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This dissertation is designed as a final report of a study that sought to understand the impact that participating in a program for the academically gifted has on its students. The study examined those effects in the context of social, emotional, and academic changes that the students experience as a result of their involvement in the program. This dissertation outlines background information for the study including a description of the setting, nature and significance of the problem, research questions, and definition of terms. The report includes a detailed review of literature in order to further demonstrate the significance of the problem in current social constructs as well as to provide additional information regarding academic giftedness. This paper outlines the research process under the guidelines of a qualitative approach by employing a case study analysis of 1 third grade child, 2 fourth grade children and 1 fifth grade child participating in a specific program for the academically gifted selected through a criterion sampling. Additionally, the parent(s) or caregiver(s) of the participants as well as the teachers of the program were involved in the research in order to extend the depth and breadth of the data. The results of the research proposed in this paper will provide a greater understanding of how children are academically, socially, and emotionally affected by participating in a program for the academically gifted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Elite athletes compete at the highest level of their chosen field and elite Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes are considered by many to be the greatest all around trained athletes in the world. Mental preparation is considered the distinguishing form of preparation that separates the successful athletes from the less successful at a level where many are physically comparable. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand more fully the experience of elite MMA athletes and their utilization of mental preparation. Research participants consisted of eight professional MMA male athletes who were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Five categories containing a total of 17 major and 11 minor themes regarding mental preparation were revealed. Elite MMA athletes considered mental preparation vital to their success and discussed their personal mental training program. Participants expressed what mental preparation tools were used in their training regime and how they utilized these preparation tactics including their personal preferences. This study and results indicate that elite MMA athletes utilize various forms of well-known mental preparation and uphold certain personal preferences. In addition, these elite athletes would benefit from comprehensive mental preparation training and learn how to better improve their mental performance just like they do with their physical performance. This is a population of special individuals who are set apart with mental and physical giftedness deserves further attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Metacognition is an umbrella term that encompasses many related constructs about the knowledge and regulation of one's own thinking processes. Metacognitive knowledge about memory and attention has been found to correlate with intelligence levels and has been viewed as one component of giftedness. In this paper, definitions of both metacognition and giftedness are explained and situated in context so that the relationship between the two may be explored further. I also describe traditional and nontraditional methods of identifying children as gifted. While previous studies of metacognitive differences between gifted and nongifted children have been based on students traditionally identified as gifted, my study employed a non-traditional identification method, the DISCOVER assessment. In the study, I examine metacognitive knowledge about three elements: memory, attention, and decision making, in gifted and nongifted second-graders through an interview. The two main purposes of the study were to explore metacognitive knowledge about decision making, which had not been studied previously, and to see if varying the method of identification for giftedness would affect the metacognitive advantage for gifted children found in prior studies. No significant differences were found among the types of metacognitive knowledge studied. Statistically significant differences were found between the scores of gifted and nongifted children, with gifted children demonstrating greater ability to articulate their metacognitive knowledge. A qualitative discussion of students' responses illustrates areas in which the two groups of children differed in their understanding of their own thinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Research examining the cognitive characteristics of gifted children is limited. Not much is known about the underlying cognitive mechanisms that lead to gifted performance, which confines the educator in the attempt to develop the potential excellence in all learners through enriched instruction. The purpose of the present researcher was to examine executive functioning as a possible cognitive characteristic of giftedness. The process for identifying students for an enrichment program within a specific district in New York was examined. The participants, including second grade students that were screened for but found ineligible for the enrichment program (n = 17), and second grade students that were found eligible for the enrichment program (n = 37), were administered a measure of cognitive ability (WJ III BIA) and a measure of executive functioning (TOL). The first proposed hypothesis asserted that there would be group differences on the measure of executive functioning, specifically, students in the gifted group would score significantly higher. The second hypothesis proposed that there would be group differences on the measure of IQ, specifically, students in the gifted group would score significantly higher. The third hypothesis posed that executive functioning would be a significantly stronger predictor of group membership when compared to IQ. Results supported the second hypothesis, in that students in the gifted group scored significantly higher on a measure of IQ (p = .03) than students in the non-gifted group. Additional exploratory analyses examined the effect that subjective teacher recommendations may have upon the screening process. Results support the lack of knowledge about the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may lead to gifted performance. Future researchers should examine alternative subfunctions of executive functioning, as well as additional cognitive and behavioral characteristics, in an attempt to narrow the definition of giftedness. Implications for school psychology and related disciplines within the domain of education include more effective identification and programming for gifted students, as well as the possibility of developing curriculum that will allow for the enhancement of these abilities in all learners. In addition, there are implications for training programs for school psychologists, as well as those for other professionals within education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This dissertation reports a study of racial/ethnic representation in gifted education and its relationship to the identification methods used in a large, school district in the southeastern Unites States. The data consisted of the results of five ability and/or achievement tests used to determine gifted eligibility for second graders in 2004-2005 and subsequent third graders in 2005-2006, totaling approximately 5,000 students. Test scores generated from the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT), and/or Performance Tasks for Gifted Education (PTT) were studied. Race/ethnicity was defined based on a consolidated version of the ethnic codes found in the data file provided by the school district. For the purpose of this study, five distinct racial/ethnic classifications were used. They were white, black, Asian, Hispanic, and students classified as other races/ethnicities. The study found that race/ethnicity and identification methods were related when certain tests were administered. Overall findings indicated a significant relationship between race/ethnicity and giftedness regardless of identification methods. When CogAT was the only identification method used, overall findings indicated a significant relationship between race/ethnicity and giftedness. When various combinations of the CogAT, ITBS, MAP and PACT were examined, overall findings indicated a significant relationship between race/ethnicity and giftedness. When overall findings were significant, the study presents results of follow up test analysis to determine comparisons between various races/ethnicities. Finally, when combinations involving the PTT were studied, findings showed that race/ethnicity and classification as gifted was not significantly related. As seen in earlier findings, however, the study also indicated that, while the PTT increased the number of typically under-represented races/ethnicities in gifted education, its overall impact in addressing continued disproportionality in the gifted education program in the selected school district was limited due to fewer numbers of students being administered the test. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This manuscript-style dissertation presents four essays that provide theoretical and empirical insights on a systematic theme of cultural perspectives on talent development and parenting. Topics addressed include Western and Chinese perspectives on concepts of giftedness and talented performance, cultural issues related to nature and nurture, and parenting influence on talent development. The first essay reviews both Western and Chinese literature on giftedness and introduces a preliminary Chinese model of talented performance. One important feature to emerge from the literature is a de-emphasis on giftedness as an innate ability and an emphasis on the concept of talented performance from the Chinese perspective. Such a finding is congruent with a Confucian cultural outlook that encourages effort rather than the identification of giftedness, which is a focus of the next paper. The second essay presents a reflective review of Confucian philosophy on learning and achieving, examines its influence in China and other Asian countries, and discusses its implications for the education of gifted and talented children. The third essay explores the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development through a specific perspective of Chinese American families with gifted children. Research questions focused on parents' beliefs and practices concerning how to nurture high achievement among children. Findings of this study include evidence of a sense of responsibility for parenting, a high level of confidence about children's future, and a mixed strategy of parenting which combines traditional Chinese practice and adopted Western ideas of parenting. The last essay investigates parenting beliefs and practices of a small group of individuals who have achieved an extreme level of talented performance: winning a Nobel Prize. Analysis of the interviews revealed that these Nobel laureates have common as well as unique experiences and beliefs about parenting, which may provide valuable information and implications on how to better help the young population achieve talented performance. A summary of the four essays with a focus on the links between the topics among these essays will be presented at the end of the dissertation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

It has been more than three decades since the Marland Report (1972), the first major report commissioned by the U.S. government on the gifted and talented, incorporated the identification of students with potential or demonstrated talent in the arts in federally legislated definitions of giftedness. Many educational researchers have supported the idea that the products in art education and the multifaceted approaches involved in visual expression are measurable constructs (Hardiman, Liu & Zernich, 1992; Clark & Zimmerman, 1992). Because most standardized tests are not appropriate for identification of students with high abilities in the visual arts, researchers have suggested that the identification of such students should be based on diverse multiple-criteria systems with emphasis on student potential and portfolios of products as well as measures of various aspects of students' background, behaviors, skills, and abilities (Clark & Zimmerman, 1992). Researchers in this area have usually approached the problem of identification from a selection standpoint rather than from a classification viewpoint. Therefore, they usually conduct a multiple regression analysis with the assumption that a linear combination of the several predictors is appropriate in forecasting success. The approach used in such studies requires definition of a criterion by which individuals are assigned to one of at least two categories along a criterion continuum (Tiedeman, 1951). Considering the multifaceted nature of artistically gifted and talented individuals, it is very challenging, if not impossible, to collect information about a student in a manner that enables ordering and linear scaling of the overall capability of each person, much less establishing a criterion for individuals to meet. On the other hand, if the program attempts to analyze the set of measurements collected on each applicant who mayor may not be gifted or talented in visual arts, these measurements should then successfully differentiate the level of performance between the subsequently formulated performance groups to which the student belongs. This classification approach to identification eliminates the continuous criterion problem by focusing on both the problem of whether or not the performance of each individual on various variables tends to isolate perceived performance the categorical groups from one another. For the purpose of the study, three groups were created by the researcher to represent students who are (a) exceptional; (b) superior; and (c) eminent. Students with highest giftedness quality were assigned to the eminent group, and least gifted individuals were assigned to the exceptional group by a group of teachers. The first set of data were analyzed with Fisher's discriminant function using group membership as grouping variable and audition, portfolio, and interviews as independent variables. The eigenvalues of the characteristic equation of Sw-1S B were lambda;1 = .136 and lambda;2 = 0.10. One statistically significant discriminant function, called Z1 here, was identified. The chi-square test of Wilks' lambda for Z1 was significant (2 = 19.092 and p<0.005 with df = 6) suggesting that the differences in the mean discriminant scores of the three groups were greater than what could be attributed to the sampling error. The canonical correlation between the three predictor variables and the discriminant scores produced by the first function, (eta; = .346 and eta;2 = 0.120 which is within rounding error of lambda;1 = 0.136), implies that 13.6% of variance in the weighted, combined independent variables is aligned with separation of the three groups of gifted individuals (the dependent variable). These results were cross-validated by the second set of data. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to determine if distinct subgroups of high achieving children could be identified using a recently redeveloped intelligence measure-The Woodcock-Johnson Tests or Cognitive Ability, 3rd edition (WJ-III). Students were referred for further testing based on their scores on the Indiana State Test of Educational Progress (the ISTEP+). Students were included in the study if they scored at or above the 90 th percentile on the ISTEP+ Cognitive Skills Index, or the reading and/or math portions. Using these criteria, 202 students were referred for further testing. These students were clustered with Ward's method of cluster analysis using their scores on the seven CHC factors of the WJ-III. Their individual scores on two other intelligence measures (the Stanford-Binet IV and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test), as well as other scores from the WJ-III were used to further describe the clusters that emerged. The following three subgroups were identified: (a) decidedly gifted, (b) problem solvers, and (c) slow-paced achievers. Not all subgroups obtained the gifted score ranges expected on the three measures employed. The clusters were better described as displaying a slight levels effect, in that the groups were most different from one another in terms of the overall intelligence quotient and mean CHC factor scores, with one group scoring in the superior to high average ranges, one in the high average to average ranges, and one in the average range overall. This study provided evidence for the use of intelligence measures in describing gifted individuals' specific strengths and weaknesses. It also has significant implications for the use of intelligence measures in assessing giftedness within an applied setting. This study is useful as a validation study for the three intelligence measures employed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)