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About piano students who display disruptive behavior and perform far below reasonable expectations, teachers first conclude that they are lazy, rude, disinterested, and/or lacking intelligence or ability. Most dismiss such students from studios and advise parents to discontinue lessons. In truth, many of these students are both highly gifted and also have a learning disability. Examined literature shows that the incidence of dyslexia and other learning disabilities in the gifted learner population is several times that of the regular learner population. Although large volumes of research have been devoted to dyslexia, and more recently to dyslexia and music (in the classroom and some in individual instrumental instruction), there is no evidence of the same investigation in relation to the specific needs of highly gifted dyslexic students in learning to play the piano. This project examines characteristics of giftedness and dyslexia, gifted learners with learning disabilities, and the difficulties they encounter in learning to read music and play keyboard instruments. It includes historical summaries of author's experience with such students and description of their progress and success. They reveal some of practical strategies that evolved through several decades of teaching regular and gifted dyslexic students that helped them overcome the challenges and learn to play the piano. Informal conversations and experience exchanges with colleagues, as well as a recently completed pilot study also showed that most piano pedagogues had no formal opportunity to learn about this issue and to be empowered to teach these very special students. The author's hope is to offer personal insights, survey of current knowledge, and practical suggestions that will not only assist piano instructors to successfully teach highly gifted learners with dyslexia, but also inspire them to learn more about the topic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Many of the social and emotional needs that have historically been associated with gifted students have been questioned on the basis of recent empirical evidence. Research on the topic, however, is often limited by sample size, selection bias, or definition. This study addressed these limitations by applying linear regression methodology to data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) to evaluate group differences and subgroup moderation in internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and peer problems for elementary students identified as gifted. While moderation of outcomes was present on the basis of race and socioeconomic status, identified students consistently exhibited lower levels of social or emotional issues based on both teacher and student reports. In addition, conceptions of giftedness based on both program participation and high achievement were compared, indicating that while each definition captured different students, both groups shared a common demographic and similar social and emotional outcomes. Finally, the association of these outcomes with program participation for high-achievement students was explored, indicating little difference between program participants and non-participants in this sample. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Researchers have examined the effectiveness of Video Self-Modeling (VSM) to target a wide range of social skills deficits for students with documented disabilities. However, little research exists on the use of VSM with students who are academically gifted in addition to being identified with a documented disability. These twice-exceptional students often experience social skills deficits as a result of both their giftedness and disability, causing disruptions in their academic, social, and emotional development. Special education teams have demonstrated limited use of VSM in social skills curriculum for twice-exceptional students, in spite of its documented success with other populations. Using the technology acceptance model as a conceptual framework, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of 5 special education team members who incorporated VSM as a social skills intervention for twice-exceptional elementary students. Using emergent coding in NVivo10 software, analysis of interview data from 3 interviews per participant yielded the findings that hesitancy to incorporate VSM for twice-exceptional students was based on lack of training in the areas of twice-exceptionality, social skills interventions, and VSM theory and implementation, as well as scheduling difficulties and time constraints. These findings led to the development of a professional development model for facilitating the successful implementation of VSM with twice-exceptional students. This professional development model may have implications for social change by promoting the successful incorporation of VSM for twice-exceptional students in the school setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The phenomenon of living as a specialist in the field of gifted education has inherent problems and advantages. It is my intent with this phenomenological study to describe the essence of this lived phenomenon. Specialists in gifted education have provided pictures of various populations connected to giftedness and commentary on social and educational issues involved. Through individual interviews, I have turned the lens around and generated snapshots of the personal and professional lives of five specialists, discovering common bonds which illustrate their experiences. Studying their lived experiences has uncovered ethical, social, economic, and political dimensions of their lives that provide insight into shared experiences and commonalities. George Betts, Jim Delisle, Ellen Fiedler, Rick Olenchak, and Phil Perrone all contributed greatly to scholarship and practice in the field of gifted education and proved fascinating subjects. Driving research questions included: How do specialists in the field of gifted education describe their lives looking back over their experiences associated with giftedness and being a specialist in the field? What personal lived experiences do they hold? What contexts or situations have influenced or affected their experiences? Semi-structured and multi-step interviews were used to collect lived experiences. Participants received interview questions to consider prior to the interviews. The transcendental phenomenological approach allowed me to gather stories which reflect the essence of being a specialist in the field of gifted education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In the field of gifted education much research has been conducted regarding giftedness and underachievement, with researchers focusing primarily on reversing underachievement while students are in school. Research that has been conducted with regard to female underachievement has focused on girls of school age. While researchers disagree on the cause of female underachievement, most studies are conducted with a focus on reversing school age male underachievement. Very little research has been conducted with regard to adult female underachievement, and no research has been found in the area of life experiences of gifted women of Mensa who have experienced underachievement. Outstanding career or talent success, or female eminence, has been studied to a great degree, however, and many common contributing factors have been identified. In the realm of adult female underachievement, which is defined as achievement far below potential in academics or career, it is unclear whether childhood and adulthood life experiences contribute to underachievement in gifted women, or whether underachievement in women is due to personal choices or other intrinsic or extrinsic factors. A qualitative interview study was conducted with 12 gifted female members of Mensa who have experienced adult underachievement, whereby the researcher asked questions regarding the participants' personal experiences and whether those experiences had an effect on their underachievement. Giftedness was determined by membership in Mensa. Underachievement was determined by descriptors found in the literature regarding adult underachievement and was provided to the participants before the interview. The open-ended interview format allowed the researcher to explore experiences as the participants described them, while they also investigated in a self-evaluative manner whether those experiences may have contributed to underachievement. The women in the study were age 21 and over, were members of Mensa, and had experienced underachievement in adulthood. Results showed that all participants suffered trauma in childhood or early adulthood and attributed their underachievement to that early trauma. Both behavioral and emotional manifestations of underachievement resulted which included both academic and career underachievement, as well as loneliness, self-doubt, and depression. Further research should include larger samples, additional interviews, and a mixed method approach to quantify results. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the best practice strategies, those that bring the most value for the twice-exceptional (2e) student (giftedness with autism spectrum disorder [ASD], attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], specific learning disabilities [SLD], and/or emotional and behavioral disorder [EBD]) in the general education classroom in 2020, as determined by an expert panel composed of academics and practitioners using a Delphi study. A secondary purpose was to determine the feasibility of the best practices identified by the experts, or the ease with which they can be implemented in the classroom. Methodology. An expert panel of academics and practitioners determined most effective and most feasible best practice strategies for 2e students in the general education classroom in 2020 using a three-round Delphi method to obtain consensus from the experts. Findings. Both groups determined accommodating and modifying instruction using strengths and weaknesses and assessment for strengths and weaknesses were the most effective and most feasible best practice strategies. The expert praxis group ranked the strategy of differentiating for instruction and grouping as effective and the most feasible best practice. Both groups identified independent study contracts as one of the least effective best practice strategies and the least feasible to implement. The academic group identified allowing 2e students to help other students as the least effective best practice strategy. Overall, the two groups did not agree on most rankings. Conclusions. Making accommodations and modifications for 2e students using their strengths and weaknesses, assessing for strengths and weaknesses, and differentiating instruction and grouping students are strong best practice strategies. Assessing 2e students for strengths and weaknesses and making accommodations and modifications using their strengths are easily implemented in the classroom, as are differentiating instruction and grouping students, teaching 2e students organizational skills, and providing students with immediate feedback. Placing students on independent study contracts is not as effective and is difficult to implement. Recommendations. Future researchers should consider recruiting urban teachers from a major city to serve as expert panelists, recruiting teachers and academics of either highly gifted or underachieving gifted students for their suggested strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

A paradigm shift toward a talent development model of providing services in gifted education has transformed the traditional IQ-based notion of giftedness (Dai & Chen, 2013). The conceptualization of giftedness plays an important role in the development of programs for gifted and talented students, and at its core the conceptualization of giftedness plays a central role in the development of instruments for identification, including rating scales completed by teachers and other school-based staff (Borland, 2003; Robinson, 2009). This study used Rasch measurement analyses to evaluate the evidence of validity, characteristics of reliability, item selection, category structure and differential item functioning of the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students, 3rd Edition ([SRBCSS-III] Renzulli et al., 2013) using data from the SRBCSS authors' validation studies and data from Grade 3 and Grade 4 operational administrations in a Mid-Atlantic county school district. The Rasch rating scale model showed evidence for the substantive, structural and content validity aspects of construct validity in both the original validation studies and the operational administrations. Strong item hierarchies, content representativeness and data reliability were shown in the analyses. Additionally, data from the operational administrations showed minimal differential item functioning for groups analyzed by sex, race/ethnicity and economic status. The study highlighted the strength of the psychometric properties of the scales while offering suggestions for improvement and future study in the context of additional aspects of validity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Identification as a gifted learner can provide opportunities for boys to thrive or can place undue pressure and stress, causing them to decline in school, academically and emotionally. This multi-site case study using integral research methodology looked to understand identified gifted boys’ experience of giftedness in schooling, the influence of being labelled as gifted, and how alternative settings met the needs of these gifted boys. Seven identified gifted high school boys’, enrolled in nine different alternative education programs, in a large urban setting in Alberta, Canada, experience of schooling was documented in detail and examined. Interviews, school records, and program reviews provided multiple and at times discrepant perspectives of the boys’ experiences of schooling. Several common themes emerged. The most profound was a shared experience of shame, guilt, and denial, surrounding identification and provision as a gifted learner and unrealistic expectations of performance from self and others. Further commonalities included the need for mutually respectful and caring relationships with teachers as well as the need for challenge and relevance in learning experiences, to enable engagement and achievement in school. These were examined through the lens of Integral Theory focusing on: the interior individual and personality development, using Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration; the exterior individual using brain development and neuroscience research; the interior collective, examining the influence of cultural beliefs and values as displayed through popular culture; and the exterior collective, reviewing education system programs and policies. The predominate mediators, of the conditions as identified by the themes, were teachers. The boys’ experience was heavily reliant on teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills, in relation to gifted learners. Few of the boys spoke positively of their schooling experience. However, most of the highlights mentioned, involved a special teacher with whom they had connected. Conversely, the negative experiences they discussed also involved teachers. Teacher professional development and positive school culture are essential for gifted students to flourish in schooling. Implications for practice and programming provide ideas for future directions in supporting gifted learners particularly in inclusive settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In the era of No Child Left Behind (ED, 2001), public school administrators have dedicated resources to ensuring all students reach proficiency in basic skills on the state mandated assessments. The focus on reaching proficiency on NCLB assessments is less of a concern for gifted students who exceed grade level expectations and have the potential to excel in school and life. For many of these students, the public education system fosters their growth and achievement. For other gifted children, underachievement and selective consumerism tendencies surface as they progress through school. Since giftedness does not guarantee achievement in the school setting, early identification of gifted students with the potential for academic difficulties is essential. Could the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2004), commonly used for gifted identification, hold the key to the gifted child's academic success or difficulties? This exploratory study of 32 eighth grade students in a suburban public school investigated if a correlation existed between the students' WISC-IV Discrepancies and three variables: Performance measured by English classroom data, Academic Competence measured by the ACES-Student (DiPerna & Elliot, 2000), and Academic Attitude measured by the SAAS-R (McCoach, 2002). Based on previous research, the study initially sought to establish the prevalence of students with ≥23-point WISC-IV Discrepancies ( n=56.3%). The students' WISC-IV Discrepancies were then correlated with each variable (Performance, Academic Competence, and Academic Attitude). Analyses were performed and reported for the entire group ( N= 32), the >23-point WISCIV Discrepancy subgroup ( n=18), and for a subgroup without a participant whose data characterized him/her as an outlier ( n=31). Significant correlations were noted for the entire group for Verbal Comprehension—Processing Speed and Motivation/Self-Regulation ( p<.05), the ≥23-point subgroup for Verbal Comprehension—Perceptual Reasoning and Academic Skills ( p<.05), and the subgroup excluding the outlier for Verbal Comprehension—Processing Speed and Motivation/Self-Regulation ( p<.01). Using the information from the measures, students were characterized as potential underachievers, potential selective consumers, and achievers. Individual case studies for select students are presented and discussed. KEY WORDS: Gifted, Underachievement, Selective Consumerism, WISC-IV Discrepancy, Performance, Academic Competence, Academic Attitude, ACES-Student, SAAS-R. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study addresses the question “what is it like to be a gifted early college entrant?” Participants were eight college graduates between the ages of 23 and 45 who matriculated to college as full-time, degree-seeking students at age 16. This was a qualitative study conducted by open-ended interview and utilized narrative inquiry as a framework for the analysis. Participant responses were coded and analyzed using constant comparative method. Coded responses were grouped into 40 subcategories which were further collapsed into 7 overarching categories that provide a framework for understanding the experience of early college entrance: life story; being exceptional; understanding exceptionality through others’ experience; transition to college, academic preparation, performance, and experience; getting involved and pursuing interests; and social-emotional awareness and agency. These categories provide a picture of the milieu in which participants made the decision to enter college early. Results of this study suggest that participants experienced a milieu of educational experiences, including academic acceleration, and embedded social-emotional contexts that increased their academic self-concept and precipitated early college entrance. Despite failing to recognize their own giftedness and experiencing academic struggle, participants successfully completed college and embarked on meaningful careers. Interpreting giftedness as asynchronous development provides a framework for these results. The results of the present study suggest that while the native cognitive ability of a gifted early entrant might be sufficient to complete college, additional social-emotional supports are needed to fully realize the academic potential of gifted students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The problem addressed in this research was to understand the cultural schema(s) that are utilized in meaning-making as people identify and interpret life experiences related to call. The population studied is adult students in a Pentecostal/charismatic university in Los Angeles, California. This research utilizes a triangulation of methods approach (Tashakkori and Teddlie 1998) and draws from two theories in cognitive anthropology, cultural schema theory (D'Andrade 1987; Quinn 2005b; Strauss and Quinn 1997) and cultural consensus theory (Romney, Batchelder, and Weller 1987; Romney, Weller, and Batchelder 1986; Weller and Romney 1988). Data elicitation tools are based on strategies developed early in cognitive anthropology for the investigation of cognitive domains along with a vignette exercise. Data analysis took place in two stages with data functioning both as a context of discovery and a context of verification (D'Andrade 2005, 85). People in the research context demonstrate a cultural schema of call that includes four core items: God as caller, the individual as called, the role or task as calling, and knowing as the essential link. Once these four core items were present, a second level of common items was demonstrated; the common elements were confirmation, giftedness, time or duration, and experience. This cultural schema of call was utilized by the population in relation to additional schemas including pastor, leader, family, church, ministry, and work. Indications of underlying foundational cultural schemas were also present including self, success, and status. Findings of this research are discussed in terms of the implications for call as a process of meaning-making and the limitations of biblical/theological material for making sense of experiences related to call. Implications for leadership research and cognitive anthropology research are discussed along with suggestions for the leader formation practitioner's engagement with cultural schemas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Highly capable and intelligent individuals identified as gifted and talented (GATE) in educational settings require support for their unique needs associated with their giftedness. Unique needs for gifted girls include high emotional sensitivities including anxiety, depression, and frustration. These needs can impede the positive development of career self-efficacy and emotional well-being among gifted individuals, which can negatively affect their ability to transition into the workforce. Most significantly, as gifted females mature, studies reveal this population working far below their potential. This phenomenological study addresses the problem of unfulfilled potential as well as the gaps in the existing research regarding gifted females by exploring the career self-efficacy and emotional well-being of 10 gifted women as it relates to their transition from school to work. Results from this qualitative study revealed five core themes: (a) Fulfillment - a sense of feeling, (b) Achievement & Responsibility - a sense of doing, (c) Identity - a sense of becoming, (d) Approval - a sense of searching, and (e) Growth - a sense of embracing. Furthermore, themes were explored through the theoretical constructs of Fredrickson's Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions as well as Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration. Ultimately, findings from textural and structural descriptions reveal that as participants transitioned from school to work, it was the ability of participants to design new paradigms and shift old paradigms, which increased overall career self-efficacy and emotional well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Advocates of students with ADHD in the school system are usually parents who must become advocates in response to the child's need for support and a call for parental involvement from the school. Parent advocates are confronted with many challenges, the primary being the daunting, often solitary task of advocating for a child who is often viewed by teachers and peers as unruly, disrespectful and underachieving. Resources available to parent advocates include legal and medical resources regarding ADHD which are regularly resourced to advocates by advocacy organizations and clinicians. Topics include medical diagnosis, treatment and educational rights and planning for ADHD students. In addition, a set of more diverse ADHD resources exists in the literature that discusses various influences on student behavior and achievement that parent advocates can consider in combination or in place of medical and educational ADHD resources. Diverse ADHD resources present a breadth of information ranging from misdiagnosis of ADHD to conditions that contribute to inattentive student behavior such as giftedness, physiology (including the impact of brain maturation, dietary omega-3, ferratin levels, pediatric sensory issues, and eye conditions), environment and exercise. This study uses a phenomenological research method to further understand the experience of parent advocates, specifically by interviewing parent advocates of students with ADHD in school. Findings include several themes organized in the following four categories: 1) Identifying and Treating ADHD in the School Context, 2) ADHD Advocates Need more Support from Schools, 3) Advocate Experience with the School is a Swinging Pendulum and 4) Advocates Struggle to Pave a Path for Success. Recommendations for further research include qualitative research to further understand parent advocate experience in identifying and treating ADHD in the school context, specifically to understand the impact on advocate interpretation of ADHD-type behaviors after being presented with a list of non-ADHD conditions the precipitate ADHD-type behaviors. In addition, quantitative research is recommended to gather data regarding what advocates need in support from schools as they work to pave a path for success for their children. The work presented in this thesis explores the experience of parent advocates of students with ADHD in school in an effort to understand and improve parent advocate experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of creativity and intelligence. The current study was interested in testing gifted children's divergent thinking. For the purposes of this study, creativity was defined as the cognitive process of divergent thinking, the ability to generate as many possible solutions to a problem. Thirty-four children (ages 11 to 13) were tested in an afterschool program on the Alternative Uses Test (AUT), which asks the child to think of all of the uses for common, ordinary objects. The children were deemed gifted according to their California Standards Test (CST) scores in English and Math (350 or higher). The results of this study found that that gifted children had higher scores on the AUT, than their nongifted peers, thereby rejecting the threshold theory. Although there was a relationship between giftedness and divergent thinking, future research should focus on IQ testing and creativity test batteries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This qualitative, retrospective study investigated suicidal ideation among 32 young adult men. Participants were asked to report their experiences as adolescents. The primary focus of the study was to discover how gay gifted adolescents dealt with issues of suicide and suicidal ideation. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Four groups of participants were chosen with eight males in each group. The groups were: gay (i.e., homosexual) gifted, gay nongifted, straight (i.e., heterosexual) gifted and straight nongifted. Forty-one percent of participants were Hispanic/Latino, 31% were Caucasian, 22% were biracial, and 6% were African American. Data were collected using an initial questionnaire followed by in-depth individual interviews with all participants. Grounded Theory methodology was employed during the analysis phase of the study. The voices of participants were conveyed within a series of narrative vignettes. Specific categories of risk and resiliency were revealed using coding and constant comparative analysis. Results indicated that resiliency played a predominant role in how the participants dealt with suicidal issues. All of the eight gay gifted males had considered attempting suicide at least once. This group did not the lowest rate of overall suicidal ideation across the groups. Also, the gay gifted group had one of the highest number of resiliency factors. Additionally, the gifted adolescents appeared to rely on their giftedness as a safeguard that protected them from suicide. Based on the study's outcome, a theory of suicidal ideation was proposed, and an assessment was designed for future studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The potential traits and talents of giftedness in students are multidimensional; yet, some school districts in Georgia perpetuate barriers for students from minority and low socioeconomic backgrounds by relying solely on standardized test scores for gifted identification. The purpose of this case study was to explore the multidimensionality of student talent portfolios grounded in Sternberg, Renzulli, and Gardner's gifted theories. This exploration was important to community and school stakeholders for the support of positive community growth. This study examined the effect of an alternative identification system, one based on Renzulli's Total Talent Portfolio, in identifying potential traits and talents of giftedness in minority and low socioeconomic 4th grade students. Student talent portfolios and the effects of teacher perceptions about giftedness were examined for the identification of potential traits and talents of giftedness in these populations of 4th grade students in one Title 1 elementary school. Data were gathered from 16 teacher interviews, reflection logs, and portfolio artifacts. Member-checking, peer debriefing, and an audit trail bolstered the trustworthiness of the findings. A coding system was developed and applied to identify common themes. According to study findings, talent portfolios are justified as a viable alternative to standardized test scores and with professional learning experiences, teachers can incorporate the portfolios. The implications for positive social change include providing educators and administrators with information on the success of utilizing student talent portfolios as a means of identifying potential traits and talents of giftedness in minority and low socioeconomic students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

A resurgence of interest in gifted students and gifted education highlights the importance of examining attitudes of school psychologists related to the identification and programming for gifted students. This study explored the relationships between professional experiences, personal experiences, demographics, and previous training and the attitudes of school psychologists toward gifted students and gifted education. A sample of 125 state-certified school psychologists in Michigan participated in a two-part, web-based survey, which provided descriptive data and measured attitudes toward gifted students and their education. Data were analyzed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics. Seven findings were notable in this study: 1) Respondents to this study are generally supportive of gifted students and their education, although they held a neutral or slightly negative view of accelerating gifted students. 2) Male school psychologists, more than female, consider gifted education to be elitist. 3) Demographic factors, including age, ethnicity, years of service, and education level are not statistically significant in relation to participating school psychologists' attitudes toward gifted education. 4) School psychologists who report themselves or those close to them as gifted are also likely to have had more training in gifted education in graduate school, and 5) school psychologists who work with regular education students show a greater likelihood of reporting themselves or those around them as gifted. 6) school psychologists who work with regular education students tend to have a more negative view towards the gifted population than those who do not work with regular education students, and 7) school psychologists who feel that their training in special education was less than adequate, also tend to view gifted students more negatively. The findings in this study suggested that positive attitudes about the gifted and thus, behavior leading toward increased interest in working with all children with special needs, would improve if more graduate school training about giftedness and one-on-one experiences with gifted students were available. Acting upon changes suggested in the literature and the findings of this study, schools could improve the attitudes of school psychologists and better ensure that gifted students are properly identified and engaged in programming well-suited to their needs. These changes would benefit this often-underserved special population that has unlimited potential to serve this nation and mankind. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Meeting the needs of the gifted student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires addressing both conditions. Education professionals are in a unique position to begin this process by referring the student to school specialists for evaluation. However, diagnostic confusion surrounding autism, misconceptions about special education, varying conceptions of giftedness, and overlapping behaviors of giftedness and ASD can inhibit education professionals' ability to recognize unique behaviors of gifted students with ASD, and make appropriate referrals, placing the student at academic risk. Autism and giftedness have been studied separately in the fields of education and psychology for more than half a century. Although the study of giftedness with ASD has begun to increase in recent years, no empirical study to date has focused on education professionals who successfully referred this student population for specialized services. The present mixed methods study examined perceptions and experiences of education professionals who successfully referred gifted students with ASD for specialized services. Survey research probed training, experience, and credentials, as well as perceptions about twice exceptionality. Semi-structured interviews investigated observed behaviors prompting their student's referral for specialized services, experiences with their gifted students with ASD, and evidence they found influential in identifying their student as gifted. These elements combined to provide not only a conceptualization of the gifted student with ASD, but a conception of the education professional who worked with them. The results of this study will inform research, pre-service coursework, and professional development in meeting the needs of this special population of gifted student. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In spite of the multisite phenomenon's apparent "success" and effectiveness in fulfilling the Great Commission, there are looming variables related to leadership structures and organizational complexities that have not been adequately addressed. Perhaps the most significant question in need of further research in the multisite field is simply determining where final decision-making authority is found. Does such authority lie at the campus level, or at the larger church level? For example, what decisions can and cannot a campus pastor make apart from the approval of the senior leadership team? The longevity of the multisite movement will ultimately be determined by the presence of healthy leadership structures that learn the tedious balance between control and freedom. The senior leadership team has the arduous task of being closely enough involved in the operations of each campus to ensure that campuses rightly embody the DNA of the overall church. Yet at the same time, this senior leadership team must empower and legitimize campus leadership in such a way that they do not feel unnecessarily restricted and compromised of their unique calling and giftedness. Such perceptions on behalf of campus leadership can lead to mistrust, conflict, and the ultimate deterrence of the mission of the church. This quantitative study addresses the leadership dynamics and organizational complexities in multisite churches, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between campus pastors and the church's senior leadership team. Chapter 1 introduces the research problem and its practical significance. It also defines the research questions while indicating the study's limitations. The examination of the precedent literature in chapter 2 underscores the biblical and theological foundations of this topic, such as the clear examples of shared leadership structures seen in the New Testament. Additionally, this chapter details the contemporary research regarding multisite structures in general, and leadership structures in particular. Chapter 3 presents the research design, defines the population, establishes the selection criteria, and outlines the instrumentation. Chapter 4 analyzes the findings, while chapter 5 presents the researcher's conclusions. The study's ultimate aim is to stimulate meaningful dialogue among multisite churches, and to strengthen multisite churches' leadership structures so as to better ensure biblical fidelity, health, unity, and longevity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Demographics in the United States continue to shift with a rapidly growing Hispanic population. On the other hand, a mismatch still exists between Hispanic students' enrollment in gifted and talented (G/T) programs and general programs. The under-representation of Hispanic students in G/T programs has been attributed to a lack of proper instrument to identify gifted students who are linguistically and culturally diverse; insufficient preparation of teacher in the initial teacher referral phases; and ambiguous definitions of intelligence and giftedness. In this study I investigated psychometric properties of the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI) within an item response theory (IRT) framework. The HBGSI was developed with social-cultural context in mind and has been recommended for use in the first phase of teacher referral process. Participants in this study were Hispanic bilingual students in first to third grade, who participated in a large-scale longitudinal randomized study carried out in a Texas urban school district. The purpose of this study was to further validate HBGSI within the framework of IRT, exploring the factor structure and dimensionality of the instrument at the item level. I further tested the possibility of constructing an abbreviated version of HBGSI with fewer items for ease of administration, which would potentially lower the demand on the teacher's time, enhance accessibility and facilitate increased usage of the instrument. Results revealed a bifactor structure with a strong general factor corresponding to overall giftedness among Hispanic bilingual students, and five domain factors regarding social responsibility, academic achievement, creative performance, problem solving, and native language proficiency. The multidimensional bifactor IRT model provided information related to each item concerning its discriminating power, thresholds and information regarding the latent constructs. Best items were selected while preserving the integrity of the original HBGSI, and cutting the length to almost half. Thus an abbreviated version of HBGSI was feasible and the adaptation is presented. Overall, this study further validated that the HBGSI holds promise in screening potential Hispanic bilingual students in elementary grades. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)