Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine: the nature and extent of programs for the academically talented in Massachusetts, the attitudes of Massachusetts superintendents towards such programs, and the factors which affect the existence of such programs. PROCEDURE A study was made of the literature on programs for the gifted in the U.S. and of past state and national surveys of such programs. A survey form was developed and sent, under the auspices of the Massachusetts Department of Education, to all 244 superintendents in the Commonwealth. A 93% response was eventually elicited. The data were then coded and tabulated and scores derived which represented (1) each school district's degree of effort in behalf of gifted pupils; (2) each superintendent's level of acceptance of special programming for the gifted and of the various provisions subsumed under this concept; and (3) each community's level of acceptance, as perceived by the superintendent, of the concept of special programs for the gifted. Those items which lent themselves to statistical analysis were coded and punched onto IBM cards and entered into the disc memory of an IBM 7094 computer. A program for sorting and analyzing the data was written which included the derivation of partial correlation coefficient for those factors for which relationships were hypothesized. It was hypothesized that statistically significant relationships exist between the nature and extent of programs for the gifted and (1) superintendent attitude, (2) size of district, and (3) wealth of district. It was also hypothesized that programs for the gifted had not expanded in recent years principally because of a still crucial lack of helping funds for such programs. FINDINGS It was found that 14 states now give financial support to district programs for the gifted whereas Massachusetts, a relatively wealthy state, does not. It was found that 32% of the superintendents in Massachusetts are "strongly in favor" of programs for the gifted, 61% are "moderately in favor," 6% are "moderately opposed" and 1% are "strongly opposed." For elementary gifted pupils: 75% of the superintendents favor special classes; 90% favor "redeployment" into ability-grouped classes for reading and arithmetic; 87% support summer enrichment programs; and 81% want to improve their programs of enrichment in the regular class. The only provisions for elementary gifted pupils not favored by a majority of Massachusetts superintendents have to do with acceleration. At the secondary level: At least 95% favor: enrichment in connection with ability grouping, the development of differential curricula and special career seminars; 91% favor Advanced Placement Programs. For both elementary and secondary programs: 88% wish to improve identification procedures, 97% favor the use of special criteria for the selection of teachers of the gifted, and 95% favor special inservice programs for A.T. teachers. In contrast to superintendents' expressed wishes and attitudes, actual programs show that: Fewer than 25% of the districts claim to have systematic identification procedures; only 11% use any special criteria for selecting teachers for the A.T. and only 4% have inservice programs for these teachers; 25% of the districts indicate that they have special classes for the gifted and/or summer enrichment programs; 68% group by ability for reading and 56% for arithmetic. No pupils are accelerated, under any circumstances, in 83% of the districts. In approximately three-fourths of the districts, "enrichment in the regular class" is the principal provision for gifted elementary pupils, although research shows that this approach, without other program concomitants, usually results in "paper" rather than actual programs. At the high school level 87% of the schools practice ability grouping but only half indicate having differential curricula. Fewer than one-fourth of the districts have Advanced Placement Programs. In summary, Massachusetts superintendents report that 62% of the districts make no special provision for the gifted at the elementary level and 42% have no programs at the secondary level. The partial correlation studies revealed that statistically significant relationships exist between A.T. programs and district size and wealth. It was found that community attitude, as perceived by superintendents, also correlated positively with the extent of special programs for the gifted. On the other hand, no significant correlation was found between superintendent attitude and either the nature or extent of elementary or secondary programs for the gifted, whereas quite the opposite was hypothesized. Seventy per cent of the superintendents indicate lack of funds as the principal deterrent to the development of programs for the gifted in their districts. Ninety-eight per cent indicate that they would apply for funds to expand provisions for the gifted if such funds became available. However, inasmuch as superintendents generally regard other educational programs as having higher priority for the limited funds available, it appears that only categorical aid, from State or Federal sources, could lead to significant improvements in educational programming for gifted pupils in the public schools of Massachusetts. / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between specific cognitive variables and classroom achievement among a gifted population. The participants included 389 students in grades five eight enrolled in the Gifted and Talented Education program in a Southcentral Kentucky School district. An experimenter-developed teacher rating scale was used to document classroom achievement, the criterion variable. The predictor variables were (a) locus of control, as measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale; (b) the ability to clearly express thoughts and the elaboration, fluency, flexibility, originally, and organization of those thoughts, as measured by the Prose Quantification System; (c) knowledge of reading, mathematics, and language art, as measured by the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills; and (d) academic aptitude, as measured by the Test of Cognitive Skills. The first hypothesis stated that these cognitive variables were related to classroom achievement among the gifted. The second hypothesis stated that these relationships would rank from strongest to weakest in the following order: (a) knowledge of reading, mathematics, and language arts; (b) locus of control; (c) the ability to clearly express thoughts and the elaboration, fluency, flexibility, originality, and organization of those thoughts: and 9d0 academic aptitude. Stepwise Multiple Regression procedures identified knowledge of mathematics as the single best predictor model of classroom achievement (r=.29, p<.001). Zero Order Correlation coefficients were computed and indicated that the following variables were significantly related to classroom achievement: (a) knowledge of reading (r=.15, p<.05); (b) knowledge of mathematics (r=.23, p< .05). According to the Zero Order Correlation coefficients the first hypothesis was only supported in part. The lack of significant relationships may have been due to (a) limitations of the instruments used; (b) the questionable validity of teacher-assigned grades used to measure classroom achievement 9c0 nonlinear bivariate distributions of the data; 9d0 the restriction in range evidenced by classroom achievement, PQS scores, and TCS scores. The second hypothesis was also only supported in part. As predicted the strongest relationship was between classroom achievement and knowledge of reading (r=.15, p<.05). The next strongest relationship was between academic aptitude and classroom achievement (r=.10, p> .05). Which was predicted to be ranked last. The weakest relationships were between locus of control and classroom achievement (r=.07. p> .05): and the ability to express thoughts and the elaboration, fluency, flexibility, originality, and organization of those thoughts and classroom achievement (r=.07, p>.05). The failure of the last three variables to be ranked in the predicted order was likely due to chance factors, since all of these relationships were nonsignificant. It was recommended that future research (a) utilize instruments that were standardized and commonly used with the gifted; (b) increase the variability of the scores of the cognitive measures and classroom grades by using more grade levels and identified achievers and underachievers; (c) examine the validity of teacher-assigned grades; and (d) explore in depth the relationship between academic aptitude and classroom achievement to develop more reliable and valid predictors of giftedness and classroom achievement.

This observational study surveyed the engagement of fifth-grade gifted students who spend the majority of their academic day in a general education classroom. This study looked at students in a K-6 public school district in Southern California. This study was a qualitative study with some quantitative data to confirm observational findings. The methods included observations, observational notes, audio and video recordings. After the observations the recordings were reviewed to assure the observational notes accurately portrayed the actions of the target students. The measures included student surveys, observational data via the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools instrument, and teacher interviews. The short response portion of the student surveys and the teacher interviews were coded and analyzed for common themes. The research questions that dictated the direction of this study included: Is student engagement altered by use of differentiated curriculum, if so is it increased or decreased with more appropriate assignments for gifted students? Do students put forth the same effort with more complex assignments as with easier assignments? Do fifth-grade gifted students show signs of a lack of student engagement? Further research may include expanding the study to include more students from various school districts to ascertain if the findings are consistent with other groups of students.

This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of bullying and victimization among children identified as gifted who are in the last grade of elementary school (4th grade) and first two grades of middle school (5th and 6th grades). Additionally, I investigated if the children experienced distress associated with bullying and victimization and if the distress varied systematically across the three grades. The study took place at one elementary school and two middle schools located in Tennessee. There were a total of 35 participants [4th grade (n = 15), 5th grade (n = 13), and 6th grade (n =7)]. The results indicated that the 4th graders reported a significantly higher prevalence of bullying compared to the 5th graders. Furthermore there were significant, strong correlations between victimization and level of total distress; bullying and level of externalizing distress; and victimization and level of internalizing distress. The principal limitation of the study was the small sample size (N = 35). Additional studies investigating this topic should be conducted to help educators become more aware of the prevalence of bullying and victimization during the elementary-middle school transition period among children who are gifted. Such studies can also potentially shed light on the manner in which children who are gifted handle bullying and victimization.

This study investigated the use of interdisciplinary computer-based simulations compared to traditional teaching methods. The academic intrinsic motivation of gifted and non-gifted students was analyzed using a quasi-experimental design, similar to a pretest/posttest design.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between intellectual ability of 276 high school students and personality as measured by the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS) factors. The 10 GZTS traits utilized were: General Activity, Restraint, Ascendance, Sociability, Emotional Stability, Objectivity, Friendliness, Thoughtfulness, Personal Relations and Masculinity. The study was designed to test for the relationship between three IQ groups (high, middle and low) and each of 10 GZTS personality factors. A multiple groups design was used, in which the three groups of subjects were blocked across intelligence. Ten one-way analyses of variance were performed to determine if significant differences between the IQ groups existed on the 10 GZTS factors. None of the analyses yielded significant findings. That is, no significant differences in personality across IQ groups were obtained. Seven non-significant trends between intelligence level and specific personality factors are presented and discussed.

There is much current interest in the field of education concerning the academically gifted student’s needs. Guilford’s Structure of Intellect model (Guilford, 1956) holds particular promise for positively influencing the development of cognitive skills among academically gifted students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of using a program of instruction based upon Guilford’s Structure of Intellect (SI) model (Meeker, 1969) with children identified as academically gifted. Subjects consisted of 68 fourth-grade students who resided in two counties of northwestern Kentucky and who were identified as being academically gifted. The treatment group consisted of 34 academically gifted fourth-grade students attending various schools in one of the counties. Each student in the treatment group received three hours of instruction per week based on the SI model. This SI instruction was on a resource basis, outside their regular classroom instruction, and lasted for a total of 34 weeks. The control group consisted of 34 academically gifted fourth-grade students who attended school within a second county in northwestern Kentucky. The control group received no instruction based upon the SI model; rather, they received only traditional instruction in a regular classroom. The dependent variables were the abilities of evaluation, memory, cognition, divergent production, and convergent production as defined by Guilford and as measured by the five subscales of the Structure of Intellect / Learning Abilities (SOI/LA) test (Meeker, 1969) which possess independent items across the subtests. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Five analyses of covariance were computed, one for each of the five dependent variable measures. Results of the analyses indicated significant differences between the SOI / LA scores of the treatment group over the control group at the time of posttesting for all of the dependent variable measures except memory. Results of this study demonstrated that a program of instruction, based upon Guilford’s SI model, positively influenced the development of cognitive skills, as measured by the SOI / LA test, among students in the treatment group.

The problem with which this study is concerned is the methods and techniques that are utilized by some teachers in the identification of a gifted student. This study has a threefold purpose. The first is to discuss the plight of some of our valuable human resources as manifested by the gifted in the American educational structure. The second is to present and contrast the current approaches to conserving these resources. The third is to project some possible trends in meeting the needs of the gifted segment in American schools. This study concludes that the field of teaching the gifted has been exploited by educators, and that there is very little likelihood in replacing the suggested methods and techniques entirely by new ones. Though there is little chance to replace all the suggested methods and techniques, there is sufficient room for expansion and internal renovations in the American educational mode of arrnagement.

Teaching of cell and molecular biology is often restricted by financial and material limitations as well as a lack of expertise. These problems may be overcome by cooperation with scientific institutions and universities. Some scientists teach select courses under the auspices of high school. Others allow students to fulfill internships at their workplaces. The first aim of this thesis is to describe the characteristics of summer school, wherein the participants are integral for providing feedback on what matters most to them. The second goal of the study is to perform four molecular biology lab lessons in the advanced placement genetics course. The results of a qualitative research conducted among summer school participants have shown the benefits present due to contact that occurs between people of the same genuine interest. Student evaluation of molecular biology lessons performed in the advanced placement course revealed that the lab lessons are feasible and positively accepted by students. The thesis also highlights the importance of cooperation between high school and academia. Key words: molecular biology, DNA, secondary schools, gifted students

This study examined issues related to the development of English as a major for gifted students in Vietnam and current and former students' perceptions of the program. The data were collected through an online survey and analyzed through descriptive statistics in order to identify patterns of agreement and disagreement between two groups of 60 current and 30 former gifted students. The results showed that the majority of the participants came from well-educated families and that family influences and traditions had a great impact on their choice of the program. The major reasons for the program selection were identified as its high prestige and students' interest in learning English as a tool for career advancement. Based on current and former students' evaluations, their initial expectations were met as the majority of them expressed satisfaction with the quality of the English education at the school and appreciated its usefulness for their further study and career. The only area of slight dissatisfaction concerned the lack of opportunities to acquire native like pronunciation. The findings were interpreted in view of their implications for the maintenance and further development of the specialized English major program in Vietnam.