M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the various categories of giftedness can be adequately identified in an under-resourced rural area. To supplement the literature, a focus group was held and informal interviews were conducted with people in the area of research. Giftedness was ultimately defined as both potential and product which cannot be separated from the community where the person lives. Apart from causes of underachievement such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of equipment, low motivation and difficult home circumstances, it was found that fear is a powerful hindrance in the actualisation of giftedness, as there is a strong belief that learners who stand out amongst their peers could fall prey to witchcraft. In order to adequately identify giftedness, an identification method which is used by the Faculty of Education at Unisa, was applied to 10 learners. Various talents additional to academic talent were found among the respondents. The identification method was finally evaluated according to certain identification criteria. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This research was an investigation of the relationship between the cognitive processes labeled successive, simultaneous, and planning proposed by Luria and Das (Das, Kirby & Jarman, 1979) and the solution of visual metaphors and the achievement of 6th grade elementary age students from metropolitan schools. A battery of information processing tasks based on previous research with the Luria-Das model was administered to 191 6th grade students, approximately half of whom were Anglo and half of whom were Hispanic. In addition, the Metaphoric Triads Task (MTT), a measure of comprehension of visual metaphors, was administered to the same group and achievement data from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills gathered on the same students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine whether the Luria-Das model or another model fit the data; and how the information processing variables related to each other, to the Metaphoric Triads task, and to the measures of achievement. A three factor solution consistent with previous research was obtained when confirmatory factor analysis was used to fit the Luria-Das model to the data. For the Anglo group, the factor structures of all three factors were consistent with the Luria-Das model of successive, simultaneous, and planning processes. For the Hispanic group, the factor structure of the simultaneous and planning factors was consistent with previous research, but the factor structure of the successive factor was not the same as that obtained in previous research. The relationship between the academic achievement scores for the whole group and the factors was consistent with the results of previous research with the exception of Spelling. Results of the current research indicate that group administration of the battery can produce results consistent with the Luria-Das model, but further research that includes minority populations is needed. The analysis of the performance of the Anglo and Hispanic groups on the Metaphoric Triads Task indicated that the two groups performed approximately the same but may have employed different processes to solve the metaphors. The results of this study provide important data about information processing styles of 6th grade students that can be useful in educational planning.

The study reported in this thesis explores the nature of provision for gifted and talented students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is considered to be an under-developed country. The specific aims of the study are to explore the effectiveness and any possible weaknesses of gifted programmes in Saudi Arabia, from the perspectives of all parties involved, to draw conclusions about the Saudi programmes and to make recommendations. The study used mixed methods for collecting information. The researcher obtained data with the aid of questionnaires, interviews and documentation. Non-random samples were chosen from the population of gifted students studying in schools under the authority of the Ministry of Education. They were given questionnaires that explored their demographics, social life, academic achievements and self -reflection regarding their giftedness. Professionals dealing with gifted students also responded to a questionnaire which explored their respective institutions‟ strategies in dealing with the gifted students. They were also interviewed regarding their views on the Ministry of Education‟s systems and strategies with regard to gifted education. The conclusions and recommendations arising from the study can be viewed under four parts comprising identification, provision, policy and information. The predominant method of identification has been that of intelligence tests and other tests associated with overall academic performance. The membership of the gifted cohorts seems to encourage students from well-educated and affluent families. The educational provision for gifted students seems to be patchy; both strategy and curriculum modification have been found to be somewhat inadequate. The organisation of the gifted strand of policy seem well intentioned, but unevenly targeted at different geographical areas and the role of Care Centres – each being assigned a specified list of schools - could become dynamic with substantial educational improvements resulting in schools being served. It was also found that the flow of information - such as documents emanating from the Ministry - needs to be clear, consistent, illuminating and carefully read by recipients. Due to the special features of the social and cultural environment of Saudi Arabia, an assessment of the impact of the gifted education initiative there has the potential to make an important contribution to other countries considering similar initiatives – especially in many other Arab countries where there are no gifted education policies in existence. The study also makes an international contribution to the history of gifted education and its development.

MEd, Faculty of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, 1990

The coexistence of extraordinary gifts and exceptional impairment residing within the same individual is an inherently curious contradiction. Empirical research on gifted students with one or more disabilities, termed twice-exceptional, is limited. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the role of twice-exceptionality on key constructs related to identity development and self-regulation. This study examined developmental changes in students’ self-esteem ratings and locus of control ratings from eighth grade through twelfth grade, and compared students identified as twice-exceptional with their peers who were identified as gifted-only, disability-only, or non-identified (i.e., a group of “typical” students). Participants were sampled from an existing dataset – the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Measures included questionnaire items adapted from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965), and from Rotter’s Internality-Externality Scale (1966). Results of a two-way mixed design MANOVA revealed no differences between groups on a combination of self-esteem and locus of control ratings, meaning that developmental patterns over time were similar across all ability classifications. Students in the gifted-only group reported the highest levels of self-esteem and the most internalized locus of control, whereas students in the disability-only group reported the lowest self-esteem and most externalized locus of control. Significant differences were revealed between average ratings of twice-exceptional students and ratings of their peers. This manuscript concludes with a discussion of the study’s limitations, implications drawn from the study’s findings, and directions for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 7, 2017. / Disabilities, Gifted, Identity, Locus of Control, Self-esteem, Twice-exceptional / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven Pfeiffer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sandra Lewis, University Representative; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Angela Canto, Committee Member.

The objective of this dissertation is to offer a series of analyses that contribute to the validation of the Aurora Battery, a cognitive assessment based on Robert J. Sternberg's theory of Successful Intelligence that is currently under development. Convergent validity will be examined by exploring how objective and subjective measures of the battery converge, through the novel application of the Correlated Trait Correlated Method-1, a specialized confirmatory factor analysis model that allows subjective measures to be compared against an objective measure. The predictive validity of Aurora will be shown by highlighting Aurora's ability to help predict students' school grade point average through latent growth curve models that are extended into path models. Divergent validity will be demonstrated by establishing sensitivity and specificity between the Aurora Battery and the TerraNova tests. Finally, the current state of the field of giftedness and possible future directions will be discussed.

This research is a Case Study of the experiences of two groups of gifted children, including two preschoolers (3-5 years old) and three primary age children (6 - 9 years old), and their families in Victoria. The children were selected utilising a multi-faceted approach to identification appropriate to their ages and stages of development. That is, both objective and subjective procedures were used which included teacher nomination, parent nomination and checklists for the identification of the children for the case study. The focus of the study was on the personal and educational experiences of these children, with a particular emphasis on recording the

This study sought to explore the question of what personal and professional characteristics may be particularly relevant to effective teachers of the gifted, by investigating the characteristics of effective teachers identified in both the general teacher effectiveness literature and the gifted education literature, through the perceptions of gifted primary students about teachers they regarded as effective. A questionnaire was created for this study, comprised of items which represented characteristics identified from the literature review and determined to be relevant to students' experiences. This questionnaire was distributed to the sample of intellectually gifted primary students (n = 168), and their responses were examined for differences between moderately gifted (n = 74) and highly gifted primary students (n = 94), as well as female (n = 84) and male (n = 81) gifted primary students. This study also recorded gifted primary students' opinions regarding what they believe were the characteristics that made their nominated teachers so effective, through the use of an open-ended question in the questionnaire. This study found that the characteristics of effective teachers identified in both the general teacher effectiveness and the gifted education literatures were supported by gifted primary students' perceptions of their nominated teachers. This study also found differences between moderately gifted and highly gifted primary students, as well as gender differences on a number of characteristics. These differences support the need to examine, more carefully, teacher behaviour and strategies in the classroom for differences in how they may influence the learning of students of different levels of ability and gender. A qualitative analysis of gifted primary students' answers to the open-ended question also revealed in-depth information about how teachers' characteristics are related to each other, and how students perceive them to be effective, as well as suggesting characteristics that were not identified in the previous review of the literature.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.