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Gifted college students often arrive at universities with high GPAs and/or ACT/SAT scores. Their achievements in extracurricular activities such as in the arts, athletics, service, and leadership are well beyond the average student. To admissions representatives and faculty, these students look well-adjusted and successful on paper. However, many of these gifted college students come with unique challenges that go misunderstood, ignored, and underserved during their years in higher education—specifically involving their mental health. There are copious amounts of literature on gifted K-12 students and their mental health behaviors but very limited research done on the gifted college student population. Although gifted research declines after the twelfth grade, giftedness does not end as those students age. Along with being gifted, some of these individuals also experience mental health issues throughout their lifetimes. When giftedness and mental health overlap, the individual is considered twice-exceptional. Twice-exceptionality includes physical and learning disabilities, but the term can also describe a person who has a mental health diagnosis that coincides with their giftedness. Because twice-exceptional individuals tend to mask their mental health issues very well, it is difficult to identify that they need support—especially when they are in college. With my professional experience in honors education, I came to realize some of these twice-exceptional college experiences and stories have never been heard. The purpose of my dissertation is to bring these narratives into the light with the hopes of more widespread understanding of their specific needs. In order to understand the trends and challenges of twice-exceptional college students, I present a literature review as well as identify research gaps. Using a qualitative research design, I shape interview questions for my participants that illustrate their past experiences with growing up as twice-exceptional along with their present journeys as twice-exceptional college students. I use narrative and discourse analysis to bring their experiences and voices together in conversation with one another to give readers a clearer picture of what it is like to be a twice-exceptional college student. As a result of this analysis, my study culminates in better understanding the twice-exceptional student experience in terms of their behaviors, academic performance, social lives, and the intersectionality of their gender. My participants also gave insight into how universities can better support this student population through honors education programs, holistic academic advising, counseling and support groups, as well as more flexibility and understanding from university administration, faculty, and staff. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Around six percent of students in the United States receive some sort of gifted educational programming. School must think about how giftedness is defined and measured in order to make decisions regarding which students receive such programming (Pfeiffer, 2015). Ability testing remains one of the most common identification practices in schools (McClain & Pfeiffer, 2012) . This is because ability tests are thought to be a measure of academic potential (Chapmann, 1988). Consistent relationships exist between individually-administered ability tests and academic achievement (Caemmerer, Maddocks, Keith, & Reynolds, 2018; Deary, Strand, Smith & Fernandes, 2007; Kaufman, Reynolds, Liu, Kaufman & McGrew, 2012). Group-administered ability tests provide an efficient, cost-effective, alternative to traditional intelligence tests when assessing students for gifted programming (Cao, Jung, & Lee, 2017). However, research associating group-ability tests and academic achievement tests is limited, and their ability to measure students' academic potential has not fully been explored. This study targeted this gap in literature by exploring ability–achievement relationships between two commonly administered group-ability tests, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) (Lohman, 2012) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) (Naglieri, 2018), and individual academic achievement in Reading and Mathematics as measured by performance on the Weschler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) (Weschler, 2009). This study in Seventy-five second-eighth grade students who had received group-ability testing through their local schools or a university training clinic received follow-up educational testing with the WIAT-III. Using regression analysis, this study found that both the NNAT and the CogAT relate to academic achievement in reading and mathematics. Furthermore, the three distinct batteries of the CogAT (Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal) were found to differentially relate to reading and mathematics achievement. The findings from this study provide support for the use of these group-administered ability tests as a measure of academic potential which may be useful in the identification of students eligible for gifted programming. Schools should consider these findings, amongst other student characteristics, when making educational placement decisions based upon students' performance on these group-administered assessments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

The issue of biases associated with labeling students as gifted or as having a disability presents a significant challenge to educational professionals with regard to identification and the provision of services. In the presence of labels indicating giftedness, disability, and twice exceptionality, research consistently demonstrated biases on the part of parents, teachers, and even other students. These biases could prevent students from receiving the services they need to achieve their fullest potential (Bianco & Leech, 2010). The current study systematically replicated a study by Bianco and Leech (2010) and examined the influence of disability labels on teachers' decisions to refer students to gifted programming. Further, this study investigated whether there were any differences in teachers' responses based on the type of teaching certificate they held (i.e., gifted education, special education, general education). Three groups of in-service teachers (85 general, 59 special, and 43 gifted education teachers) from the Western region of Saudi Arabia participated in the study. A cross-sectional survey methodology was employed. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of three survey conditions that consisted of a vignette that described a student with both giftedness and high potential traits, differing only with respect to one of three labeling conditions (no label, learning disability [LD], autism spectrum disorder [ASD]).Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the influence of teacher type and the labeling condition on the teachers' ratings. Responses to an open-ended question that asked teachers to provide a reason for their referral decisions were analyzed qualitatively. The quantitative analysis showed neither teacher type nor the presence or absence of a disability label had a significant influence on the overall ratings, which was in sharp contrast to Bianco and Leech's (2010) results. The interaction of the two variables was also nonsignificant. Most of the participants (94%) chose to agree or strongly agree with a referral. However, of the few nonreferrals, most were for students with ASD. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the teachers' rationales including (a) the student shows gifted traits, (b) the student's skills could be cultivated with support, and (c) the student does not fit the definition for giftedness.Findings from this study provided insights into the issues of labeling students and the status of twice-exceptionality in Saudi Arabia. The results indicated limited, negative bias among different types of teachers with respect to students with disabilities. Also, the participants in this study showed a strong orientation toward supporting the growth and development of the student in all three vignette conditions. However, it remained clear that Saudi Arabia would still greatly benefit from establishing a clear policy on twiceexceptionality and providing training programs to educators with respect to defining, identifying, and educating students with giftedness and disabilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This exploratory sequential mixed methods study aimed to investigate the potential connection between districts' GT programs' policies and practices and the representation of Blacks, Hispanics, and English Language Learners (ELLs) in those programs. This study included a review of the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted and Talented Students operationalized in 79 school districts by analyzing their gifted and talented policies. Specifically, districts' definitions of giftedness, identification criteria, and the areas of giftedness they recognize were retrieved and used to classify school districts into specific categories. Additionally, the researcher analyzed whether districts had any strategic goal or plan in place to address the historical underrepresentation of Blacks, Hispanics, and ELLs in GT programs and services. The data collected comprised of printed and electronic copies of publicly released information made available on school districts' website pertaining to gifted and talented programs and services. Moreover, the information presented in districts' improvement plans was also analyzed. To assess the impact of districts' GT polices on the representation of Blacks, Hispanics, and ELLs, the researcher obtained demographic data for the selected school districts' gifted and talented programs from the Texas Education Agency. The average representation of Black, ELL, and Hispanic students enrolled in GT programs for each category was calculated, compared, and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Particularly, the researcher conducted multiple one-way-ANOVA analyses using SPSS version 25 to assess the size of variance between group means (Kim, 2014). The results of the study demonstrated that districts' definitions of gifted and talented as well as the areas of exceptionality they recognized did affect the representation of Blacks, Hispanics, and ELLs in GT programs. Specifically, districts that acknowledged broader conceptions of giftedness characterized by multiple intelligence reported a larger representation of those students in their gifted and talented programs. For school districts' administrators and directors, these findings may provide information regarding how the gifted and talented definitions and the areas of giftedness used by school districts affect the representation of Blacks, Hispanics, and ELLs in gifted and talented programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to examine general early childhood educator knowledge and perceptions of curricula relevant for early childhood gifted students of color. The research questions that guided the study were the following: How does preschool through second grade curricula support or impede academic success for gifted students of color? How does preschool through second grade curricula support or impede social emotional learning for gifted students of color? What are the perspectives of educators regarding inclusive practices including Critical Race Theory, within a preschool through second grade gifted curricula?In reviewing the literature and national data concerning representation of identified gifted students of color; two aspects were apparent: the lack of general early childhood educator's voices explaining what he or she understands about gifted students of color and the lack of culturally responsive pedagogical professional learning opportunities for general early childhood educators. The relevant literature focused on areas in recognizing general early childhood educator knowledge and perceptions of giftedness and students of color. The theoretical frameworks were Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) and GiftedCrit™ (Greene, 2017).A Qualitative Educational Criticism guided this study (Eisner, 2017; Creswell, 2018). This research design was chosen to analyze curriculum practices used in general early childhood educator classrooms and aid in the construction of data collection procedures (Eisner, 2017; Creswell, 2018). Within the study, qualitative research aimed to recognize whether general early childhood educators were knowledgeable about gifted students of color and provided instructional practices that fostered access and opportunity (Creswell, 2018).Upon data collection and analysis of the data, using an interview protocol and a classroom environment observation protocol, emerging themes arose. Using Eisner's (2017) four dimensions, the collected data was described, interpreted, and evaluated for emerging themes. The emerging themes found were further analyzed to understand general early childhood educator's knowledge regarding giftedness and students of color. The evaluation process included a comparison to The Culturally Relevant Early Childhood Gifted Curriculum and Instruction Guide (Peralta, 2020). Findings included discrepancies among general early childhood educator knowledge regarding students of color, giftedness, access to gifted services, social and emotional awareness, and early childhood curriculum and instruction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

This ethnographic study seeks to understand elementary-age boys', teachers', and parents' perceptions of giftedness and gendered ability construction. Utilizing the theoretical lens of Herbert Marsh's Frame of Reference theory, this study illuminates how young gifted boys developed academic and social self-perceptions influenced by gender and ability practices. It also explores how teachers and parents perceived giftedness, gifted boys, and their pedagogical and parental experiences. A review of literature explores young boys', teachers', and parent's perspectives on gender and ability, gender construction and the roles gender play in creating stereotypes, and the socially constructed notions of giftedness and its relation to gendered differences. Implementing ethnographic analytic methods, the findings discuss three central themes: conceptualizations of giftedness, the perceptions of gifted boys in classroom spaces, and the complexities of curriculum and instructional design for gifted learners. These findings led to conclusions and implications for educators that included exploring constructions of giftedness with children, understanding how schools influence self-concept formation, recognizing intersections of gender and ability, opening spaces for students' voices to be heard, and pursuing inclusive curriculum design. Further, the study irradiates how gifted and elementary education scholars can center the voices and perspectives of students in scholarship and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Children who are gifted are at-risk for being misidentified with emotional and behavioral disorders (Daniels & Piechowski, 2009; Mullet & Rinn, 2015; Webb, 2016). Challenges exist in conclusively defining giftedness, assessing giftedness, and understanding common behavioral patterns among gifted individuals (Bracken & Brown, 2006; McClain & Pfeiffer, 2012). Because gifted children typically exhibit common behavioral patterns, it is important for school psychologists to understand gifted behavioral characteristics, how to assess these characteristics, and how to differentiate between common gifted behavior and maladaptive behavior (Daniels & Piechowski, 2009; Webb, 2016). This study examined the value of the BASC-3 in identifying gifted behavioral characteristics. Assessment data was collected on gifted children and results did not show at-risk or clinically significant T-scores on the BASC-3 scales. The study limitations, strengths, and directions for future research are presented. Implications for school psychologists are provided for improving gifted identification and better understanding gifted behavioral characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

The importance of developing the cognitive and affective needs of gifted students to help meet their academic needs as well as support them in achieving to their full potential has been well-established by past research. It is also confirmed by the literature that gifted and talented students have unique social-emotional needs and that the school environment plays an essential role in meeting gifted students' needs. To better serve gifted students, schools must ensure that general education teachers are knowledgeable and supportive of the distinct cognitive and affective development of these students in conjunction with their academic needs. Different factors influence the way teachers interact with gifted students, which include their attitudes and perceptions of giftedness and gifted education. It is necessary for researchers and other stakeholders to acquire a deep understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of general education teachers toward giftedness and gifted education as such an understating can aid policymakers, administrators, and education professionals in helping these teachers to create the appropriate learning environment to support these children. While these concepts have been examined in the Western context, their exploration has been limited in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the attitudes of Saudi elementary school general education teachers toward gifted students and gifted education, as well as their perceptions of giftedness. The study sample comprised 141 teachers who completed a cross-sectional online questionnaire that also included four open-ended questions to assess their attitudes and perceptions. The results of this study found that the participants indicated positive attitudes toward supporting the needs of gifted students and toward providing special services to gifted students. However, the participants were found to be uncertain about some of the special services (e.g., acceleration) that the literature states can be useful in supporting gifted students and about challenges gifted students might face (e.g., rejection by others). While most of the participants exhibited some lack of awareness regarding the unique affective needs of the gifted, they did indicate some understanding of giftedness as a multifaceted construct and of certain positive social and emotional characteristics of gifted students. The study's results suggest that more training in gifted education is required for general education teachers in Saudi Arabia, not only regarding basic information about gifted education and curricula, but also on how to meet both the academic and affective needs of these students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined the existence of implicit racial bias among public school teachers within the gifted referral process. Public school teachers from urban, suburban, and rural school districts surrounding a large northeastern city were be provided vignettes of gifted students demonstrating "typical" and "hidden" giftedness. The names and races of students within the vignettes were randomized to represent either a White male student or a Black male student. Univariate and multivariate analyses were utilized to determine the existence of significant differences in perceptions of giftedness and need for referral among teachers. In contrast to the hypotheses of the study, vignettes describing Black "typically" gifted students were rated as significantly higher than White "typically" gifted students. Black students also did not experience a significant decrease in ratings of giftedness and need for referral when described as "hidden" gifted. Lastly, results demonstrated a significant interaction where White students experienced a significant increase in both ratings of giftedness and need for referral when described as showing signs of "hidden" giftedness compared to their White "typically" gifted counterparts. Further discussion of these results along with imitations and considerations, most importantly the presence of social desirability bias, can be found at the end of this work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

This dissertation examines how autobiographical narratives by/for persons with mental illness draw from set of cultural clichés (topoi) I call "Mad Genius" rhetoric. As popular as it is controversial, Mad Genius rhetoric imagines an age-old link between "madness," or apparently problematic mental states, and extraordinary gifts of creativity, intelligence, and other talents. I ask: How is Mad Genius rhetoric taken up by real mentally ill people, especially women, in self-referential texts? What conditions encourage authors to construct Mad Genius personae in life writing, and what rhetorical purpose do such personae serve? Examining these questions through a lens of mental health rhetoric, I build case studies grounded in four highly influential mental illness memoirs: Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted, Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, Nana-Ama Danquah's Willow Weep for Me, and Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation. I argue each author's narration enacts a Mad Genius persona at the nexus of her severe psychic pain and her personal gifts, explicating both how she draws on Mad Genius topoi in her writing and the contextual factors that apparently encourage her to do so. Specifically, my studies explore four discrete Mad Genius topoi: 1) the Tortured Artist, which posits that genius leads to madness; 2) the Brainiac, which posits that madness confers genius; 3) the Survivor, in which madness and genius are thought to share a common source in external trauma; 4) the Ex-Gifted Kid, in which madness/genius are thought to be innate and inextricably intertwined. As a preface to my case studies, each chapter also analyzes Mad Genius rhetoric in some contemporary pop culture archive, emphasizing both the enduring popularity of these four topoi and the centrality of auto/biographical narratives in their widespread circulation. Notions of personal specialness do seem to carry mentally ill authors through acute crises, but my readings reveal the rhetorical functions of Mad Genius, demystifying its enduring popularity amid broader cultural stigmas against mental illness. Reading these popular books as individualized responses to systemic rhetorical exclusion, I conclude that Mad Genius topoi are evidently effective, yet ultimately unsustainable frameworks through which to cope with severe psychic pain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

The focus of this research study was to explore barriers, if any, faced by parents or legal guardians who are of Latinx background and speak Spanish as a primary language or are bilingual speakers of Spanish and English; barriers that limit their understanding of, and involvement in, their gifted child's academic life. This study was guided by a qualitative, case study design. The primary investigator hosted focus group interviews at a Magnet middle school in Southern California. The groups consisted of 25 parents or legal guardians of bilingual (English/Spanish) or Former English Learner students enrolled in a school serving 6th-8th grades. The primary investigator interviewed Latinx Spanish-speaking parents or legal guardians of gifted students regarding their perception of their child's giftedness, parental involvement in schools, and fostering their child's exceptional abilities. Parents and legal guardians described children as creative, intellectual, and highly intelligent. Key themes such as Student Performance, Language Proficiency, Socio-Emotional, and General Intellectual Ability were strong indicators of giftedness. Barriers such as language and education inhibited parent and legal guardian ability to understand their child's giftedness, which resulted in their inability to adequately contribute to the development of their children's talents and advocate for the appropriate services for their children. However, they recognized the importance of being involved in their child's academic life and the importance of nurturing their "dón" or "gift." La Familia is the foundation and core of Latinx culture; and, without a strong foundation, children lack guidance, confidence, and awareness to tap into their gifted abilities. Providing Latinx parents with the proper tools and resources to appropriately identify gifted characteristics andtraits could lead to early identification and intervention for students in schools and home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The field of gifted education is consistently divided on how to best serve the 5-10% of students who demonstrate natural abilities above that of their same-age peers in an educational environment. A lack of direction, funding, and resources combined with contradicting research has left school districts in the U.S. struggling to identify the best method to serve gifted students to meet their academic, social, and emotional needs. Defining giftedness through the talent development models of the DMGT by Gagné (2000) and the megamodel of talent development by Subotnik et al. (2011) explain that students are born with innate gifts that need to be fostered and supported in order to move them towards talent or eminence. Combining that with Bandura's (1977) concepts of the social cognitive theory and self-efficacy, educators are left to discover ways to create a supportive environment, provide psychosocial coaching on intrapersonal skills, and cultivate the formation of a positive self-efficacy for gifted students to reach their potential. This illustrative case study focused on using social and emotional learning competencies within a gifted, self-contained elementary classroom to evaluate the effectiveness of meeting these goals. This study discovered that implementing social and emotional learning lessons, sharing circles, and reflection journals led to positive gains in the social and emotional learning competencies, possibly moving students towards talent or eminence. Other findings discovered that the social and emotional competencies are best taught as interwoven and scaffolded skills and that students benefit from taking part in the planning and delivering of lessons and discussions throughout social and emotional learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore educators' descriptions of gifted learners' academic abilities and gifted behaviors (above average abilities, task commitment, creativity, and gifted behaviors in the classrooms) when completing academic tasks in the Western and Midwestern regions of the United States. The study's conceptual model was Renzulli's Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness (1978, 2005) which provides educators with interweaving supports for gifted learners. The research questions were: how do educators of gifted learners describe gifted learners' above-average abilities, task commitment, creativity, and gifted behaviors when completing academic tasks in the classroom? How do educators describe and implement the teaching of gifted learners with above-average abilities, task commitment, creativity, and gifted behaviors to support academic tasks? The sample included 12 educators working with gifted learners. This study used a qualitative descriptive design to gain an in-depth description of educators' views of gifted learners' academic and behavioral abilities. Data collection was comprised of semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Data were analyzed using manual coding. Thematic analysis was utilized to identify common responses from participants and followed Braun & Clarke's (2017) steps. Four themes emerged from the study: curriculum integration, environmental structure, social-emotional and behavioral, and academic behaviors. The study added to the existing body of knowledge on educators' descriptions and the support gifted learners need to increase their academic and positive behavioral abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Giftedness is a topic oft-researched and oft-discussed, but developing an understanding of children's adjustment to various approaches poses unique challenges. As the United States has no national standards for gifted education, each state has its approach to curriculum and programming for gifted students. This includes defining giftedness, assessing for it, and integrating students into the developed program. In California the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program has broad standards and the development of specific programming is done at the local level. The Fresno Unified School District established separate schools dedicated to the GATE program. This posed a unique opportunity to assess the adjustment of gifted children from a "typical" learning environment to one designated for gifted children. In order to capture the unique experience of transferring, an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted to understand the experience of gifted children adjusting to a new school environment. This study targeted three questions: what the child's understanding was of their transfer to this school, what they understood as the differences between this and their previous school, and how they would explain the transfer process to a new incoming student. Participants included 3 children between 8-10 years old who had transferred to the GATE school within the year. Participants participated in a semi-structured interview format designed to explore the experience of transferring while allowing for—and adapting to—each participant's unique response style. Results indicated the children were most sensitive to the social aspects of the new school: how they felt they fit in with other students and how they felt they were regarded by their teachers. Other aspects focused on individual identity were deemphasized. The results of this study indicate students may benefit from school programs targeted towards belonging and cohesion in addition to giftedness and performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups; however there does appear to be a gender bias, in that on average ASD is 4 to 5 times more likely to occur in boys than in girls (CDC, 2020). This study sought to examine and explore the ASD-gender phenomenon based on the perspective of the educator, specifically teachers of students with ASD. More specifically, this study examined the perceptions of secondary (middle and high school) teachers who work with male and female students diagnosed with ASD. Qualitative research was used to gain insight into teachers' experiences working with females with ASD, as well as their perceptions of gender differences.This study used semi-structured interviews to examine the perceptions of 16 secondary (middle and high school) teachers who work(ed) with female students suspected of and/or diagnosed with ASD. During the interviews, participants shared stories about male and female students undiagnosed and/or diagnosed with ASD. In their stories, participants described the cognitive and behavioral needs of female students, spoke to similarities and differences of male and female students with ASD, and described supports that they have used in supporting their students.Emergent themes included: (1) misdiagnosed and undiagnosed females, (2) quietness, (3) social awkwardness, and (4) academic struggles. Themes around gender specific differences included a higher prevalence for male students in the areas of: (1) difficulty completing academic tasks, (2) inflexible adherence to routines, (3) externalizing behaviors, and (4) giftedness. As for effective supports and intervention, the overarching theme spoke to a lack of available support for female students with ASD in comparison to their male counterparts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This study looks at divergent thinking ability, spiritual disposition, and perception of school support among artistically gifted students in the Orthodox Jewish community. It hypothesizes that artistically gifted individuals exhibit strengths in both divergent thinking and a disposition to spirituality, and that in a rule-based culture prioritizing external behavior over internal connectedness, such students experience a unique compound of stressors and may therefore be an at-risk population. The mixed-method study assessed 54 religious young adults with high creative accomplishment in traits of divergent thinking, creative personality and spiritual disposition along with their perceptions of support for creativity and spirituality in their Orthodox day school through a battery of multiple short scales and supplementary questions. Quantitative testing showed positive correlation between creative accomplishment and divergent thinking and high positive correlation between creative accomplishment and a spiritual disposition to search for meaning. Qualitative assessment indicated further evidence of spiritual disposition in artists as well as a common set of experiences in school. Students perceiving lowest support for creativity experienced feelings of marginalization, lack of appreciation for strengths, and a likelihood toward giftedness.  Environmental support for spirituality was low in multiple areas, including minimal opportunities to speak about G-d, minimal time for introspection, inconsistent role modeling in teachers, and, directly impacting students with strong disposition to search for meaning, weak focus on the meaning behind practices. Trait correlation results and qualitative data can help educators better understand creative students, and school environment findings indicate several areas that would benefit from change to increase positive outcomes for creative students in Orthodoxy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Implicit mindset of intelligence influences teachers' conceptions of giftedness which can influence pedagogical decision-making that relate to gifted students. Teachers implicitly view intelligence as either a limited quantity or a quality that can be developed over time (Dweck, 2008b). The mindset of intelligence that a teacher holds impacts the expectations that are placed on students. However, general education teachers may not have a solid conception of giftedness (Kaul & Davis, 2018). Thus, a gifted program which relies on general education teachers for instructional delivery may not adequately meet the academic needs of the gifted students within the program. The program evaluation used an embedded single-case, utilization-focused evaluation design to understand how general education elementary teachers within an elementary school conceptualize giftedness through the framework of Carol Dweck's (2000) Implicit Mindset Theory and how implicit mindset of intelligence and conceptions of giftedness contribute to pedagogical decisions that are made. The mixed methods evaluation was comprised of two phases. Phase 1 included a quantitative survey. The survey produced descriptive data about implicit mindset of intelligence. Phase 2 included teacher selected lesson plans, and semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data about implicit mindset of intelligence, conceptions of giftedness, and pedagogical decision-making were collected from the lesson plans and interviews. These data taken together provided insight into how teachers' pedagogical decisions are influenced by teacher implicit mindset of intelligence and teacher conceptions of giftedness. The implications for fostering an incremental mindset and increasing general education teacher professional learning opportunities are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

This qualitative study represents the perspective of a parent of a twice-exceptional (2e) child with autism and giftedness through the cultural lens of neurodiversity. Twice-exceptional children are those who are gifted and have a co-existing disability (Assouline, Foley-Nicpon, & Huber, 2006). This study used an autoethnography methodology, whereby the subject played a dual role as researcher and participant, and the data collected was used to put the "self" in a socio-cultural context. The autobiographical content is a scientific inquiry, analyzing a leader in education, and also a self-narration, using her viewpoint as a mother. The story captures how one mother navigated the journey of finding the best educational environment for her 2e child and the experiences of the family unit as a whole while building family and school partnerships in schools located in the Borderland. The research revealed seven emergent themes related to parental involvement in a 2e child's education: (1) Family, (2) Advocacy, (3) Autism, (4) Relationships in the school and community, (5) Isolation, (6) Health, and (7) Neurodiversity. Parents can promote educational changes in the ways gifted education, general education, and special education interface in public schools. Parents can lead advocacy efforts by utilizing the neurodiversity paradigm as a lens for disability. The neurodiversity paradigm is the best model to direct 2e students towards better outcomes by developing their strengths and neurological upsides to further postsecondary opportunities in college or in a career. This research can have an impact on educational leadership, how parents navigate the educational system to help 2e children reach their full potential, and to raise awareness of this population of children with professionals in the educational, medical, and mental health communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions, practices, and training of teachers when identifying and nominating students for gifted and talented education (GATE) programs. The study was conducted through the lived experiences and viewpoints of GATE teachers at 13 elementary schools in a suburban school district in Texas. The basis of this study stemmed from an equity audit that was conducted in 2018 to better understand the disproportionalities that existed in the district with minority and economically disadvantaged students. The audit revealed major disparities of African American students in the areas of gifted and talented services, enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre AP-courses, Advanced Academics (dual credit), and Career and Technology Education (CTE). The theoretical framework that was used as a foundation for the study was multiple intelligences theory. The qualitative study consisted of teachers and a director's responses from one-on-one interview questions and additional comments provided during the video recordings. The coding of the data revealed three major themes during the interviews. The three major themes that were produced from more than 20 codes were perceptions, teacher training, and adjustment of policy and processes to practice. The findings disclosed the gifted and talented tests being used were exclusionary to particular subpopulations such as African American students, teachers and parents needed more training to understand the traits of giftedness, and teachers who activated the multiple intelligences of their students through high-quality instruction, culturally relevant teaching, and special interests benefited from more engaging classrooms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

The research problem this study addressed was that general education teachers are struggling to meet the needs of gifted students with differentiated instruction at the middle school level. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate middle school teachers' perceptions of differentiating instruction for gifted learners and any challenges or barriers the teachers may experience. Tomlinson's theory of differentiation was the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions addressed teachers' understanding of giftedness, preparedness to differentiate instruction for gifted students, strategies used for differentiating instruction for gifted students, and perceived barriers or challenges to differentiating instruction for gifted students. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and sentence completion with eight middle school teachers. Key thematic findings from the coding analysis included the participants' reports of understanding gifted learners' needs, varying levels of preparedness to differentiate, limited resources and strategies to differentiate, and the necessity for professional support to differentiate for gifted learners. These results informed the research questions by identifying the participants' understanding of characteristics of gifted learners and the specific needs a gifted learner might have. Most participants described their preparedness to differentiate as inadequate with little to no coursework during preservice training. The participants employed differentiation strategies based on the resources and experiences they have. Lastly, the participants reported a lack of materials, time, and professional development as barriers to implementing differentiation. Social change may be promoted by increasing teachers' knowledge and use of differentiation as a strategy to improve the educational experiences of gifted learners at the middle school level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)