The purpose of this study is to examine whether Olympiad participation can develop problem-solving skills in mathematically-gifted learners from disadvantaged schools. My methodological approach was QUAN→Qual, using a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent comparison group. I chose two schools from the same disadvantaged area, and identified the top 50 Grade 7 learners in each school by mathematics marks. The study consisted of a pre-test, three mathematics sessions and a post-test. The Study Orientation in Mathematics Questionnaire (SOM) (Maree, Prinsloo, & Claassen, 2011) was used as the pre- and post-test, and a focus group explored the learners’ experience of the SOM. In the mathematics sessions, the intervention group worked through past papers of the SA Mathematics Challenge (South African Mathematics Foundation, 2018), and the alternative intervention group completed worksheets from a Department of Basic Education workbook. My study revealed a positive relationship between success in traditional Mathematics and Study Attitude, Study Habits and overall Study Orientation, and an interaction between disadvantage and success in Mathematics. Participants were less disadvantaged than their surroundings would indicate, and had higher Mathematics anxiety than expected for their achievement level. The intervention did not increase problem-solving behaviour and both the quantitative and qualitative findings showed that the participants found the Olympiad type questions unfamiliar and difficult. This unfamiliarity is indicative of the limited enrichment opportunities for mathematically-gifted learners in disadvantaged areas of South Africa. Greater experience of Mathematics Olympiads is suggested to help mathematically-gifted disadvantaged learners live up to their problem-solving potential. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Educational Psychology / MEd (LSGC) / Unrestricted

<p>Since teachers’ referrals involve evaluation of students through sustained observation, comprehensive features of giftedness can be identified. In 2007, a project called Having Opportunities Promotes Excellence (HOPE) was launched at Purdue University with funds from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (Gentry et al., 2015). This 3-year project aimed to help identify giftedness among low-income and ethnically diverse students and serve these students in advanced programs. To do so, the project team created the <i>HOPE Scale</i> (Gentry et al., 2015), an instrument used by teachers to assess the academic and socioemotional characteristics of gifted students. Previous results from Project HOPE served as the foundation for the current studies. This dissertation is comprised of three related research papers investigating the <i>HOPE Scale</i> as an equitable measure for identifying underrepresented students for the gifted services. Following are the purpose and research questions for each of these related studies.</p><p></p><h3><a></a><a>Study 1: Validity Evidence for the <i>HOPE Scale</i> to Identify Gifted Students from Low-Income and Multicultural Families in Korea</a> </h3><div><a></a></div><p></p><h3><a></a><a>Study 2: Exploring Individual and Classroom Characteristics on Students’ Outcome Scores from the <i>HOPE</i> Teacher Rating Scale</a></h3><div><a></a><h3><a></a><a></a><a>Study 3: The Relationship between Students’ Academic Achievement and the <i>HOPE</i> Teacher-rating Scale: Exploration to Equitably Identify Underrepresented Gifted Students</a></h3><br></div>

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Compared to their peers, gifted and talented (GT) students have unique social and emotional needs. As schools mandated social and emotional learning goals for each GT student, support at the state level was limited. The purpose of the study was to answer the guiding question of how students could benefit from implementing key elements in a GT social and emotional curriculum. The study was guided by Corso's approach to promoting and developing positive social-emotional behavior. Data were collected from questionnaires administered to 32 statewide GT experts. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 of those GT experts. Thematic data analysis followed an open coding process to identify emergent themes. The findings revealed key elements that should be in place for a successful GT social and emotional curriculum: (a) a dedicated time in the school schedule for affective curriculum, (b) GT students seeking an understanding of identity and GT characteristics, (c) creating partnerships for social and emotional curriculum, (d) properly trained staff, including an understanding of the characteristics of GT students, (e) affective goal setting, (f) adequate resources for instruction, and (g) a process for intensive interventions when needed. This study included the creation of a professional development project to support integration of a social and emotional curriculum for GT programs. The study and project have implications for positive social change: By guiding schools seeking to implement a social and emotional curriculum into a current GT program, student behavior and learning outcomes are fostered.

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<p>This study investigated high-achieving and non-high-achieving students’ persistence in STEM fields using nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 for the years 2009, 2012, 2013, 2013-2014, and 2016. The results indicated that approximately 70% of high-achieving and non-high-achieving students continued their initial STEM degrees within 3 years of college enrollment. The study revealed that the most important predictors of STEM persistence were: math proficiency level, school belonging, school engagement, school motivation, school problems, science self-efficacy, credits earned in computer sciences, GPA in STEM courses, credits earned in STEM courses, and credits earned in Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) courses. Based on the results, math proficiency was the most important variable in the study for both high-achieving and non-high-achieving students. Even though credits earned in AP/IB combined were among the most important variables, they were two times more important for high-achieving students (6.86% vs. 3.37%). Regarding demographic information related variables, socioeconomic status was the most important variable among gender, ethnicity, and urbanicity in models predicting STEM persistence and had higher importance for non-high-achieving students. Furthermore, Hispanic students' proportion of persistence differed from other underrepresented populations’ persistence. Non-high-achieving Hispanic students had the highest persistence rate, similar to well-represented populations (i.e., White, Asian). Machine learning methods used in the study including random forest and artificial neural network provided good accuracy for both achievement groups. Random forest accuracy was over 82% with the Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling Technique (SMOTE) dataset, while artificial neural network accuracy was over 92%.</p>

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The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather data from a variety of sources including teachers, special education directors, and the state director of gifted education to determine what gifted programs and or strategies are currently being offered in the selected schools and to explore emerging strategies in the education of intellectually gifted students in the Bristol Tennessee School System, Johnson City School System, Kingsport City School System, Sullivan County School System, and Washington County School System. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. The findings were presented relative to the research questions. While the education provided to intellectually gifted students in Upper East Tennessee is varied, the options for educational programming and instructional strategies are modeled after the suggested programming options and instructional strategies mentioned in the research literature by prominent experts in the field of gifted education. The use of these options and strategies varied from system to system and sometimes from school to school. Although the education for the intellectually gifted student in Tennessee is mandated under the umbrella of special education, programs are often based on financial support from the various systems. Recommendations include continuing an emphasis on differentiating the curriculum to provide academic challenges beyond the regular classroom, providing opportunities for increased instructional time, and garnering the support of educational administrators.