Until about 1970, little was published on research pertaining to the influence of perceptual acuity in relation to gifted children. This study was undertaken to provide empirical data that might lead to a better understanding of such a relationship, to review research performed in the fields of both perception and giftedness, and to assess the usefulness of a non-verbal instrument for elementary teachers of art in diagnosing giftedness at a perceptual level. The study was designed to determine, by means of a perceptual index test, whether or not gifted children who display above average intellectual skills, also exhibit above average perceptual skills. The MacGregor Perceptual Index (MPI) was administered to a group of twenty-four gifted and twenty-six non-gifted children between the ages of ten and twelve years. Categories included:- perception of distance, perception of embedded figures, perception of shape, perception of similarities and differences, perception of the vertical, perception modified by constancy, and perception of contour. The investigation revealed similarities and differences among children of specific intellectual capacity and ages in how they perceive and interpret visual stimuli. It was found that children with above average intellectual ability performed at a higher level on the Perceptual Index test than did subjects drawn from an average group. The findings in this study led to recommendations for further investigation. The MPI, a non-verbal perceptual test, was judged to be a reliable instrument for diagnosing gifted children. In the synopsis of factors revealed in this study, it was concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship between perceptual ability and intellectual ability. The results of the study imply that training in perceptual problem-solving skills may generally enhance a child's intelligence level, and thus should be considered as part of the school curriculum. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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<p>This dissertation investigated an affective curriculum intervention’s effectiveness in resolving</p><p>underachievement. The intervention was first implemented at a summer program with 20 students</p><p>and four camp counselors. Inductive analysis of qualitative data indicated that most participants</p><p>had positive perceptions of the model. Descriptive analyses indicated the intervention had small,</p><p>positive effects on students’ academic self-perceptions (MD = 0.122, SD = 0.621, d = 0.196) and</p><p>attitudes toward teachers (MD = 0.139, SD = 0.848, d = 0.164) were found. There was no change</p><p>in attitudes toward school (MD = 0.080, SD = 1.327, d = 0.060) and goal valuation (MD = 0, SD =</p><p>0.721, d = 0) and a moderate, negative effect on self-regulation (MD = -0.620, SD = 1.346, d = -</p><p>0.460). The intervention was then implemented in a middle school with one 12-year old girl who</p><p>was gifted and underachieving. An explanatory mixed methods design, combining a single-case</p><p>A-B design, an interrupted time series simulation, and inductive analysis, was used. The model</p><p>was perceived as useful, mainly in increasing self-perceptions. Results showed a significant</p><p>increase in behavioral engagement (d = 1.224, p <.001) and improved achievement (SMD = 1.28).</p><p>Academic self-perception (MD = 0.57) and attitudes toward school (MD = 1.00) improved,</p><p>attitudes toward teachers showed no change, and goal valuation (MD = -0.67) and self-regulation</p><p>(MD = -0.40) decreased. These two studies provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of</p><p>the intervention.</p>

Agriculture teachers are responsible for a wide variety of students in their classrooms. It was unclear before this research how much preservice teacher instruction agriculture teachers were receiving to prepare them to teach students identified as gifted. This research aimed to measure teacher attitudes, characterization of gifted students, professional development needs, and related demographic information. Of the agriculture teachers who completed a traditional teacher preparation program, 54.50% felt that they were adequately prepared to meet the needs of gifted students in their classroom. Participants characterized gifted agriculture students as outstanding problem solvers, quick to memorize information, and excellent in science. They did not characterize this group of students as excellent entrepreneurs, very active in FFA, and excellent leaders. These characteristics have implications for how to work with this population of students, such as using problem-based learning and integrating more science content into the classroom. By analyzing results of the importance and ability needs assessment, professional development is needed in creating challenging classroom content, differentiating instruction, and teaching problem solving skills specifically to teach gifted students in their classrooms.

This case study explored the ways that aspects of a high school blended learning program (pseudonym: BL High) encourage or discourage personalization. For K-12 learners a major concern exists in the increasingly rigid dominion of the programmatic over the personal, which leaves many students disengaged and disconnected. Having expanded the ways in which students can interact with curriculum and teachers, 21st-century technology introduces new conditions that may, or may not, encourage personalization instead of standardized, efficiency-based policies and practices.In response to digital technology’s possible impact on education, this study documents student and teacher experiences as evidence of the ways in which personalization is encouraged or discouraged. Personalization was approached generally as a matter of context and power, such that factors shaping the learning process could be altered and that each learner could make decisions about those factors. Through the participation of nine students and three teachers, data were collected in interviews, photographs, and program and course documents. Findings showed that personalization at BL High was a complex matter that occurred through a collection of factors and a series of decisions. That collection of factors allowed students to engage in learning in and out of school while also supporting connections to school peers and teachers. The collection of factors was labeled the PATH model of personalization and was conjunctively defined as the overlap of program, agency, time, and help. Overarching findings were threefold: (a) the learning process at school involved far less flexibility in content and assignments than anticipated, (b) that limited flexibility coincided with student learning and agency that extended to personal passions beyond the school program, and (c) flexible timing existed as a double-edged sword, providing students with the opportunity to structure their use of time and pursue passions of their choosing but also leaving them at risk of time management challenges and stalled academic progress. Implications are discussed for researchers, teachers and school leaders, and the field of gifted education.

Research has shown self-concept to be a significant influence of later success in life, yet studies have rarely focused on the perceptions of students in all educational placements and achievements – specifically, those identified as gifted and with a learning disability (G/LD) (Rudasill, Capper, Foust, Callahan, & Albaugh, 2009). Adopting a qualitative case study approach, and guided by the Marsh/Shavelson model of self-concept (1985) and the Social Identity Theory (1986), this study explored 1) how G/LD students perceive the development of his or her self-concept over time and 2) how labelling and educational placement interact with the development of self-concept. A Body Biography and a discussion/ semi-structured interview were used to explore these questions with eight English-speaking post-secondary G/LD students. During the discussion/ semi-structured interview, participants discussed their completed Body Biography and responded to questions focused on self-perceptions of educational placement, labels, social identity, group membership, and self-concept. Findings of the study revealed that participants tended to perceive the gifted and LD components of the G/LD identification as separate components, rather than as a whole identification; participants appeared to consider themselves as part of a gifted in-group when reflecting upon their strengths and within a LD in-group when reflecting upon their weaknesses; and educational placement experiences exerted a strong influence upon participants’ self-concepts, depending on how well they perceived their educational placement experiences met their academic needs. Overall, the domains of self-concept were very closely related to one another, with academic, social, and emotional self-concepts being the most influenced by identification, labels, and educational placement. The findings from this study support the notion that each G/LD student is unique and there is no singular best method of identification, nor is there one specific educational path that meets the educational needs of all G/LD students.

Multiple criteria systems are recommended as best practice to identify culturally, linguistically, economically diverse students for gifted services, in which schools often incorporate measures of creativity. However, the role of creativity in identification systems and its recruitment of diverse student populations is unclear. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) is the most widely used norm-referenced creativity test in gifted identification. Although commonly used for identifying talent, little is known on the variability in composite scores on the TTCT-Figural and student demographics (i.e., race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, English language learning status). This study evaluated student demographic subgroup differences that exist after the initial phase of an identification process (i.e., universal screening, referrals) and examined the relationship among student demographics (i.e., race/ethnicity, free/reduced lunch status, English language learning status, sex), cognitive ability, academic achievement, and creativity, as measured by the TTCT-Figural Form A or B, to the probability of being identified for gifted programs. In a midsized school district in the state of Texas, findings indicate several demographic differences for students who were referred or universally screened across the measures of cognitive ability, academic achievement, and creativity. However, there were lower differences when using the TTCT-Figural. Results of a hierarchical generalized linear regression indicate underrepresented groups showed no difference in the probability of being identified after controlling for measures of cognitive ability, academic achievement, and creativity. Though, cognitive ability and academic achievement tests were more predictive of identification compared to the TTCT-Figural. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Policies delegating control of educational policy to the local level are widespread, yet there has been little examination of the effects of such distributed decision making in the area of advanced education programming. We used propensity score matching to examine the effectiveness of locally developed policies for identifying intellectually gifted children identifying themselves as Black or from low-socioeconomic backgrounds across one large U.S. state (Florida) that has a state-level gifted education mandate. Ongoing underrepresentation of traditionally marginalized groups in gifted education was evident, even among districts with policies specifically designed to ameliorate disproportional representation. However, the presence of such a policy reduced the degree of underrepresentation.

Gifted children are a forgotten group in the Swedish school context according to earlier research. Swedish teachers need to have more knowledge about gifted children. Several countries have special programs or education for gifted children. Sweden has no national action plan for gifted children, though Skolverket has published several texts about gifted children as information to schools.  A comparative research design is applied in this study. The method in the thesis is comparative, and semi-structured interviews have been conducted. The respondents were principals, teachers and special educators from Thailand and Sweden. The collected data was thematised into three topics: Definitions of gifted children, strategies in education and“dark side” for gifted children.  The data collection was limited due to the Corona-outbreak in the beginning of 2020. However, the result shows there is a difference between how the Thai and Swedish respondents define gifted children. They are fairly consistent in how gifted children can be helped in education. Further knowledge, for researchers and educators in both Thailand and Sweden would improve the education and can help more children to succeed in school.

Gifted middle school students may not always be provided with a differentiated curriculum that ensures their academic progression in inclusive educational settings. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teachers' perspectives on differentiation for gifted students in the general education classroom. The conceptual framework for the study was anchored by the theories of Gardner, who recognized that students learn in different ways, and Vygotsky, who determined that students learn best at their level of learning or zone of proximal development. The research questions focused on teachers' perspectives about teaching the gifted students in the general classroom environment and how they were implementing differentiation for their gifted students. Participants included 7 general education teachers from a single middle school who taught students with mixed abilities. Data collection consisted of interviews with each teacher and a single observation in each teacher's classroom. Inductive analysis aided in the coding process. Open and axial coding were used to create labels and concepts, color coding for organization of the data, member checking for accuracy, triangulation, and peer review for validity. The results of the study indicated that teachers were willing to teach mixed-ability students in 1 classroom, but most teachers believed that gifted students should be taught in special gifted classes. Although teachers believed that differentiation was important, they were not implementing differentiation in their classrooms for gifted students. Social change implications include a deeper understanding by teachers and administration of the necessity for challenging and differentiated instruction. Recommendations are made for improvements in accommodations, appropriate strategies, and differentiated curriculum for middle school gifted students.