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Recognizing the important role that classroom teachers play in the referral of students for possible gifted education in many U. S. schools, this study questioned elementary classroom teachers in grades K through 5 to learn about their perceptions of what "giftedness" is. Teachers responded to two questionnaires to define both their general and their specific perceptions of giftedness. Early in the school year the teachers chose from a list of twenty recognized giftedness traits the four that best defined the term for them In the spring, after the same teachers had referred specific students for testing for the gifted program, they selected the four most prominent gifted traits shown by each referred student. Results showed a teacher efficiency rate of 43.4%, equal to or above that of previous research. Among the four traits teachers most often selected as the ones indicating either general or specific giftedness to them, three were identical. Teacher years of experience, grade level taught by the teacher, and the presence or absence of gifted classes at the teacher's school did not significantly affect teacher perceptions of important traits. Student gender was a significant variable in selection of traits. The #1 trait for boys was advanced logic and problem solving ability; for girls it was advanced reading and/or writing ability. School socioeconomic level was also a significant variable. Teachers judged advanced logic and problem solving ability more important for the high or middle SES student than for the low SES student, whether they considered traits of giftedness in general or specific children. Student race/ethnicity was a significant factor also. Racial and ethnic minorities were referred and, generally, passed the screening in such relatively small numbers that the data did not lend themselves to further analysis. Teachers demonstrated consistency and efficiency in gifted identification. It was recommended that this school system address issues of possible gender and SES bias that might be influencing teachers' perceptions and that the system consider a method other than an IQ score as the final qualifying instrument for entry into the program for gifted students.

This study examined the developmental role of creativity on vocational and avocational interests of gifted students grades 7 to 12. Prior research has assumed that choices made by gifted and creative students were unique. This study was aimed at determining if there were relationships between background characteristics (age, sex and creativity) of gifted students and their preferences for leisure and work activities. Higher scores on creativity tests were significantly correlated with more leisure pursuits. The sample studied was significantly different from Torrance's norms. This sample's norms were presented. In this sample the overall creativity and leisure skills were highly correlated with component scores. Lower grade level was the most important factor in predicting certain leisure activities. Creativity was also a significant predictive factor. Male-female similarities emerged. Lower creativity was the most important factor in predicting certain vocational interests. Sex, grade level, and overall leisure were also significant factors. Some grade level differences and similarities were evidenced. Discussed are implications for future gifted programs, possible generalization limitations, and future cause-effect research.

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in total scores on the <i>Mathematical Self-Efficacy Scale, </i> the mathematics task self-efficacy portion of the scale, and the math-related school subjects self-efficacy portion of the scale for middle school students between students assigned to a homogeneously grouped accelerated math class and students assigned to a heterogeneously grouped math class. </p><p> The instrument used to gather information for thus study on student self-efficacy was the <i>Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale</i> (MSES). The MSES measures 2 domains of mathematics-related behaviors and capabilities. The <i> Mathematics Task Self-Efficacy</i> scale is designed to measure the level of confidence the student would have when successfully completing the given task. The <i>Math-Related School Subjects Self-Efficacy</i> scale is designed to measure the level of confidence the student would have when successfully completing a college level course with a final grade of an A or B. The 2 parts of the MSES may be individually scored or holistically scored to obtain a total score representing overall mathematical self-efficacy.</p><p> Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data for the 9 research questions. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to the heterogeneous or homogeneous groups by their schools and were not controlled by the researcher. Students within the groups were chosen as participants based on their math ability and scores on the seventh grade TCAP test. At the time of the survey these students attended either a K-8 elementary school or a middle school in Northeast Tennessee. The population consisted of 357 gifted or talented eighth grade math students in 6 school districts in Northeast Tennessee.</p><p> The results of this study does not support or discourage the practice of acceleration by retaining 7 of the 9 null hypotheses that there are no significant difference in self-efficacy scores between homogeneous grouped eighth grade math students who were placed in accelerated coursework by taking Algebra I and those students who were heterogeneously grouped in a regular eighth grade math class.</p>

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.

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