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Twice-exceptionality is the phenomenon of a student with one or more disabilities who is also gifted and talented. Identification of twice-exceptionality is difficult and only recently has there been a greater awareness of the needs of twice-exceptional students. There is empirical research about twice-exceptionality but little research exists on how twice-exceptional individuals perceive and attribute meaning to their lived experiences. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of one university student identified as gifted and learning disabled to understand how personal experiences influenced his identity development, his perspectives on teaching and education, and, ultimately, his career choice. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) psychosocial challenges, (b) delayed identification, (c) masking effect and school achievement, (d) the importance of support, and (e) motivation for career choice. Individuals with twice-exceptionality often face unique psychosocial challenges including social isolation, low self-esteem, and feelings of worthlessness. Identification and support are often delayed for these individuals as their disability can mask their giftedness and vice versa; each condition affects their school achievement. These challenges affected the study participant; his personal and academic experiences illustrated the impact identification and support had on his education as well as his future goal of becoming a teacher. A key motivating factor for his career choice was to address the needs of future students with twice exceptionality. Findings of this study suggested an interrelationship among the five themes and stressed the critical importance of identifying and supporting students who have unique learning needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to detect Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers' perceptions of giftedness and factors affecting their referral decisions through eleven profiles (scenarios) originally created by five experts in the field of gifted education and semi-structured interview questions created for this study. The original profiles were translated from English to Turkish and adapted to be more relevant to Turkish culture. These profiles were named as Student Profiles Survey in this study. The profiles were varied based on characteristics embedded in each profile and I was able to create eight versions (pile) of the Student Profiles Survey. Profiles in each version (pile) of Student Profiles Survey differed from each other based on the characteristics embedded in each profile. Participants of the study were Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers who were attending two colleges of Education at Gaziantep University, namely Gaziantep College of Education and Nizip College of Education. A total of 204 Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers participated in the study and filled out the different versions of Student Profiles Survey. Approximately 25 pre-service teachers filled out each version of Student Profiles Survey. In addition, 16 of the pre-service teachers were asked for a follow-up interview. The convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to shed light on the research questions. The findings from quantitative and qualitative analyses were combined to support each other and to better investigate Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers' perceptions of giftedness and factors affecting their referral decisions. The results of this study indicated that Profile 11 was the most appropriate and Profile 4 was the least appropriate profile for Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers' perceptions of giftedness. Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers explained their reasons for including the students in the profiles to gifted education programs mostly based on the personal, academic, and social characteristics of the students embedded in the profiles but they did not often referred students' characteristics when they were explaining their reasons for exclusion. Rather than explaining their reasons based on characteristics of the students, Turkish pre-service teachers increased their expectations and created excuses to underestimate the potentials of the students in the profiles when they were asked to explain their reasons for exclusion. The results of factorial ANOVAs indicated that Turkish pre-service elementary school teachers' referral decisions were influenced by the following factors: Students' and pre-service teachers' gender, students' ability areas, personality traits of the students, words describing the student, and students' length of passion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Gifted students in transition to college may be at risk for underachievement, difficult transition, or even attrition. Giftedness by itself is not always sufficient for academic success in college. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to construct a theory regarding the process of transition to college for high-achieving gifted high school students. The study was conducted with 12 traditional-aged, gifted college freshmen enrolled in high-ACT and honors sections of an extended orientation course at a small, private, Midwestern university. Data were collected through journal entries, intensive individual interviews, and focus groups conducted throughout students' first semester. The data were analyzed through a process of initial line-by-line coding, focused coding, and axial coding. A paradigm model was developed from students' descriptions of their experiences in transition. The results of the study indicate that students' academic experiences in high school directly affect the development of their academic self-concept, as well as the nature of their transition and the academic and social coping behaviors they develop. Students reported lack of challenge in high school, which for many resulted in delayed development of the requisite academic skills for successful transition to college academics. In addition, students described feeling fearful and confused as they encountered academic challenge. Furthermore, the students explained the stigma of being an honors student, as well as the unrealistic expectations they often experienced from their family and peers. Contrary to the persistent myth that gifted students will be fine on their own, this study illustrates the challenges students who experienced academic achievement in high school with little to no academic effort face when confronted with the challenge of college coursework. The constructed theory could be used for future research regarding how gifted students experience transition, effective educational environments for gifted high school students, and the effectiveness of various types of programming on their transition to college. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This critical race case study sought to examine the influence of an early talent development program on teacher perceptions of giftedness among culturally and linguistically diverse students in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, MD. The central research question investigated was how the Maryland State Department of Education Primary Talent Program (2009) influenced teacher perceptions of giftedness in culturally and linguistically diverse students. Data was analyzed using categorical aggregation to establish themes and patterns among the participants' responses. Findings revealed the challenges participants experienced with assimilating the program goals of the early talent development program and identifying the characteristics of giftedness among culturally and linguistically diverse students. The findings lead to four conclusions: teacher expectations of students were transformed as a result of observing for student potential; teachers perceived talent as latent versus developing; ongoing and differentiated professional development was vital for teacher assimilation of the Maryland State Department of Education Primary Talent Program (2009) goals; and implicit bias was found to be a contributing factor to deficit thinking which lowered teacher expectations of culturally and linguistically diverse students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

For decades, education has struggled with the underrepresentation of sociologically diverse students in gifted education. Despite continued development of promising new strategies to enhance programming and alleviate the underrepresentation of sociologically diverse students, only limited progress has been made toward relieving these concerns. A review of the literature on underrepresentation in gifted education reveals information necessary to better understand giftedness, to understand the underlying issues with recruitment and retention in sociologically diverse gifted programs, and to understand the role of the administrator in gifted education. Past research affirms the role of the administrator in the management of special education programs and mentions the barriers to the maintenance of sociologically diverse gifted and talented programs but research examining the perceptions and experiences of administrators is limited. Literature continues to offer recruitment and retention strategies to alleviate limited retention and recruitment of sociologically diverse students in programs for the gifted; however, it continues to overlook the key role of the administrator in the implementation of the solutions and the many barriers they face. In order to fill the gaps in the research, this qualitative research study was conducted using a phenomenology approach with transcendental methodology utilizing one-on one interviews. The study focused on an exploration of administrator perceptions of the barriers associated with implementing and maintaining sociologically diverse gifted programs, and the discovery of why so many promising solutions to underrepresentation are available but sociologically diverse students continue to be poorly served in gifted education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

There is currently a lack of research aimed at determining the boredom level experienced by sixth grade students participating in an accelerated math class, as well as suitable strategies aimed at helping students avoid it. This quantitative quasi-experimental static-group comparison study investigated boredom levels with the implementation of Contract Activity Packages (CAPs), a strategy specifically related to combatting boredom for gifted and talented students, into a sixth-grade accelerated math class. Data were collected from 138 sixth-grade students participating in an accelerated math class via the boredom scale of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire -- Mathematics (AEQ-M) and analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance and a one-way analysis of variance. Results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the boredom levels of sixth-grade students participating in an accelerated math class who received and did not receive CAPs, regardless of gender or giftedness. These results imply that the use of CAPs might not be a suitable strategy to use in order to prevent the presence of boredom in the classroom setting, or that the CAPs were not effectively designed. Thus, more research in this particular field of education is recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Women are consistently underrepresented in certain careers not just in mathematics and science but also in fields such as philosophy and music composition. In my dissertation, I focus on a recently discovered factor that may contribute to this imbalance: Women are culturally stereotyped as being less intellectually gifted than men, and as a result they may face a number of obstacles when pursuing degrees and professions that are portrayed as requiring intellectual giftedness (Leslie, Cimpian, Meyer, & Freeland, 2015). Prior research on this potential mechanism has focused exclusively on adults; thus, little is known about its developmental roots. The earlier children acquire the notion that brilliance is a male quality, the stronger its influence may be on their aspirations. Our present research shows that, by the age of 6, girls are less likely than boys to believe that members of their gender are "really, really smart" a child-friendly way of referring to brilliance (Studies 1 and 2). Also at 6, girls begin to shy away from novel activities said to be for children who are "really, really smart" (Studies 3 and 4). Moreover, this stereotype undermines both adults' and children's evaluation of females' capabilities for activities portrayed as requiring brilliance (Studies 5 and 6). These studies speak to the early acquisition of cultural ideas about brilliance and gender, and to the immediate impact that these stereotyped notions have on people's interests and evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Underachievement is common among gifted students, beginning as early as elementary school. In some instances, failure to fulfill potential continues into adulthood. The loss of future inventors, leaders, philosophers, creators, etc. impacts the global economy. This qualitative grounded theory study, through the lens of Renzulli's Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness, investigated motivation and achievement from the perspective of gifted elementary school students. The insight gained enables educators to provide more effective learning strategies for gifted students so that all gifted students are motivated to fulfill their potential. Theory emerged that reflects the lived experiences gifted elementary school students have had with motivation and achievement. Ten gifted students in grades 3 through 5 were invited to participate in a survey and in individual interviews. A constant comparative analysis of the data revealed that thirst for knowledge, challenge, self-efficacy, autonomy, and inspiring goals motivated the students to achieve in an instructional environment that fosters these motivational factors. An addition to Renzulli's theory emerged from the students' insight: For gifted behavior to occur, students with advanced ability need opportunity to engage in challenging activity in a motivating environment that fosters creativity. The results of this study can inform the development of gifted education accommodations that will provide gifted students with the opportunity to turn their interests into expertise for the benefit of society. Future research should involve students from a wider range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Longitudinal studies would provide a deeper understanding of the long term-effects of underachievement and of gifted education accommodations to stem the tide of lost potential. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This research study investigated underrepresentation of minority students in gifted education. This project was undertaken to identify possible methods for school districts to implement in order to address minority student underrepresentation in gifted programs. In this way, the study was intended to be of interest to educational leaders, gifted educators, and teachers. Guiding questions for the research study were developed from five theme areas which emerged in the literature: research limitations and governmental oversight; testing instruments and gifted identification / program access; minority parent awareness of gifted education; minority student awareness and perception of gifted education; and teacher influence on gifted education for minority students. The theme areas were used as a template for the creation of a survey to study the research topic. Research data collection involved a 32- item survey sent to all gifted education contacts in Missouri school districts as identified by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The intent was to learn from current gifted educators regarding their perceptions and understanding of the issue of minority underrepresentation in gifted education. The study concluded with two recommendations gleaned from survey data review and analysis. The first recommendation was for teachers to receive professional development on items including standard definitions of giftedness, and the identification of giftedness within various student populations. The training would help teachers understand equity, diversity, culturally relevant teaching, ways in which to identify gifted students, and how to refer students to gifted programs. The second recommendation was for school districts to ensure outreach to both minority families and students regarding gifted education programming. This outreach should focus on family education and professional development that involves educating minority families on how to access and understand gifted services provided by their school district. The outreach should likewise focus on educating minority students on the benefits of gifted education as well as all aspects of programs including the referral process, program implementation and social pressures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The goal of this research is to examine the differences of short-term memory capacity between intellectually gifted, general education, and students receiving special education services. Using foundations in memory and recall research by Atkinson and Shiffrin and Baddeley and Hitch, data was collected by replication of a previous serial position effect research design. Participants were children in grades four through six located in the southern portion of the United States. An ANOVA analysis found a statistical significance between students receiving special education and general education and gifted students. A failure to reject the null hypothesis supported that short-term memory capacity of gifted students is not different from general education students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Past research has indicated that teachers' use of power directly influences students' sense of empowerment and that students who feel empowered are more likely to be motivated. Research has also indicated that gifted students who are motivated achieve at a level commensurate with their ability. Lack of teacher training regarding giftedness likely influences teachers' use of power, thereby impacting gifted high school students' perceptions of empowerment and motivation. The relationship between teacher power and student empowerment and motivation, however, has not been thoroughly investigated in gifted education literature. This phenomenological study explored classroom situations in which gifted high school students felt empowered and the relationship between power, empowerment, and motivation. The study was conducted from a phenomenological perspective to better understand these gifted students' perceptions of empowerment within their classrooms. Specifically, the researcher attempted to explore the impact of different power dynamics, including teachers' utilization of various relational power bases (i.e., reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, expert power) on gifted students' learning, their levels of motivation and engagement, and their overall sense of empowerment. The 29 gifted students in this study reported that their learning, engagement, motivation, and sense of empowerment were directly impacted by the power dynamics within their classrooms, including the ways in which teachers chose to utilize power. Teacher power was perceived most positively by these students when it was based on authentic, personal relationships; utilized to structure and control the classroom environment so all students could learn; and shared with students. Additionally, the more connected these students felt to (a) teachers, (b) peers, (c) learning, (d) self, and (e) home and community, the more motivated and empowered they felt. Based on the findings in this study, it is important for educators to realize the significant impact the climate they create and encourage within their classrooms has on their gifted students and to take steps to make it as motivating and empowering as possible. Recommendations include providing educational opportunities and support for pre-service and current educators regarding (a) the academic and affective characteristics and learning needs of gifted high school students and (b) the importance and positive impact of facilitating connections and sharing power in the classroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This case study adds insight to the idea of equitable access as it relates to advanced coursework available to students in public high schools in South Carolina. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) has become a viable choice since secondary-level magnet programs in SC have taken root for over thirty years. The IBDP originally developed in SC to attract the global elite, however in the recent decade, the IBDP has morphed into a program meant for all students. The concept of IB for All is marketed as a college readiness program within South Carolina IBDP schools. Access is multidimensional; it includes educational policies, leadership, and practices heavily shaped by the local-school policy actors. However, my analysis demonstrates that access is also a socio-cultural construct, formulated, or redefined, year after year in schools. The perspectives of IBDP coordinators from across the state of SC generated the central insights analyzed in this dissertation. Based on their responses to an initial questionnaire, coordinators were interviewed individually providing rich details about the patterns of change throughout the state. Then, focus groups and further one-on-one interviews were conducted with other key participants providing an historic and broader perspective from the state and national levels. This inquiry adds insight to the idea of what access to the IBDP looks like in relation to school reform, choice, integration, and giftedness. This case study presents the multidimensionality of access and will inform choice implementation through leveling the field for equitable opportunities for SC students to choose the IBDP option for college readiness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Gifted, bilingual students are underrepresented in gifted education. The reasons are examined in the literature and include unfair assessments, varying definitions of giftedness, lack of teacher training or clear guidelines, and teachers' perceptions. The purpose of this qualitative, multi-case study is to add to the lack of research currently available on the experiences of gifted bilingual students. This investigation centers on 4 students in a K-8, public, dual language school in an urban district, and sought to answer these research questions: (a) What are the nomination and identification processes used to determine the need for gifted education? (b) What are the experiences of these students in this school? (c) What are the instructional practices used to serve them? The findings from this study show that while GT support improved, more was needed at the school level, classroom teachers need more professional development to understand how to support gifted bilingual students, more instructional strategies are needed to support gifted bilingual students in the classroom, and the guidelines used for identifying and programming gifted bilingual students are confusing and insufficient to best meet the needs of this special population of students. The implications from the findings of this study will add to what is known about the nomination and identification practices used with gifted bilingual students, to understand the challenges and successes of gifted bilingual students in an academic setting, and the instructional practices used with gifted bilingual students in a dual language school setting. Also, important implications from this study stem from the findings on how nomination and identification practices might add to the problem of the underrepresentation of gifted bilingual students in GT programs, and that instructional practices used may not meet the needs of this special population of students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Failure to identify gifted students is an important, yet under acknowledged problem facing our nation's schools (Miller, 2009; Webb, 2000). It is important for teachers to be aware of typical and atypical or, unexpected characteristics of gifted students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify factors that influenced elementary general education teachers' decisions to refer a student for a gifted evaluation. Specifically, the current study sought to discover whether or not teachers recognized Dabrowski's (1964) five overexcitabilities (OE) commonly associated with gifted students as indicators of giftedness, or if such characteristics are a reason for teachers refraining from referring a student for a gifted evaluation. This study included 30 elementary general education teachers teaching in a large suburban school district in central Pennsylvania. Data was collected using an online survey developed by the researcher which was adapted from Bouchard's (2004) ElemenOE observation tool. The survey presented student scenarios based on the five OEs. The survey included Likert scale, forced-choice and open-ended questions. Voluntary follow up interviews were conducted with select participants to further explore survey responses. Three themes emerged from the data. The first theme revealed teachers tend to refer a student demonstrating typical gifted characteristics for a gifted evaluation. The second theme revealed participants refrained from referring a student demonstrating unexpected gifted characteristics, specifically Dabrowski's five OEs. The third theme showed teachers wanted more information or training before making a decision to refer a student for a gifted evaluation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This comparative case study investigated the college experiences of twice-exceptional college students identified as gifted and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (GTASD). Increasing numbers of students with ASD are entering universities (NCES, 2008; Shattuck et al., 2012) making the identification of supports for their academic success imperative. However, little is known about their college experiences and their challenges in transitioning to higher education settings. This study examined the college experience from the perspective of the GTASD college student. Based on ecological systems theory, five cases were designed that included ten participants. Each of the five cases contained one GTASD college student and their respective advocate. Data was collected from multiple sources (twenty-five interviews of students and advocates, student generated photographs, and an online demographic and educational experiences surveys) and analyzed from a grounded theory perspective. Findings from this study indicated that accurate diagnosis of autism and early identification of giftedness is needed to determine individual differences and provide the social and emotional skills necessary for the successful college experiences of the GTASD college student. Information learned from this study may directly help students, inform support systems (counselors, parents or guardians, college personnel), improve transitional services, and highlight relevant counseling needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Being Seen is an experience of feeling deeply understood by another person. According to self-concept theory, such positive and understanding reflections are crucial for self-concept development. However, when interactions produce negative reflections, self-concept and emotional stability may suffer. In gifted people, asynchronous development and overexcitabilities create experiences that differ from the norm. Because few people are gifted or understand the social-emotional aspects of giftedness, gifted people may have more difficulty finding people with whom they feel deeply understood. This is likely to be even more true for highly gifted people, who are only about 0.1% of the population. In this exploratory study, 24 highly gifted adults participated in conversations about being Seen as part of refining the concept itself. They then each wrote answers to reflective questions about their experiences being Seen. Transcripts of those conversations and participants' written reflections were analyzed using thematic analysis to find common threads of thought among the participants. The findings suggest that being Seen is a positive but rare experience for participants. More often, participants received negative or disapproving reflections to behaviors that are typical for gifted people but atypical for others. This was called being misSeen. Participants also described interactions when they neither felt understood nor received negative reflections. This was called being notSeen. In most interactions, participants felt misSeen or notSeen. To avoid the negative repercussions of being misSeen, participants learned to self-conceal among most people. Rather than reveal their self-described "true" or "authentic" selves, participants restricted their natural ways of being and attempted to perform to others' expectations. However, doing so required conscious thought, could be exhausting, and was not always successful. Although only a few participants acutely felt the effects of being misSeen and notSeen, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction was detected in the participants' responses. This comports with self-concept literature about negative reflections and with literature about the social-emotional aspects of giftedness. Discussion includes additional ideas about how self-concept literature and gifted literature might intersect to explain findings. Future studies might investigate how being Seen might change one's self-concept or compare highly gifted adults' experiences to those of other groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

This investigation addresses five constituents calling, social consequences, imagination, story, and the experience of being gifted. It is grounded in the fundamental human inquiry of identity and purpose and contains both personal and universal answers. Primarily, the author sought to answer one question: How did imagination and story reveal and develop my personal narrative? This led her to Hillman's (1997) contention that our true biography the destiny written into our metaphoric acorn has been stolen. Three questions arose from the primary question used to organize the literature review: (a) How has the use of this knowledge affected my understanding of the evolution of the human story? (b) What evidence is there to identify when our species developed imagination? and (c) Why is imagination undervalued? There were four sub-questions answered through the personal data: (a) How is a quest or calling revealed? (b) Why is the phenomenon of Neverland essential to human well-being? (c) How did social forces impede the expression of imagination and the process of the original human story? and (d) What does it mean to be gifted? The method chosen for this work was autoethnography, which, according to Bochner and Ellis (2016), exists in a space between many apparent polarities including facts and meanings,objectivity and subjectivity, and art and science in what Reed-Danahay (1997) explained was how we come to know, name, and interpret personal and cultural experiences. The author was the only participant in this study; however, the meaning emerging from the inquiry could be relevant for many. The rationale and significance of this study was based on the assumption that the quality of human lives often suffers when people remain disconnected from experiencing their authentic self. The key finding was that through claiming the state of Neverland, as represented by the Peter Pan story, the author was able to connect with who she is and why she is here. This research allowed the author to reclaim her calling, imagination, and story, and acknowledge her giftedness. The ultimate call is for a new paradigm that welcomes and supports the unfolding human destiny. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)