Science for the handicapped‐gifted child

Teachers and administrators who participate in developing a philosophy statement for gifted education learn more about the field and are able to realistically apply what they have learned to their specific responsibilities.     

Sensitivity: A double‐edged sword for the pre‐adolescent and adolescent gifted child

This article addresses the often‐observed sensitive nature displayed by gifted children and the effects this sensitivity can have on the child, particularly during the pre‐adolescent and the adolescent periods. This issue is explored through an analysis of the works and life experiences of Geoffrey, aged 9, a prolific writer since the age of 5 years. His exceptional sensitivity is clearly evident through his writings, and the effects this awareness and emotionality have on his life are manifested in accounts of his home and school experiences. Implications for the education of individuals like Geoffrey are discussed, placing emphasis on support of the child's heightened sensitivity rather than on curricula learned or talents exhibited. Special consideration is given to the middle school years when pre‐adolescent and adolescent behavior can significantly affect gifted individuals.     

Academic Self‐concept,Implicit Theories of Ability,and Self‐regulation Strategies

The purpose of the present study is to explore how academic self‐concept and implicit theories of ability are related to four self‐regulation strategies—motivation/diligence, concentration, information processing, and self‐handicapping. The hypothesis is that academic self‐concept and an incremental theory of ability are (1) positively related to motivation/diligence, concentration, and information processing strategies, and (2) negatively related to self‐handicapping strategies. On the basis of inventories 168 teacher students and 60 sport students (a total of 178 females and 50 males) were scored on academic self‐concept, incremental and fixed theories of ability and the four self‐regulation strategies. Multiple regression analysis was used for each self‐regulation strategy as dependent variable, and with academic self‐concept and the ability theories as independent variables. Results revealed that an incremental theory had, as predicted, a positive relation with motivation/diligence and concentration, but had only trivial relations with information processing and self‐handicapping, whereas a fixed theory had only the predicted relation with self‐handicapping. As hypothesised, a high academic self‐concept was positively related to motivation/diligence, conception, and information processing and negatively to self‐handicapping. The findings may indicate that, in order to promote meta‐theoretical processing and prevent student from self‐handicapping, it is important to strengthen academic self‐concept, and to foster an incremental conception of ability among students.     

Self‐concept,enterprise and educational attainment in late adolescence

Abstract

This study used data obtained from a large random sample of 16‐19 year olds in four areas in U.K. and from a smaller university student sample to construct an easy‐to‐use measure of purposefulness, a characteristic lying at the core of the concept of enterprise, and to examine the relationship between purposefulness and educational attainment.

This instrument was found to be reasonably valid and reliable for both samples. Further, for women, purposefulness was positively related to educational attainment whilst for men this was not the case. The implications of this study are threefold: conceptualising enterprise in terms of a person's motivational, attributional and behavioural style has implications both for the content of, and expectations from, enterprise education and training. Second, the difference in the relationship between educational attainment and purposefulness for the two sexes suggests that there may be different opportunities that the educational system and the labour market offers to men and women. Third, this measure can be usefully employed for vocational guidance.     

Learning and Self Government∗

BIOGRAPHY Dixie Demagogues by Allan A. Michie and Frank Rhylick. New York: The Vanguard Press. 298 pp. $2.50.

Elbert Hubbard: Genius of Roycroft by David Arnold Balch. Illustrated. Frederick Stokes. 320 pp. $2.50.

The Great Debureau by Francis Kozik. Farrar and Rinehart. 376 pp. $2.75.

EDUCATION Classroom Administration and Pupil Adjustment by Charles Myron Reinoehl and Fred Carleton Ayer. The Appleton-Century Series in Administration. Appleton-Century Co. 525 pp. $2.75.

Fundamentals of Democratic Education by Robert Ulich. The American Book Co. 362 pp. $2.25.

Fun with Words; With Tongue and Pen, Words and Their Use; Better English Usage. A Series of books in Step by Step in English for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades by Frederick H. Bair, Elma Neal, Inez Foster, and Ollie P. Storm. Illustrated. Mac-millan Co. 242; 271, 299; 296 pp. 80 88 96 96.

Newer Instructional Practices of Promise. The Twelfth Yearbook of The Department of Supervisors and Directors of Instruction. National Education Association. Published by the N.E.A., 1201 16th street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 379 pp.

Preface to an Educational Philosophy by I. B. Berkson. Columbia University Press. 250 pp. $2.50.

Reading and the Educative Process by Paul Witty and David Kopel. Ginn and Company. 366 pp. $2.50.

The Development of Certain Motor Skills and Play Activities in Young Children by Theresa Dower Jones. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York. 980 pp. $1.85.

The Development of Education in the Twentieth Century by Adolf E. Meyer. 393 pp. $2.75.

Your Career in Agriculture by Homer P. Anderson. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 285 pp. $2.00.

FICTION No Arms, No Armour by Robert Henriques. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc. 373 pp. $2.50.

Precious Bane by Mary Webb. E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc. 320 pp. $1.00.

The Criminal C.O.D. An Asey Mayo Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. W. W. Norton. 288 pp. $2.00.

GENERAL LITERATURE A Mary Webb Anthology selected and edited by H. B. L. Webb. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 253 pp. $3.00.

Body, Boots and Britches by Harold W. Thompson. J. B. Lippincott Company, 524 pp. $3.50.

Chip Off My Shoulder by Thomas L. Stokes. Princeton University Press. 561 pp. $3.00.

Figures of Transition: A Study of British Literature of the End of the Nineteenth Century, by Granville Hicks. The Macmillan Company. 315 pp. $2.50.

TRAVEL Finland: Land of Heroes by Toivo Rosvall. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 272 pp. $2.50.

Sailing the Sulu Sea: Belles and Bandits in the Philippines by Rear Admiral David Potter (S.C.) U.S.N. E. P. Dutton &; Company. 310 pp. $3.00.

This Way Southward: A Journey Through Patagonia And Tierra Del Fuego by A. F. Tschieffely. Illustrated. W. W. Norton. 354 pp. $3.50.     

The Self‐concept as a Moral Control

Abstract:

Groups of twenty children, aged between 6 years, 7 months and 11 years, 3 months, attending either a traditional Catholic school or a Freinet school were compared on judgments involving moral concepts. Subjects in the two groups were matched for age, IQ, sex, school grade, religious affiliation, fathers’ occupational level, number of siblings and birth order. Moral conflict stories differed in the presence or absence of authority figures and peers, and were set either in the home or the school. Children attending the Freinet school exhibited the more advanced moral judgments for all stories combined. Stories involving peers only elicited more mature judgments than those involving authority figures. Freinet schools encourage democratic group self‐discipline and provide many and varied role‐taking opportunities. The results suggest that such practices accelerate moral development.     

The structure and function of academic self‐concept in gifted and general education students

Using structural equation modeling techniques, this exploratory study investigated the differences in the factor structure of academic self‐perceptions in a sample of gifted students and within a general population of students. The factor structure exhibited partial measurement invariance, suggesting that two of the items on the factor work differently in the gifted sample than in the sample from the general population. The gifted sample demonstrated higher academic self‐perceptions than the general school sample and higher self‐reported GPAs than the general school sample. However, the relationship between academic self‐perceptions and self‐reported GPA was invariant across groups. For both gifted students and the general population of high school students, GPA and academic self‐perceptions were moderately and positively related. Therefore, although there are large mean differences between gifted students and the general population of students on the academic self‐perceptions scale, the structure of the relationship between academic self‐perceptions and GPA was similar.     

Self‐complexity and Self‐integration: Theory and Therapy in Clinical‐Developmental Psychology

Abstract

The growing field of clinical‐developmental psychology has been influenced by Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral judgement. Too literal a use of structural theory, however, has hindered this field's advancement. This paper argues that a new theory of self is required to apply appropriately developmental theory to clinical practice. The model consists of two related dimensions of self: self‐complexity and biographical themes (schemata and themata). A perspective on normal and atypical development given by the interactions between these components is described and implications for practice are discussed.     

Reaching towards tomorrow: Career education and guidance for the gifted and talented∗

Gifted students at all levels can be made aware of career options by using community resources to address the many possibilities for vocations as well as avocations.     

Effect of social setting,self‐concept,and relative age on the social status of moderately and highly gifted students

This study compares the social status of highly gifted (N=42) and moderately gifted (N=86) students across academic (classroom) and social (dormitory) settings. Giftedness was not significantly related to social status in either setting. Two social statuses, popular and rejected, were significantly stable across settings. Furthermore these statuses were related to peer nominations for getting along, fighting, and being shy, to social and academic measures of self‐concept, and to age relative to the peer group. These findings are examined in light of other research on gifted‐ness and social status.     

A study of self‐concept and social support in advantaged and disadvantaged seventh and eighth grade gifted students

Understanding differences in perceptions of self‐concept and social support among special populations of gifted learners is critical to planning appropriate services for them. The present study investigated these differences among intellectually gifted students of junior high age who were participating in full time intensive programs for the gifted. Specifically, differences as a function of gender, ethnicity, and socio‐economic class were examined. Findings indicated some differences based on ethnicity and gender, but most differences were observed between lower and higher socio‐economic groups, particularly in the areas of social support and social and behavioral self‐concept. Implications from the study would suggest attention to these dimensions in program planning.     

Motivational Characteristics in Mathematical Achievement: a study of gifted high‐achieving,gifted underachieving and non‐gifted pupils

The aim of this study was to examine whether motivational‐emotional variables such as intrinsic orientation toward schoolwork, Mathematics anxiety, academic self‐esteem, attribution of success and failure in Mathematics and situational interest in Mathematics could differentiate different groups of mathematically gifted pupils. The research was based, theoretically, on an interactional model of giftedness. The sample consisted of 147 selected primary school pupils (9‐10 years of age) who were assigned to the following groups for comparison: mathematically gifted achievers (n = 31), mathematically gifted under‐achievers (n = 31) and mathematically non‐gifted pupils (n = 85). The results of a discriminant analysis show that the gifted pupils differ from the non‐gifted ones in attaining higher levels of intrinsic orientation toward Mathematics, lower Mathematics anxiety, lower attribution of success to external factors and effort, as well as in lower attribution of failure to external factors and abilities. Also, gifted achievers have lower attribution of success to effort than gifted under‐achievers and non‐gifted pupils.     

Sex‐role stereotyping and gifted girls’ experience and education

Recent research and literature indicate that many parents, teachers and counselors of the gifted continue to reflect attitudes and sex‐stereotypes that are detrimental to the expression of the abilities of gifted girls.     

Parent–child co‐viewing of television and cognitive development of the Chinese child

This study examined the relationship between parent–child co‐viewing of television and the cognitive development of the child. Both survey and experiment methods were employed to determine the participants’ television viewing habits and their cognitive achievements after watching a pre‐recorded programme under different conditions. The participants were five‐year‐old pre‐schoolers from a childcare centre in Beijing, China. The findings show a positive relationship between parent–child co‐viewing of television and the cognitive performance of the child as far as a specific programme was concerned, but long‐term effects of parent–child co‐viewing on the general cognitive development of the child could not be established owing to the limitations of the study.

Cette étude a examiné le rapport entre la co‐vision de la télévision du parent et l’enfant et le développement cognitif de l’enfant. Des méthodes d’enquête et d’expérience ont été utilisées pour découvrir les habitudes des participants quand ils regardent la télévision et leurs accomplissements cognitifs après avoir regardé un programme pré‐enregistré dans des conditions différentes. Les participants étaient des élèves de cinq ans du cours préparatoire d’un centre d’assistance à l’enfance à Beijing, Chine. Les résultats montrent un rapport positif entre la co‐vision de la télévision duparent et l’enfant et la compétence cognitive de l’enfant en ce qui concerne un programme ­spécifique, mais les effets à long terme de la co‐vision de la télévision du parent et l’enfant sur le développement cognitif général de l’enfant n’ont pas été établi dû aux limitatios de l’étude.

Este estudio examinó la relación entre la co‐visión del padre y niño de la televisión y el desarrollo cognoscitivo del niño. Fueron empleados métodos de estudio y experimentales para descubrir los hábitos relacionados con mirar la televisión de los participantes y sus logros cognoscitivos después de mirar un programa previamente grabado bajo diversas condiciones. Los participantes eran pre‐escolares de cinco años de un centro de cuidado de niños en Beijing, China. Los resultados demuestran una relación positiva entre la co‐visión de la televisión por padre y niño y el funcionamiento cognoscitivo del niño por lo que concierne un programa específico, pero los efectos a largo plazo de la co‐visión del padre y niño en el desarrollo cognoscitivo general del niño no pudieron ser establecidos debido a las limitaciones del estudio.