Purpose of the study was to ascertain and compare perceptions of selected professionals over the United States in the field of giftedness, mainstream teachers of the gifted, and parents of gifted children from Okaloosa School District, Florida, concerning underachievement. / Population was surveyed for interest and a pilot test was conducted for formative evaluation. Professionals' response rate was 95%; teachers' rate was 81.6%; parents' rate was 40.9%. / Questionnaires contained 34 items of four categories derived from the literature: Curriculum, Educational Environment, Learning Styles, and Involvement of Parents. Ratings on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The Analysis of Variance technique tested the 34 hypotheses at the .05 level of significance at a 95% confidence level. Duncan's Multiple Range Test showed where the difference lies. Each category was ranked by the professionals, with number one as the highest. Teachers' and parents' ratings were compared to those of the professionals. Results were analyzed through averaging the mean and comparing them. / Findings were that professionals rated items higher than teachers or parents. Fourteen null hypotheses were rejected indicating a significant difference among perceptions. Four top priority items as ranked by professionals were: Curriculum--The attitude of a gifted underachiever affects the amount and significance of his/her learning; Educational Environment--Self-concept development is important if an underachieving gifted child is to become an achiever; Learning Styles--The learning styles preferences of underachieving gifted children are being ignored; Involvement of Parents--Establishing a climate for parents and their underachieving gifted children to learn from each other makes the likelihood of success greater for the child. / Baseline data on giftedness and underachievement are now available from the results of this study and are worthy topics of concern for all segments--professionals, mainstream teachers, parents, administrators, and teachers of the gifted. Strategies for the amelioration of underachievement among the gifted may have application for other components of education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4418. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74636 |
| Contributors | CLARK, ELAINE GLASS., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 263 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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