Methods to estimate the causal effects of interventions are increasingly used in clinical medicine, public policy and social science. Using observational data, researchers can obtain causal treatment effect estimates without the ethical risks and time constraints that typically burden randomized experiments. The three studies in this dissertation…

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relations between social competence and mental well-being through perceptions of giftedness in gifted and general students. Data are collected from 359 gifted and general South Korean students (M[subscript age] = 13.54) and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results reveal that, first, gifted…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial unfinished learning for U.S. students, but to differing degrees for various subgroups. Students of color, from low-income families, or who attended high-poverty schools experienced greater unfinished learning. In this study, we examined the degree of unfinished learning for students who went into the…

The person-centered typological approach to personality enables researchers to explore configurations of traits within individuals (i.e., personality types), and the ways these types are related to specific outcomes. The objectives of the present study were twofold: (1) to explore personality types or profiles among the sample of gifted…

The exploration of dissecting gifted and talented programs combined with student advancement and academic success is one daunting but doable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the equity of the gifted and talented program while analyzing the achievement scores of these students compared to their peers. This quantitative study includes…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial unfinished learning for U.S. students, but to differing degrees for various subgroups. For example, students of color, from low-income families, or who attended high-poverty schools experienced greater unfinished learning. In this study we examined the degree of unfinished learning for students who…

Musical giftedness can manifest in many ways, and music teachers should be able to identify high musical potential beyond the demonstration of instrumental skill or musical knowledge. It is important to have a multi-faceted approach to the education of musically gifted students, particularly in the senior secondary years when students are…

Despite the strong influence parenting plays in every aspect of child development, there has been relatively little research focused on how parents influence the academic motivation of their high-ability or gifted child in the home setting. The current study details a conceptual replication of one widely cited study on this topic conducted by Garn…

The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to examine the relationship among student achievement factors, gifted and talented status and post-secondary readiness. The study included a review of archived data obtained from a large district in the southeastern region of Texas consisting of a purposeful sample of AP students' who took an…

In this dissertation, I sought to understand foster parents' perceptions of giftedness, how foster children's strengths, gifts, and talents affect their experiences and those of their foster parents, and what resources and information foster parents have for supporting their foster children's education and gifts. To understand these beliefs, I…

Academic underachievement among children and young people is an area of considerable concern, and it is often linked to particular groups. Two groups that have attracted concern when it comes to underachievement are gifted children and boys. This study examines the intersection between the underachievement of these two groups by examining…

The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) is the most widely used norm-referenced creativity test used in gifted identification. Although commonly used for identifying talent, little is known about how creativity tests, like the TTCT-Figural, contribute to the probability of being identified as gifted especially with underrepresented…

There were 42 Teach for America (TFA) members who had student schedules in both the October 2022 and February 2023 periods. Of those, 33 teachers instructed grades and subjects where students participated in the statewide assessment. The goal of this Research Brief is to estimate the instructional effectiveness of the TFA members in 2022-2023 as…

Insufficient research attention has been focused on the development of academic "under"-achievement and motivational beliefs. A longitudinal, person-centered approach was used to identify latent subgroups of growth in the joint development of teacher-reported underachievement and four motivational beliefs (self-concept, task importance,…

This study examined the effects of fluid intelligence and trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) on academic performance in primary school-aged intellectually gifted and average children (8-11 years of age). One hundred and four average children and eighty gifted children were administered a Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and a Trait…