家庭教养方式对10岁城市与流动超常儿童自我概念的影响

选取10岁超常儿童共74名,其中城市超常儿童34名,流动超常儿童40名。采用问卷法,考察了两组超常儿童在自我概念和家庭教养方式上的差异,分析了家庭教养方式对超常儿童自我概念水平的影响,结果表明：（1）城市和流动超常儿童在自我概念上的差异主要表现在城市超常儿童的非学业自我概念要显著高于流动超常儿童。（2）在家庭教养方式方面,城市超常儿童在情感温暖理解这一维度上的得分明显地高于流动超常儿童,而在惩罚严厉、过分干涉、拒绝否认、过度保护这四个维度上的得分均低于流动超常儿童。（3）家庭教养方式中的情感温暖理解、过分保护和拒绝否认对超常儿童的自我概念总分有较好的预测作用。具体来说,家庭教养方式对学业自我概念和非学业自我概念的影响是不同的,家庭教养方式中的情感温暖理解对超常儿童的学业自我概念有较好的预测作用,而成长环境和家庭教养方式中的情感温暖因素对超常儿童的非学业自我概念有较好的预测作用。     

学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系:流动与城市儿童的比较分析

为了探讨学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系,以及该纵向关系在城市与流动儿童之间的差异,本研究使用问卷调查法对653名城市儿童和686名流动儿童进行连续五次追踪。交叉滞后结构方程模型分析发现:(1)虽然总体上学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系支持了交互影响模型,但儿童类型具有显著调节作用,城市儿童支持了发展观,而流动儿童则支持了交互影响模型;(2)在七年级上学期到八年级下学期期间,流动儿童先前的学业成绩对后来的学业自我概念的影响显著大于城市儿童。未来教育实践中要注重群体差异,因材施教,努力培养流动儿童的积极学业心理品质。     

Social Competencies and Difficulties of Gifted Children Compared to Nongifted Peers

This study, conducted in Israel, examined the social and emotional difficulties of gifted children, in comparison with nongifted children. The gifted children were further compared in two educational settings: segregated classes and pull-out programs. The 974 participants were from the fifth to twelfth grades. The dependent variables included loneliness, social competence, empathy, and self-concept. The results indicated that gifted children score higher on need fulfillment, empathy, academic self-concept, and lack of emotional anxiety and lower on self-disclosure and physical self-concept. Few differences were found between the two settings for gifted children. The conclusion is that gifted children differ from nongifted children only on some of the social–emotional variables examined, mainly for the better.     

Mathematically gifted students and high achievement: the role of motivation and classroom structure

One of the most intriguing questions for those who study intellectually gifted students is why some of them reach peak performances at school and others don’t. Moderator theories of giftedness assume that domain-specific gifts are transformed into achievement in a process influenced by non-cognitive and environmental variables. Thus, the current study investigates differences in the non-cognitive construct motivation (achievement goals, interest, self-concept, self-efficacy, implicit theories) and perception of classroom environment (classroom structure, class climate) between mathematically gifted high achievers (n = 66) and mathematically gifted students with non-high achievement (n = 144) using a latent variable approach. Gifted high achievers expressed higher levels of motivation than non-high achievers. Furthermore, they perceived a classroom structure that provides more tasks with a focus on learning and more autonomy.     

Is being gifted always an advantage? Peer relations and self-concept of gifted students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between identified gifted adolescents and adolescents not identified as gifted in terms of social acceptance and self-concept (peer relations, academic, and general). In addition, we aimed to investigate the differences between two groups of students identified according to different identification criteria (i.e. intelligence test and teacher assessment), and whether the relationship between students’ giftedness and the indicators of their social adjustment was moderated by gender. A total of 404 Slovenian elementary school students (191 males; 47%, 213 females; 53%) participated in the study; among them 85 (21%) were identified as gifted. No significant differences were found between gifted and non-gifted students in positive sociometric nominations and social preference; gifted students received less negative nominations and had lower social impact, but were assessed as more socially accepted by their teachers. Gifted students reported higher academic and general but not peer relations self-concept. No differences in social acceptance and self-concept were found between the groups of gifted students identified with regard to different identification criteria. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between gender and giftedness for peer relations self-concept. The results indicate the importance of investigating individual differences among gifted students in future studies.     

Gifted Chinese girls get the best mix of family processes to bolster their math achievement

This chapter describes three studies with samples of 5th- and 6th-grade students (781 gifted and 895 nongifted) enrolled in elementary schools in Taipei, Taiwan. Two of the studies analyzed the effects of SES, family structure variables, family processes, math self-concept, and prior ability on children's math achievement; the third concerned a qualitative study of 95 gifted children and their parents. The results of these studies show tha SES variables influence family processes in a number of important ways. Better educated families administer less pressure and more support, and both processes contribute to children's achievement. Another important findings is that Chinese traditions moderate the parents use of specific family processes. Girls enrolled in typical classes perceive less parental pressure, less support, less help, and less intellectual resources. In a sense, these girls are academically neglected, but this does not hurt their math achievement because they do not perceive as much dysfunctional pressure and help from their parents. Gifted girls get the best mix of parental influences and academic opportunities.     

Strengthening Emotional Development: An Interview With Child Psychiatrist Joan Luby

Metacognition is an important component of advanced intellectual performance and, therefore, has been proposed to be more advanced in intellectually gifted than average children. However, existing research comparing gifted to average children's metacognitive abilities does not support this idea uniformly. Compared to average children, gifted children appear to have generally better declarative metacognitive knowledge and better ability to transfer strategies to situations distinct from those in which the strategy was learned. However, gifted children do not demonstrate consistently better strategy use, maintenance, or near transfer compared to average children. Nor do they display better cognitive monitoring ability compared to average children. Metacognition appears to be important to the development of high achievement in a domain. We argue that metacognitive abilities might be incorporated as additional criteria for entry into programs for the gifted beyond standard intelligence measures. Several identification methods which include metacognitive information are discussed.     

A Meta-analysis of the Longitudinal Relationship Between Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement

Educational Psychology Review - The reciprocal relationship between academic self-concept (ASC) and academic achievement has been documented in multiple studies. However, this relationship has not...     

Construct validity of the K-ABC for gifted children

Fifty-four elementary-age gifted students were administered the K-ABC. To determine construct validity of the test for this population, the factor structure was obtained for mental processing and achievement subtests and then compared to the factor structure obtained for children from the standardization sample via a procedure that determines factor structure similiarity between groups. Except for minor variations, the factor structure for the gifted children was very similar to that for nongifted children in the standardization sample. However, the most parsimonious structure accounted for slightly less than 40% of the shared test variance, which leads to questions about the advisability of educational program planning based on obtained scores.     

The Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect for Academic Self-Concept, Test Anxiety, and School Grades in Gifted Children

This study reports data extending work by Marsh and colleagues on the “big-fish-little-pond effect” (BFLPE). The BFLPE hypothesizes that it is better for academic self-concept to be a big fish in a little pond (gifted student in regular reference group) than to be a small fish in a big pond (gifted student in gifted reference group). The BFLPE effect was examined with respect to academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in a sample of 1020 gifted Israeli children participating in two different educational programs: (a) special homogeneous classes for the gifted and (b) regular mixed-ability classes. The central hypothesis, deduced from social comparison and reference group theory, was that academically talented students enrolled in special gifted classes will perceive their academic ability and chances for academic success less favorably compared to students in regular mixed-ability classes. These negative self-perceptions, in turn, will serve to deflate students' academic self-concept, elevate their levels of evaluative anxiety, and result in depressed school grades. A path-analytic model linking reference group, academic self-concept, evaluative anxiety, and school performance, was employed to test this conceptualization. Overall, the data lend additional support to reference group theory, with the big-fish-little-pond effect supported for all three variables tested. In addition, academic self-concept and test anxiety were observed to mediate the effects of reference group on school grades.     

Effectiveness of a “Grass Roots” Statewide Enrichment Program for Gifted Elementary School Children

Enrichment programs provide learning opportunities for a broader or deeper examination of curricular or extracurricular topics and are popular in gifted education. Herein, we investigated the effectiveness of a statewide extracurricular enrichment program for gifted elementary school children in Germany. The program implemented a ”grass roots“ strategy by which local units developed and offered the enrichment courses, which spanned a broad array of topics. The courses targeted different outcomes, including students' cognitive abilities, school achievement, interests, creativity, self-control, self-concept, and social competencies. We compared third-grade students attending the enrichment program (N =423) with nonattending third-grade students (N = 2,328) by means of a propensity score analysis. Specifically, we controlled for potential selection effects and estimated the average causal effect of the enrichment program for children attending the program. The findings revealed positive program effects on academic achievement but not on the other targeted outcomes.     

Research on perfectionism and achievement motivation: implications for gifted students

Perfectionism has been associated with a rigid adherence to impossibly high standards, an irrational importance on the attainment of these standards, and a tendency to overgeneralize failures. Researchers have primarily focused on how perfectionism predicts psychological adjustment; yet, recent research also indicates that perfectionism impacts students' achievement motivation. In this article, research on the relationship between perfectionism and achievement motivation in non‐gifted students is reviewed. Conclusions about perfectionism and achievement motivation in non‐gifted students will highlight directions for future research and implications for enhancing the achievement motivation of gifted students with perfectionism. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A comparison of multiple facets of self-concept in gifted vs. non-identified Israeli students

This study compares facets of self-concept in gifted and non-identified Israeli adolescent students. The self-concept mean score profile of gifted vs. non-selected Israeli students was significantly different, with gifted students reporting higher mean levels of academic self-concept, but lower mean levels of social, personal, and physical self-concepts when compared with their non-identified counterparts. Overall, gifted students showed different patterns of self-concept than their peers. The data are discussed in view of theory and past research in the gifted literature.     

Female ‘big fish’ swimming against the tide: The ‘big-fish-little-pond effect’ and gender-ratio in special gifted classes

This study takes a second look at the “big-fish-little-pond effect” (BFLPE) on a national sample of 769 gifted Israeli students (32% female) previously investigated by Zeidner and Schleyer (Zeidner, M., & Schleyer, E. J., (1999a). The big-fish-little-pond effect for academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in gifted children. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 305–329). The reanalysis of the data, using HLM methodology, was designed to partition individual differences from aggregate group variance, as well as to test a number of focused hypotheses regarding the effects of gender and gender-ratio in class on self-concept. With respect to self-concept, the BFLPE hypothesizes that it is better to be a good student in an average-ability reference group than to be a good student in a high-ability reference group. Prior studies explored the BFLPE comparing gifted students in different educational contexts. Here, the BFLPE was exclusively investigated within special gifted classes. Results supported the BFLPE for academic self-concept. Furthermore, whereas girls’ academic self-concept was negatively influenced by gender-ratio (percentage of boys in class), gender-ratio had no significant influence on boys’ academic self-concept.     

Attitude Toward Self, Social Factors, and Achievement in Mathematics: A Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analysis integrated 143 primary studies on the relationship of attitude toward self and social factors with achievement in mathematics. Attitude was decomposed into self-concept about mathematics, perception of family support, and perception of mathematics as a male domain. Major findings included: (a) self-concept, family support, and mathematics as a male domain were all related to achievement; (b) the three relationships did not show significant gender differences; (c) the three relationships consistently decreased from the junior high grades to the senior high grades; (d) the relationship between self-concept and achievement varied as a function of ethnicity, whereas the relationship between family support and achievement was consistent across ethnic background; (e) the three relationships all varied across sample selection; (f) the relationship between self-concept and achievement varied with sample size, whereas the relationships of family support and mathematics as a male domain with achievement were sample-size invariant; (g) the relationship between self-concept and achievement increased over time, whereas the relationships of family support and mathematics as a male domain with achievement remained almost unchanged over time; and (h) there were no statistically significant interaction effects among gender, grade, and ethnicity for any of the three relationships.     

The influence of extracurricular activities on middle school students’ science learning in China

ABSTRACT

Informal science learning has been found to have effects on students’ science learning. Through the use of secondary data from a national assessment of 7410 middle school students in China, this study explores the relationship among five types of extracurricular science activities, learning interests, academic self-concept, and science achievement. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the influence of students’ self-chosen and school-organised extracurricular activities on science achievement through mediating interests and the academic self-concept. Chi-square tests were used to determine whether there was an opportunity gap in the student’s engagement in extracurricular activities. The students’ volunteer and school-organised participation in extracurricular science activities had a positive and indirect influence on their science achievement through the mediating variables of their learning interests and academic self-concept. However, there were opportunity gaps between different groups of students in terms of school location, family background, and especially the mother’s education level. Students from urban areas with better-educated mothers or higher socioeconomic status are more likely to access diverse science-related extracurricular activities.     

Social-perspective coordination and gifted adolescents’ friendship quality

This research examined links among academic ability, social-perspective coordination, and friendship quality, within the context of gifted adolescents’ friendships. The sample consisted of 120 early adolescents (59 girls, 61 boys), 81 of whom were identified as gifted. Academic ability, sex, and grade significantly predicted social-perspective coordination (an indicator of psychosocial maturity) in multiple regression analyses. Social-perspective coordination, perceptions (self-concept) of ability to make and keep friends, academic ability, sex, and grade predicted perceptions of the overall quality of friendships. Being a female, seventh grader, or adolescent not identified as gifted, significantly predicted higher friendship quality. Social-perspective coordination and self-concept based on having a close friend predicted higher levels of friendship quality for the gifted participants.     

The effect of different types of nomination forms on teachers' identification of gifted children

The present study sought to determine the effect of three different types of teacher nomination forms on a group of teachers' effectiveness and efficiency in identifying gifted children; to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of the three forms with each other, with that of the Renzulli-Hartman Scale for Rating Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students, and with that of a form that requested teachers to identify their gifted students; and to examine the relationship between the scores on the intelligence test, on the various nomination forms, and on the California Achievement Test (CAT). The subjects of the investigation were 183 children in grades K-5 and their teachers. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were reached. First, the use of a behavior rating scale teacher nomination form will result in the greatest number of gifted children being correctly identified. Secondly, it is possible to increase the effectiveness, without overly affecting the efficiency, of any teacher nomination form by making the criterion standard for giftedness sensitive to the specific population it is screening. Thirdly, while the relationship between the scores was relatively low, because of its high effectiveness, its acceptable completion time, and its scores having the highest positive relationship with the intelligence test scores of any of the forms used, Form C is recommended as the teacher nomination form to be considered to assist teachers in the identification of gifted children. Fourthly, in schools where a large majority of the children score very high on a standardized achievement test, some other measure of academic success must be found if academic achievement is to be a component in the screening process. Finally, while, as a group, teachers in a school all may appear to be very good identifiers of gifted children, careful examination across grade levels, and within grade levels if the teacher sample size per grade is large enough, may assist in the identification of groups of teachers for in-service training.