The purpose of this qualitative research, using narrative inquiry, was to describe, illuminate, and analyze the perspectives of a unique population - six high performing adolescents - who reflected on their educational experiences in Vermont. With input from their parent/guardians, their educators and the students themselves, this study was intended to shine a light on the experience of each of these participants. “The central idea of narrative analysis is that stories and narratives offer translucent windows into cultural and social meanings” (Patton, 2002, p. 116). This study is framed in their first-person voices to reveal the perspectives of students, parents, and teachers related to the education that these talented learners encountered in Vermont. As the starting point, my research questions related to perceptions of the students‟ educational experience and those factors leading to success as well as those which inhibited their learning. To provide an understanding of their educational experiences, I focused on first-person narratives from students, their parents, and an educator the students nominated as having made a significant positive contribution to their education. Next, I present a collective case study including the perspectives of the students, family members and teachers illuminating the essential elements of each group as culled from their descriptions. Drawing upon these descriptions, I describe the successes and challenges from the perspective of the student, family, and teachers. Findings suggest these participants hold stories similar to one another. Students, parents, and educators related experiences that resonated with one another in their commonalities. Generally, the findings point to the importance of parents, teachers, and opportunities to learn with academic and artistic peers as being significant. These high performing students also valued independent learning experiences, flexible scheduling, and higher level reading experiences. Using their first-person accounts as the basis of this study, I conclude with a discussion of the implications of my findings and recommendations for the education community involved with high performing students.

The exponential growth of the Hispanic student population and the controversial educational issue surrounding the assessment of English language learners are the two fundamental topics of this study. Due to the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the assessment of the escalating Hispanic student population, the underrepresentation of Hispanics in gifted and talented (GT) programs has developed into a critical educational concern (Bernal, 2002; Irby & Lara-Alecio, 1996; Ortiz & Gonzalez, 1998). The research questions that guided this study focused on finding validated assessments for early identification of the gifted Hispanic English language learners (ELLs) in kindergarten. The first research question aimed to determine the concurrent validity of the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI) using the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT) and Wookcock Language Proficient Battery-Revised (WLPB-R) selected three subtests, administered in English and Spanish. This study found a positive statistically significant correlation between the HBGSI, the NNAT, and WLPB-R subtests. The second question focused on the correlation between language proficiency as measured by the WLPB-R subtests and nonverbal intelligence measured using the NNAT. This analysis found that there was a statistically significant correlation between the NNAT and the WLPB-R subtests. The third question concentrated on the difference in performance on the NNAT and WLPB-R subtests by two student groups, those identified and those not identified GT using the HBGSI. The study determined that the students identified GT performed statistically significantly different on the NNAT than those not identified GT. The fourth question centered on the difference in performance on the HBGSI of students enrolled in a transitional bilingual education (TBE) and those enrolled in an English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The results of my study showed that students in a TBE classroom performed statistically significantly different on five HBGSI clusters (Social & Academic Language, Familial, Collaboration, Imagery, and Creative Performance) than students in ESL classroom. The study’s results were analyzed, interpreted and discussed in this dissertation.

The exponential growth of the Hispanic student population and the controversial educational issue surrounding the assessment of English language learners are the two fundamental topics of this study. Due to the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the assessment of the escalating Hispanic student population, the underrepresentation of Hispanics in gifted and talented (GT) programs has developed into a critical educational concern (Bernal, 2002; Irby & Lara-Alecio, 1996; Ortiz & Gonzalez, 1998). The research questions that guided this study focused on finding validated assessments for early identification of the gifted Hispanic English language learners (ELLs) in kindergarten. The first research question aimed to determine the concurrent validity of the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI) using the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT) and Wookcock Language Proficient Battery-Revised (WLPB-R) selected three subtests, administered in English and Spanish. This study found a positive statistically significant correlation between the HBGSI, the NNAT, and WLPB-R subtests. The second question focused on the correlation between language proficiency as measured by the WLPB-R subtests and nonverbal intelligence measured using the NNAT. This analysis found that there was a statistically significant correlation between the NNAT and the WLPB-R subtests. The third question concentrated on the difference in performance on the NNAT and WLPB-R subtests by two student groups, those identified and those not identified GT using the HBGSI. The study determined that the students identified GT performed statistically significantly different on the NNAT than those not identified GT. The fourth question centered on the difference in performance on the HBGSI of students enrolled in a transitional bilingual education (TBE) and those enrolled in an English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The results of my study showed that students in a TBE classroom performed statistically significantly different on five HBGSI clusters (Social & Academic Language, Familial, Collaboration, Imagery, and Creative Performance) than students in ESL classroom. The study’s results were analyzed, interpreted and discussed in this dissertation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1985. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-121).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Psychology) / One of the oldest problems in psychology, dating back to Galton in the 19th century, is the phenomenon of observed variations in intellectual performance. According to Messick (1973) over half a century of empirical research has uncovered a vast array of dimensions relating to aspects of cognitive functioning. buring this period intellectual giftedness was not the prime objective of theorists, with little attention being paid to this aspect of intellectual functioning. Research into intellectual giftedness is furthermore widely diversified with regard ~o conceptual definitions and methodology (Anastasi, 1965). In South Africa the emphasis has been placed on studies conducted at secondary school level (Coetzee, 19751 Duminy, 1960, Roos, 1983). As a result the cognitive and personality structure of the gifted adult is incomplete regarding theoretical and empirical aspects. The primary objective of the present study was to ascertain whether the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually gifted students differed from the cognitive and personality structure of intellectually average students. In order to investigate the problem a random sample was drawn of registered students (both past and present) at the Rand Afrikaans University. These students were allocated to one of five categories according to their score (I.Q) on the New South Africa.n Group Test of Intelligence •

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

In 2005, the Ministry of Education in New Zealand released 'The Schooling Strategy, Making a Bigger Difference for all Students' (Ministry of Education, 2005). This is intended as a framework for ongoing effort and improvement in education for the five years from 2005 to 2010. One of the strategic priorities in this document, is to promote evidence-based practice. With evidence-based practice, teachers combine evidence from a number of sources to inform their professional judgements and practice. This includes research evidence about effective pedagogy. Teachers, it states, need to be supported to 'base their practice on principles of what works from research evidence and adapting it to their classroom context' (p.39). In looking at the practices of schools in catering for gifted and talented students, therefore, it is appropriate, to look at the findings of research. This research is useful in underpinning 'best practice'. This study reviews the literature concerning the education of gifted and talented children from both national and international perspectives. It then looks at current New Zealand practice, based on four case-study primary schools. There are very encouraging signs that these schools are well into the journey of catering for their gifted and talented students. Each school in this study has responded to the challenge of provision as best it can, within constraints of individual school situations. Each school also sees the development of this provision as an ongoing process. From Term 1, 2005, all state and state integrated schools must be able to show how they are meeting the needs of their gifted and talented learners. The main findings of this study suggest that even before the amendment to this National Administration Guideline (NAG) 1(iii)c, there were some promising and effective provisions for gifted and talented children within schools. These included school-wide and withdrawal provisions. However, since the change to the NAG and the involvement of schools in gifted and talented professional development courses, there has been increased awareness of the need for classroom teachers to differentiate their programmes in order to more effectively cater for this group of learners. New Zealand primary school classrooms with a learner centred philosophy appear to be well suited to programme differentiation. There is increasingly an emphasis within general teaching practice on individualizing programmes based on assessment data which clearly shows where the child is at, and what the next learning step will be. Current professional development contracts promoting practices such as inquiry learning, curriculum integration and thinking skills seem to have particular promise for this group of learners. It is very evident, however, that a lack of time and energy is a significant barrier for classroom teachers wishing to provide for the specific needs of gifted and talented learners. It is also suggested that some schools, in particular low decile and small rural schools, may be unfairly disadvantaged in their ability to provide for gifted and talented learners. The challenge for schools now, it is suggested, is to continue the journey towards a school-wide commitment to best practice in providing for this group of learners. Special consideration for this group of learners should be integrated into the context of all pre-service training and in-service professional development, as part of a differentiated programme for all learners. A vital component of this is ongoing practical support for teachers based on their expressed need, to enable them to effectively translate theory into practice, and thus implement and embed any appropriate approach, based on research findings, effectively.