teach specific strategies for disciplined, reflective problem solving while stressing accuracy and persistent concentration. This article provides such a detailed account of a classroom‐tested early childhood pedagogy for gifted learners, especially the underachieving gifted. Teacher and peer modeling of think‐aloud, behavioral demonstration, and cueing of five steps to efficient task accomplishment are outlined with examples. Benefits of productive self‐regulated learning strategies during task periormances are reported from teachers, parents, and students.     

Middle childhood,poverty, and adjustment: Does social support have an impact?

The present study evaluated 64 children and their primary caregivers who were living in poverty. The children were administered a stress measure, a social support measure, and a measure of self‐esteem. Caregivers completed a stress measure, a measure of child adjustment, and a demographic questionnaire. Social support was not found to moderate the relationship between stress and child outcome. However, social support was found to be one possible mediator of the child's reported stress on their self‐esteem. According to the mediating model, enhancing children's social support may positively influence their self‐esteem. Greater levels of self‐esteem can affect many aspects of children's lives, such as improving school performance and efforts toward achieving goals. Because of the important role that social support can play on children's self‐esteem, social support should be actively promoted through school and community groups and organizations, especially with children from disadvantaged economic situations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Early literacy and parental writing mediation in young children with and without ADHD

The study compared early literacy of Israeli children aged five to six years with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), contrasted parental writing mediation in the two groups and tested the relations between parents’ mediation characteristics and children’s early literacy skills. Each of 62 parent‐child dyads (32 with ADHD) was videotaped at home while writing words. Videotapes were transcribed and analysed for mediation (specific writing task measures, emotional measures typical of problem‐solving tasks, and general measures of interactions). Children’s early literacy (word writing, letter knowledge and phonological awareness) was assessed at home. Results showed that children with ADHD already exhibited lower literacy achievements at ages five to six compared to their peers without ADHD. Parents of children with ADHD scored lower than parents of children without ADHD on the writing‐specific, emotional and general mediation measures. In both groups, the specific writing mediation measures correlated significantly with children’s early literacy. More emotional mediation measures correlated significantly with children’s early literacy in the ADHD than in the non‐ADHD group. Discussion focused on parent‐child writing interactions as a context of early literacy development among young children with ADHD.     

A Complex quest: The development and research of underachievement interventions for gifted students

The seeming lack of motivation of many academically gifted students is an area of frustration and concern for many parents, teachers, and psychologists. This article explores two studies in which researchers designed interventions to improve academic achievement. Both interventions were created using the Achievement‐Orientation Model. The first study matched the intervention to the student and found that the students' grades increased over the intervention period, t(45) = 2.56, p = .014, d = .38. Students using treatments linked to goal valuation and environmental perceptions showed the greatest academic grade growth; the self‐efficacy and self‐regulation groups showed little or no grade improvement. Building on the finding that goal valuation was important, the second study used a mixed‐methods design to pilot an intervention focused on goal valuation and student autonomy. The results of this study were mixed, as the intervention appeared to help two of the three students. Although these studies offer further insight into possibilities for promoting academic achievement among gifted students, further research examining how to best support and foster academic achievement in underachieving gifted students is needed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN CULTURALLY DIFFERENT GIFTED CHILDREN

The paper examines issues related to underachievement in culturally different children. For a specific cultural group, the Canadian Inuit (Eskimo) people, the inappropriateness and inadequacy of the frequently used intelligence‐achievement discrepancy for identifying underachievement are demonstrated Approaches for assessing underachievement and giftedness in culturally different children, without reliance on standardized and inappropriately normed tests, are considered As well, a number of cognitive strategies programs are noted as having potential for remediation of learning difficulties in culturally different, underachieving, gifted children. The ultimate goal is identification of culturally different children, reduction or elimination of underachievement, and development of their full potential.

     

Parental mediation of children’s videogame playing: a comparison of the reports by parents and children

Through an Internet survey of 536 parent–child dyads, the authors researched which mediation strategies parents used to regulate videogaming by their children (8–18 years). Factor analyses revealed that both parents and children distinguished three types of parental mediation: (1) ‘restrictive mediation’, (2) ‘active mediation’, and (3) ‘co‐playing’. These strategies are comparable with mediation types that were established in research about television. Comparing the parents’ and children’s reports it was found that both groups had highly congruent views about the application of mediation. Parental mediation of videogaming was most strongly predicted by the child’s age and the parents’s game behavior. Furthermore, parents applied more restrictive and active mediation when they feared negative behavioral effects and more often co‐played with their children when they expected positive social‐emotional effects of gaming.     

A plan for child find in gifted education

Educators of children with special needs are required by law to employ “child find” to identify children with disabilities in their communities. Similar efforts to locate gifted children are required in a few states, but the practice is not mandated at the federal level. A rationale for child find is provided, as well as the guidelines of child find regarding locating gifted children among the states requiring this practice. Examples of current child find resources are provided, as well as implications for future research. Agencies that may participate in locating potentially gifted children are provided, along with suggested strategies for initiating a child find plan.     

The Knowledge,Volition and Action Programme in Singapore: the effects of an experimental intervention programme on high ability achievement

This study hypothesises that non‐achieving behaviour of gifted adolescents in Singapore may be attributed to a lack of knowledge, volition and action on the part of the gifted. As such, an educational intervention programme, Knowledge/Volition/Action, was devised to teach pupils knowledge of the self, volition, consultation, time management and stress management. All subjects were gifted pupils in a secondary one cohort in three premier schools hosting the Gifted Education Programme (GEP). Experimental subjects (n = 57) and control subjects (n = 57) were matched by age, gender, school, class, race, socio‐economic status, academic and non‐academic achievement before being randomly selected and randomly assigned to groups. The effects of the intervention on academic and non‐academic achievement were reported using paired t‐tests. Interestingly, the intervention programme was found to be effective in augmenting the non‐academic rather than the academic achievement of the experimental group.     

Labels of giftedness and gender-typicality: Effects on adults' judgments of children's traits

The study examines the impressions adults form of children as a function of labels of giftedness and gender-typicality. Participants read about a child described as male/female, “gifted”/“average,” and gender-typical/gender-atypical in academic interests; they then responded on 30 adjective scales. Compared with children labeled “average,” children labeled “gifted” are seen as closer to odd than to fits in well. Gender-atypical boys were considered more odd and gender-atypical girls were rated less odd than were gender-typical children, regardless of giftedness. There was no additive negative effect of being both gifted and gender-atypical. Basically, participants described gifted and gender-atypical children differently; some overlap exists between adjectives used to describe these children (e.g., odd). Giftedness and gender-atypicality are related but separate concepts, each with many facets. The interrelationships and diversity of the two concepts must be assessed when individuals consider the impression that gifted or gender-atypical children make on others.