The long-held notion that gifted students prefer to work alone is reported in several general textbooks on gifted children. However, studies addressing this issue are mixed and certainly not conclusive. Earlier studies disagree on whether those gifted children who claim a preference for working alone do so as a function of grade and maturational stage, sex, or personality characteristics commensurate with increasingly higher IQs. The current study re-examines this notion through the lens of motivation through social-constructivist theory. Two hundred and forty-seven American school-identified gifted, high achieving, and non-identified (i.e., non-gifted, regular education) students in grades 4 through 12 participated. The measure used in this study was a survey comprising items used in past learning style-related research, items adapted from a personality index and an interest profile, as well as locally-developed open-ended questions regarding preferred learning conditions, learning-related personality characteristics, and perceptions of support in their learning. Participants also had the opportunity to offer ideas about ideal learning situations, and their beliefs on why some children versus others might prefer to work alone. Finally, this study attempted to confirm the hypothesis that those gifted students who feel adequately supported by those in their environment will be less likely to indicate a preference for working alone, compared to those who do not feel supported. Although some indication of a preference of gifted students to work alone was present, this preference was not strong because it varied based on how the question was posed. Moreover, sex and grade-related differences were noted. Perhaps most interestingly, in support of the hypothesis of the study, those participants who reported feeling least supported by others reported the strongest preference to work alone. Implications of these findings on classroom curriculum, future career functioning, and mental health are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.103196 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | French, Lisa Rebecca. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.) |
| Rights | © Lisa Rebecca French, 2007 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002671763, proquestno: AAINR38587, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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