The coexistence of extraordinary gifts and exceptional impairment residing within the same individual is an inherently curious contradiction. Empirical research on gifted students with one or more disabilities, termed twice-exceptional, is limited. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the role of twice-exceptionality on key constructs related to identity development and self-regulation. This study examined developmental changes in students’ self-esteem ratings and locus of control ratings from eighth grade through twelfth grade, and compared students identified as twice-exceptional with their peers who were identified as gifted-only, disability-only, or non-identified (i.e., a group of “typical” students). Participants were sampled from an existing dataset – the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Measures included questionnaire items adapted from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965), and from Rotter’s Internality-Externality Scale (1966). Results of a two-way mixed design MANOVA revealed no differences between groups on a combination of self-esteem and locus of control ratings, meaning that developmental patterns over time were similar across all ability classifications. Students in the gifted-only group reported the highest levels of self-esteem and the most internalized locus of control, whereas students in the disability-only group reported the lowest self-esteem and most externalized locus of control. Significant differences were revealed between average ratings of twice-exceptional students and ratings of their peers. This manuscript concludes with a discussion of the study’s limitations, implications drawn from the study’s findings, and directions for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 7, 2017. / Disabilities, Gifted, Identity, Locus of Control, Self-esteem, Twice-exceptional / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven Pfeiffer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sandra Lewis, University Representative; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Angela Canto, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_552032 |
| Contributors | Best, Lori Jean (authoraut), Pfeiffer, Steven I. (professor directing dissertation), Lewis, Sandra (university representative), Prevatt, Frances A. (committee member), Canto, Angela I. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (157 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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