Su búsqueda

Giftedness has often been equated with being academically talented or being a high achiever in school. However, there is often concern about the gifted students who could be described as unmotivated and underachieving in one or many academic areas. At the Jones Street School, a school for gifted elementary students, the location of this study, there are some students who are unmotivated and are considered underachievers. In the 5 th Grade in particular, some students are identified as underachievers who are unmotivated to produce high quality writing. The reasons for underachieving in this area are varied. However, when school, home and child work together using various strategies in curriculum and instruction, underachievement can be reversed leading to improved student performance. The main objective of this study is to help teachers and parents in understanding the nature and cause of underachievement and to show them how to effectively work with underachieving 5 th grade gifted students who are unmotivated to produce high quality writing. The study will help to prevent as well as reverse the students' patterns of attitudes and behaviors. The study will use qualitative research questions to address the 5 th grade gifted students who are unmotivated to produce high quality writing. The use of a survey/questionnaire along with a focus group session with the 5 th grade students and teachers examine the cause of underachievement in writing among these students in the Jones Street School. The study aims to provide useful information that allows the teachers to assist the students in becoming successful in their writing projects and increase motivation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In public schools today, students who are identified as individuals with gifts and talents are generally confronted with education that is not fitted to their learning needs and self-regulatory potentials (Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004). The mismatch between needs and services is particularly true of those students who, in addition to their giftedness, are faced with the challenges of a developmental disability such as autism or Asperger's Syndrome. In the face of such challenges to appropriate services for twice-exceptional students, a new approach to public education is attracting an increasing amount of attention. The term twice-exceptional was coined by James J. Gallagher to denote students who are both gifted and have a disability. A growing body of research indicates that online learning is effective in meeting the unique needs of these students. This study gathered information from students with gifts and talents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who are enrolled in a full-time Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The study utilized in-depth interviews with three to four each of students and parents. The data collected was analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach. The purpose of the study was to examine the participants' reasons for enrolling in a virtual high school, to assess the extent to which students, their parents, and teachers feel the virtual learning environment accommodates each child's particular academic, behavioral and social needs, and to determine whether the participants perceive VLEs as capable of fostering acceptance and socialization among gifted autistic students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The impact of gifted education services is not monitored by accountability measures required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002), and giftedness is not a suspect class in equity concerns (Leslie, 2009). Therefore, a research base that measures the impact of well-designed practices on student outcomes may serve as the strongest justification for the development of potential among gifted students in American public schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of school characteristics on the development of gifted student potential during the middle school years as measured by achievement, creativity, and motivation outcomes. For the purposes of this study, school characteristics referred to the curriculum (integrated versus traditional), the presence or lack of deliberate focus given to preparation for state criterion-referenced grade-level tests, and the attention given to matching curriculum to student interest. The findings of the research study do not fully support concerns that a focus on state-mandated competency tests may create an unfavorable climate for the academic growth of high-achieving students. There was evidence that an integrated instructional approach that reduced focus on competency testing may foster higher levels of creative thinking. Findings also revealed the importance of periodically monitoring student retention of grade-level standards to guard against regression in levels of proficiency when students engage in accelerated curricula. The study highlighted a need for assessments that permit the evaluation of conceptual understanding and processes to provide a more informative review of academic achievement and creative thinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study shows that minority students who, based upon a standardized test, have shown a high academic performance capability have a readiness for rigorous courses in high school and can sustain high academic achievement over time when compared to non-minority peers. Therefore, the on-going question for many educators needs to be why doesn't this hold true in many of our public school across this country? Why, in light of the accountability placed upon our nation's schools in 2001, is the prevailing discussion still about minority students being left behind? The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ninth-grade to 12th-grade achievement trajectory of same school district ethnic minority and ethnic majority high school students' formally identified as gifted to determine if there is an achievement gap that ensues over time. This study may lead to future investigation on the "Opportunity Gap", and may have important implications for many urban schools in the Metropolitan School District where students who are culturally, linguistically and ethnically diverse are at risk of underachieving. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined and compared school attitudes, including academic self-perceptions, attitudes toward teachers, attitudes toward school, goal valuation, and motivation/self-regulation, using the School Attitude Assessment Survey - Revised (SAAS-R) in groups of students who varied in their potential for academic achievement and their actual academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to extend the current literature on giftedness, underachievement in gifted students, and low achievement in general. Furthermore, this exploratory study was designed to replicate and extend the research on the SAAS-R (Matthews & McBee, 2007; McCoach & Siegle, 2001; McCoach & Siegle, 2003a; McCoach & Siegle, 2003b; McCoach & Siegle, 2003c; Suldo et al., 2008). The sample consisted of 847 students from a Midwestern high school that had the potential to be placed in the following categories: gifted, nongifted, high achiever, low achiever, gifted high achiever, gifted underachiever, nongifted low achiever, or nongifted high achiever. Identification of gifted students was based on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), while achievement was based on grade point average (GPA). Overall, this study demonstrated evidence of adequate construct validity in the SAAS-R. Gifted students had more positive academic self-perceptions than nongifted students ( p<.01). High achievers had more positive attitudes than low achievers on all attitudes measured ( p<.01). Gifted high achievers had more positive attitudes than gifted underachievers in the areas of academic self perceptions, goal valuation, and motivation/self-regulation ( p<.01). Gifted underachievers had lower motivation/self-regulation than nongifted low achievers ( p<.01). No students were classified as nongifted high achievers. Using attitude ratings, logistic regression analyses correctly classified gifted achievers and gifted underachievers with 85.9% accuracy in the five factor model and 86.7% accuracy in a two factor model including academic self-perceptions and motivation/self-regulation. Also, high achievers and low achievers were correctly classified with 80.6% accuracy in the five factor model and 80.3% accuracy in a two factor model including academic self-perceptions and motivation/self-regulation. Limitations and implications for practice and research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Intellectual giftedness is associated with strong strategic verbal memory while Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with strategic verbal memory deficits; however, no previous research has explored how this contradiction manifests in gifted populations with diagnoses of ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore strategic verbal memory processes among intellectually gifted children and adolescents with and without ADHD to provide clarification regarding this specific aspect of neuropsychological functioning within this population. One hundred-twenty five children and adolescents completed neuropsychological evaluations including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and California Verbal Learning Test, Children's Version (CVLT-C). Results revealed significant differences between groups. More specifically, one-way analyses of variance revealed that intellectually gifted children and adolescents with ADHD achieved lower T-scores on CVLT-C Trials 1-5 than intellectually gifted children and adolescents without ADHD, and intellectually gifted children and adolescents with ADHD achieved higher T-scores on CVLT-C Trials 1-5 than children and adolescents of average intellectual abilities with ADHD. Repeated measure analysis of variance revealed a main effect improvement among gifted children and adolescents with ADHD in short-delay recall when provided with organizational cues. Additionally, two-way analysis of variance revealed gifted children and adolescents without ADHD achieved higher scores on short-delay cued and long-delay free recall trials than gifted children and adolescents with ADHD; however, there were no significant interaction effects found. Findings revealed new evidence about the role of twice-exceptionality (specifically intellectual giftedness and ADHD) in strategic verbal memory, and have important implications for parents, educators, psychologists and neuropsychologists, and other mental health professionals working with this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Research has found that a strong predictor of students' success is the ability to connect to their school and be actively engaged in their learning. Even with the vast empirical support for the positive effects of student engagement, one area that has not been investigated is the idea of student engagement with gifted and talented students; particularly when looking at the elementary grade levels. This concept is essential to understand because research also supports the idea that student engagement decreases with each grade level. Through the qualitative analysis of gifted and talented student drawings and interviews, this research shows support for increasing student engagement for these students and how this could be done in the current educational system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined the question of whether or not the provision of professional development (PD) for pre-service teachers would change their attitudes toward giftedness and gifted students. The research was conducted with pre-service teachers in the College of Education at New Mexico State University (NMSU). In this random pre/post-test experimental/control group design, an experimental group and a control group were administered a pre-and-post-survey to measure pre-service teachers' attitudes regarding giftedness and gifted students. Data were collected, scored, and analyzed by an analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) for hypotheses 1 through 6 generated from a survey on gifted attitudes. For hypothesis 7, the data were analyzed using a t-test. For hypothesis 8, the data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) in order to determine the statistical significance existing between the control and experimental groups regarding attitudes toward giftedness and gifted students at the p < .05 level. Results indicated significance on most factors, therefore suggesting that professional development on giftedness and gifted students can be an effective vehicle in providing knowledge about giftedness to educators. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The population of intellectually gifted youth encompasses a wide range of abilities, talents, temperaments, and personality characteristics. Although generalizations are often made outside of the empirical literature regarding the interpersonal skills of these children, much remains to be understood about their social behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the within-group differences of gifted children, and it was hypothesized that subgroups of the gifted population would differ from each other in terms of interpersonal skill development. Gifted education teachers within a large K-12 public school district in the Southwestern United States completed the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) regarding the social-emotional competence of 206 elementary and middle school students classified as gifted. Correlational analyses and factorial analysis of variance were conducted to compare interpersonal skills (as measured by DESSA ratings) and students' level of giftedness, area of identification as gifted, gender, and age. Results indicated that interpersonal skills were significantly related to gender, area of identification, and level of giftedness. Female children were described as having significantly higher levels of interpersonal skills overall, and children identified as gifted with both nonverbal and quantitative measures exhibited significantly higher levels of interpersonal skills than those identified with verbal or nonverbal measures alone. Significant correlations were also observed between the level of children's estimated gifted abilities and their interpersonal skills. Trends in the data suggested that as children's cognitive abilities increased, their interpersonal skills also increased, placing profoundly gifted children at social advantages over their moderately gifted peers. However, it was also noted that although the two variables were significantly related, they were not commensurate. While children presented with above-average cognitive abilities, their interpersonal skills were within the average range. This suggests that gifted children may benefit from interventions that target interpersonal skill development, in an effort to bring their social skills more in line with their cognitive abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Bias with regard to English Language Learner (ELL) status and interpretation of Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) cutoffs were examined in relation to school psychologists' referral of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) to gifted education programs. School psychologists were more likely to refer a monolingual, Caucasian student with a FSIQ of 140 compared to an ELL, Spanish student with a slightly different profile with a FSIQ of 125. In contrast, school psychologists did not demonstrate bias in referral rates of two identical profiles of a monolingual and ELL student who both presented with a FSIQ of 125. Additionally, the present study found that the Wechsler battery along with FSIQ cutoffs were most often used in determining intellectual giftedness. The present study also found that graduate training focused less on gifted education than multicultural issues. Together, these findings suggest that identifying intellectual giftedness in students who are CLD lacks much attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning and experience of adult giftedness in the workplace. This study is a heuristic inquiry and, by nature, seeks to discover all the relevant components to this meaning and experience of giftedness, and, thus is open to the essence of the experience as it unfolds. Data collection for this inquiry was conducted at the individual/whole person level. The research relied heavily on the use of interviews, which included guiding questions, but allowed for each co-researcher to express the meaning and experience of giftedness in the workplace in their own words. This permitted the inclusion of any other unforeseen data sources that could have arose during the inquiry. The results of the inquiry reveal that the meaning and essence of the experience of giftedness in the workplace begins with the experience of multipotentiality and the intrinsic and undeniable drive to explore ones abilities and pursue the task of work in a passionate way. However, this passion and drive to produce, to utilize talents to their fullest, tends to highlight the gifted adults differences from his average workplace peers. The experience of giftedness in the workplace is at its core, a frustrating experience. Frustrations exist, though tempered with a realization that differences exists between the gifted adult, his/her motivations, preferences, abilities and drives and the non-gifted co-workers. By developing a richer understanding of the essence of giftedness, those in professional positions to assist in the facilitation of gifted development will be better able to do so. New understanding may allow psychologists to be more capable of answering the questions related to how the gifted and talented experience life. Implications for employers are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Adolescents confront a plethora of physical and emotional changes, especially those alterations surrounding puberty. Body image disturbances have become commonplace with high school students, and school personnel seem to have had little success in fighting this problem. Teenagers with body dissatisfaction may also be at risk for mental health problems, such as depression and eating disorders. Gifted adolescents may be particularly susceptible to mental health issues due to a number of specialized issues including overexcitability and social coping ability (Gatto-Walden, 1999). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among body dissatisfaction, gender, type of student (gifted or typical), overall overexcitability, social coping, and an interaction between gender and type of student. A diverse group of 489 participants from six Illinois school districts participated in the study, including 268 females (54.8%), 216 males (44.2%), 4 students identifying as "other" regarding gender (0.8%); one student did not respond to that question (0.2%), and they ranged in age from 14 to 20 ( M = 16.6, SD = 1.2). The overall regression model was statistically significant, F(5, 469) = 9.31, p < .001, R 22 = .09. The adjusted R 2 was .081, which indicated that 8.1% of the variance in body dissatisfaction was explained by the model. This effect was medium in magnitude and consistent with previous research with body dissatisfaction. The results support the idea that gender, overall overexcitability, and social coping significantly explained body dissatisfaction, but being gifted (i.e., type of student) did not significantly contribute to the regression model. In addition, the results did not support a gender by type of student interaction. These findings are interesting in that previous research has linked giftedness and overexcitability, but these variables were not strongly correlated in the current study. However, this information has yielded some important implications for school counselors, clinical mental health counselors, and counselor educators. The author also discussed some areas for further research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

African American and Latino students are typically underrepresented in programs for gifted learners. This research sought to discover the effect of educators who created a culture that identified the gifts and talents of African American male students for advanced placement course work. Information gleaned from this research may provide a window through which an understanding of the leadership and culture that supports recognition and academic achievement of African American males can be viewed. Ultimately, this study may shed additional light on how educators can create a culture that identifies and supports the gifts and talents of African American males. The staff of a large urban high school located in the Midwest developed a cohort program to address the low numbers of African American and Latino students in the advanced courses offered at the school. While most students in gifted and talented programs across the U.S. are identified at the elementary level, these students were identified in the eighth grade to participate throughout their high school careers. The findings revealed that the staff of the high school worked to achieve the goals of recruitment, support, and preparation for post-secondary placement of African American and Latino students. While the goals were met for many students, African American males shared their stories of struggles to participate in the program, including feelings of isolation and inadequacy. These feelings were exacerbated as they entered into rigorous coursework at the ninth grade when their white peers had been involved in this type of curriculum since early elementary school. Results suggested that with intentional program adjustments, the challenging of a staff's belief systems, and a pedagogy specific to African American males, this well-meaning, dedicated, and caring staff could further reach more students and meet the goals of the program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Gifted research often focuses on perfectionism as a common trait of gifted children (Adderholdt-Elliott, 1991; Hollingworth, 1926; Lovecky, 1994). While historically perfectionism was viewed as a negative trait of giftedness (Hollingworth, 1926; Roeper, 1982), recent research has shown that perfectionism is a multidimensional trait that has both adaptive and maladaptive styles (Rice & Ashby, 2007; Rice et al., 1998). Research indicates that style of perfectionism may in part be predicted by parental criticism (Speirs-Neumeister, 2004), gender (Schuler, 2000), and culture (Castro & Rice, 2003). Furthermore, adaptive perfectionism has been linked to greater life satisfaction (Ashby & Rice, 2002), and this relationship has been shown to be influenced by a number of socio-emotional variables in gifted children, including anxiety (Stornelli, Flett, & Hewitt, 2009), self-concept (Rice, Kubal, & Preusser, 2004), and achievement motivation (Chan, 2009b). The purpose of this study was to extend our understanding of the relationship between perfectionism and life satisfaction in gifted children as it relates to parental criticism, culture, gender, anxiety, self-concept, and achievement motivation. Three proposed models were compared to clarify these relationships. Seventy participants were asked to participate in the study and complete self-report measures. The participants ranged in age from 7 to 10 and were recruited from a gifted pull-out program in a Mid-Atlantic upper middle class school district. An additional teacher-report measure was used, as well as a behavioral manipulation check. It was hypothesized that culture and gender would have a significant relationship with perfectionism and parental criticism, which would in turn have significant relationships with anxiety, self concept, and achievement motivation. All of these variables were hypothesized to contribute to life satisfaction. Specifically, it was hypothesized that being of a minority culture and being male were likely to lead to experiencing higher parental criticism and maladaptive or non-perfectionism, which would lead to higher anxiety, lower self concept, and extrinsic achievement motivation, which would lead to lower life satisfaction. Correspondingly, it was hypothesized that being of the majority culture and being female were likely to lead to experiencing lower parental criticism and an adaptive style of perfectionism, which would lead to lower anxiety, higher self concept, and intrinsic motivation, which would lead to higher life satisfaction. The three models were developed to determine the most parsimonious relationship between these variables. The present study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the mediation of these variables in three hypothesized models. In addition, linear regression was used to analyze possible moderators. A fourth post-hoc model was constructed using the significant paths from the three hypothesized model in an attempt to find the most parsimonious model with the best fit. Overall, the models accounted for a significant amount of variance, and many of the variables were reliable predictors of life satisfaction. Post hoc model number four was the most parsimonious model with the best fit, and indicated that being of a minority culture significantly predicts higher levels of parental criticism, which predict maladaptive or non-perfectionism, higher anxiety, lower self concept, and extrinsic motivation, which are all significant predictors of lower life satisfaction. Likewise, a student of majority culture is likely to experience lower parental criticism, which results in an adaptive style of perfectionism, lower anxiety, higher self concept, and intrinsic motivation, which all contribute to higher life satisfaction. Implications for future research and school interventions were also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The examination of the relationship between race and education continues today as diversity across the country increases, while achievement scores remain stagnant or decreases. Among K-12 public education students in the United States, 7% are identified as gifted with ¾ categorized as Caucasian. Gifted students of color are a minority within an already minority community. This case study explores the influences and impact of race, education, and giftedness among four gifted high school students of color. The participants shared in their understanding of the following: what it meant to be labeled as smart; relating with friends and the importance of their support; strength of family as the key to their involvement; few minorities within the school and program; rigor of gifted classes; status within the school; and culture at home. The lack of critical mass among ethnic minorities within the community and school, particularly within the gifted population, had an impact on student understanding and perceptions of the role of race. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose and Method of Study. The purpose of this study was to generate a theory of the factors that influence gifted student underachievement. The researcher analyzed the experiences of high school students to develop a better understanding as to why these students failed to live up to their academic potential. Data were collected from interviews with underachieving high school students representing high schools in five school districts in the upstate region of South Carolina. The participants in this study were classified gifted as outlined by the state of South Carolina's definition of giftedness. All the students were identified by their school counselors as having underachieved and met the criteria for underachievement established by the researcher. The data for this study were analyzed by using the Strauss and Corbin (1998) method of data analysis of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Open coding was the process by which initial concepts were identified, coded, and placed into categories. In axial coding the categories and their respective codes were reevaluated and presented schematically. The selective coding process was used to develop a story line that integrated the categories that resulted from axial coding and to identify a core category from among the previously identified categories. Findings and Conclusions. The theory developed pursuant to this study identified the lack of self-motivation as the major cause of gifted student underachievement at the high school level. The theory indicated that the interaction of several factors ultimately led to the lack of self-motivation, which in turn caused the underachievement. A review of those factors and their respective categories identified areas of concern in gifted student education. An understanding of those categories and their resultant interactions are essential to an understanding of gifted student underachievement. Those individuals who have an interest in or a responsibility for the education of gifted students should be knowledgeable of the theory postulated as a result of this study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

A differentiated curriculum for the gifted provides learning experiences that are challenging, interesting, satisfying, useful in the application to the real world, transferable to other disciplines and content areas, and allows for choice. While a differentiated curriculum is necessary for gifted learners, students' attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of the differentiated curriculum are seldom sought. This study examined highly gifted, gifted, and perceived gifted students' perceptions of the elements of a differentiated curriculum defined by the California GATE Standards (2005). The population included gifted students in grades 3–5 from three suburban private schools in Southern California. Quantitative methods and descriptive statistics were used to analyze how gifted students perceived the vignettes on a survey questionnaire depicting examples of a differentiated curriculum. Students' responses also indicated how different formal and informal methods of identification of giftedness affected students' perceptions of challenge, choice, interest, satisfaction, usefulness, and transfer in relationship to their curricular experiences. The findings revealed that highly gifted, gifted, and perceived gifted students identified curricular elements representing the differentiated curriculum positively, and that formally identified gifted students' perceptions of challenge of the differentiated curriculum (51%) were significantly different and lower than formally identified highly gifted (87%) and informally perceived gifted (95%) students' perceptions. Gifted students' perceptions of interdisciplinary connections were significantly different and lower than perceived gifted students. The results indicated that for a better match between the concepts of a differentiated curriculum and the learner, teachers and students need to be collaborators in the teaching and learning processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Current research suggests that gifted students possess a unique set of characteristics that require unique skills and knowledge to address properly. School counselors are in a position to address the unique needs of gifted students provided they have the knowledge required for effective interaction. School counselors are called to provide multiple services for all students in the school setting; among those services are to advocate for student needs as well as to maintain a level of knowledge that will facilitate effective advocacy. Although the current literature suggests that school counselors possess the unique skills to address the needs of gifted students, literature is limited in the area of school counselor advocacy for gifted students, and no studies have addressed school counselor self-efficacy for advocacy of gifted students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how self-efficacy, knowledge of gifted issues, and understanding of professional advocacy competencies relate to school counselors' advocacy activities with gifted students. Quantitative methodology was used to answer the research questions. Professional school counselors completed a series of four instruments that comprised the survey for this study. Participants completed the survey either online or on paper between the months of January and June 2011. SPSS Version 19.0 for Windows was used to complete the statistical analyses for this study, which included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and regression.The results of this study indicated that knowledge of giftedness, self-efficacy, and building level, significantly predicted school counselors' advocacy competency and activity with gifted students. However, training program and years of experience were not significant predictors of school counselors' advocacy activity with gifted students. Implications for school counselors are increased knowledge of gifted needs and increased advocacy activity for gifted students. In order for school counselors to provide appropriate services to gifted students, it is important to increase their knowledge of the population. This increased knowledge will help school counselors to be more inclusive of gifted students and their needs when developing comprehensive school counseling programs. In addition, this increased knowledge may assist school counselors with becoming active participants in services for gifted students within the school environment. Future research should further explore the level of advocacy activity of school counselors with gifted students and the importance of self-efficacy for school counselors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Given the critical need to nudge congregants toward sustainable service, surprisingly few studies have explored the possibility of internalizing Christian beliefs and practices through intrinsically motivating ministry activities. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), an emerging meta-theory of adult motivation, such activities consistently move individuals from external to internal regulation of behavior. Perceiving undeveloped believers as marginalized members of Christ's body, this emancipatory study sought to build awareness of the need to empower all believers to make kingdom contributions through intrinsically-motivated service that internalizes orthodox faith. Following protocols of a qualitative single case study, the researcher explored the rich perceptions and divergent meanings associated with church-sponsored service among a critical array of stakeholders in a thriving evangelical church. In a vivid portrait gleaned from observations, interviews and documents, SDT's theoretical lens shaped the questions, informed the data, and inspired the cause. In the process, traditional assumptions about servant leadership, Christian formation, and spiritual giftedness were challenged. The study's ultimate aim was to stimulate meaningful dialogue on the need to reform church structures that foster Christian formation through inherently satisfying, Spirit-empowered ministry. Organizing the data under the SERVE acronym, the researcher concludes with a motivational model of Christian service. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

During the last two decades of the twentieth century, some researchers and practitioners in gifted education adopted the belief that overexcitabilities (OEs), from Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration, are more prevalent in gifted adolescents that in other adolescents. This belief led to recommendations for gifted education, including the recommendation that affective skills are taught in gifted programs. This mixed-methods study was conducted to test secondary teacher perceptions of OEs, and determine if consistent data exists to recommend affective instruction in secondary gifted education. Five secondary English teachers from one Missouri school district completed questionnaires on 37 gifted and 37 non-gifted students, and participated in a teacher focus group to provide data on their perceptions. A comparison of the quantitative and qualitative data showed agreement of higher OEs in gifted secondary students in the area of intellectual OEs, but not in sensual, imaginational, psychomotor, or emotional OEs. When comparing this result to other studies, great inconsistency in the literature is noted, except in the area of intellectual OEs. With studies consistently showing higher intellectual OEs in gifted adolescents, it is recommended that secondary gifted education provide academically and intellectually challenging curriculum. It is possible that inconsistencies in the literature are due to variations in conceptions of giftedness and differences in identification procedures, creating inconsistent samples in studies. It is, therefore, also recommended that consistent identification procedures are adopted, even if only for the purpose of research, so accurate and reliable data can lead to well-supported conclusions about gifted students and gifted education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)