In this study, the connection between perfectionism and gifted adolescents was examined. Quantitative data about attitudes and behaviors concerning perfectionism were gathered from the Goals and Work Habits Survey (Schuler, 1994), and qualitative data were gathered from semistructured interviews and documentary evidence. Results indicate that perfectionism exists on a continuum of behaviors and thoughts from normal to neurotic. Of the gifted adolescents in a rural middle school who took the Goals and Work Habits Survey, 87.5% were perfectionistic. Most (58%) were in the healthy range of perfectionism, while (29.5%) were in the neurotic range. Normal perfectionists viewed order and organization as important in achieving their “personal best.” Neurotic perfectionists, however, were limited by their fixation on making mistakes, which resulted in a constant state of anxiety. Limitations of the study include the selection and number of participants (20) involved in the case studies from a high-achieving, academically gifted population. The adaptation of one of the instruments that was used to gather data may also be viewed as a limitation of this study.
While talent search has offered many benefits to those students identified, there are issues which should be resolved to maximize its impact. The program's exclusivity in numbers of students selected for special programs, the cost of the programs both in tuition, transportation, and living expenses at, possibly, very distant locations means that many able learners are left unserved. The difficulties of a university-based program which serves school-age students include school opposition to such proven practices as acceleration, poor (or no) communication regarding identified students and their special needs, and a lack of understanding of talent search goals and procedures. The value of the program makes it worthwhile to address these difficulties through improved partnerships with schools, increased options in course offerings, and other recommended efforts. If the talent search projects are to continue to thrive, they must launch new strategies for growth coupled with an abiding commitment to facilitating the educational reform agenda in public schools.
In an exploratory outcome study, the social self-concepts of four gifted high school students attending a rigorous residential program were examined as they participated in a social skills workshop. Subjects participated in a pre-test measurement of their global self-concept using the Marsh Self-Description Questionnaire III which differentiates between social self-concept and academic self-concept. The subjects then participated in a three-week social skills workshop that was patterned after the Culcross and Jenkins-Friedman (1988) model. A post-test self-concept measurement was gathered Contrary to the hypothesis, the subjects did not demonstrate an increase in their social self-concepts. Implications of this study and suggestions for future research are presented.
The dynamics of underachievement among gifted and nongifted black students were studied with students in grades 6 through 9 in 5 Virginia public school districts. A traditional model of underachievement, defining it through a regression model, and a nontraditional model that used grade point averages (GPAs) and self-reported level of effort in school were used. Few gifted black students were identified by the school system. The sample was increased through examination of school records by the researcher. In all, 152 gifted, potentially gifted, and average middle school and high school students were interviewed. Forty-two percent of these students were underachieving, although the mean GPA was relatively high at 3.1. Test anxiety, while relatively low for the sample as a whole, was problematic when the self-evaluation and physiological subscales were examined. The students had strong and positive racial identities, and generally had optimistic attitudes and perceptions, especially in their attitudes toward school and their perceptions of the learning environment. In general, these black students were positive about school subjects, and tended to have positive perceptions of gifted students and gifted education. However, achievement behaviors did not match achievement attitudes. School districts must focus on both talent development and the nurturing of abilities, and must recognize the heterogeneous and multifaceted nature of giftedness. (Contains three unnumbered tables.) (SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************
