The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) was evaluated with 4,461 seventh to ninth graders in Singapore where a national policy of ability streaming is implemented. Consistent with the BFLPE, when prior achievement was controlled, students in the high-ability stream had lower English and mathematics self-concepts (ESCs and MSCs) and those in the…

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of adult musicians in two long-standing flute choirs. Data were collected through observations, field notes, and in-depth interviews with 16 ensemble members. Salient statements were grouped into meaning units and clustered into 5 themes: Serendipity, Rewards, Challenges, Directors'…

Gifted pupils differ from their age-mates with respect to development potential, actual competencies, self-regulatory capabilities, and learning styles in one or more domains of competence. The question is how to design and develop education that fits and further supports such characteristics and competencies of gifted pupils. Analysis of various…

Although a rich tradition of mainly U.S. and U.K. research focuses on the nature and effects of tracking students within schools, little research has investigated the importance of tracking students in the same or in separate schools. The authors used data from a unique, representative survey in Flanders (Belgium) to examine how students' study…

The use of ability grouping restricts students to interact with others who have been identified as similar in ability and carries with it the stigma of failure and the operation of the self-fulfilling prophecy. (Author)

A review of the literature and research on the academic and social self-concepts of gifted adolescents reveals the importance of considering the unique talents of the individual rather than considering gifted students as a homogeneous group. Implications of the research for encouraging positive self-concepts in these students are drawn. (Author/DB)

This study supports the premise that children's attitudes toward reading and concepts of themselves as readers reflect their classroom status as readers rather than their actual reading ability. Compared were six of the poorest readers from a high-achieving class and five of the best readers from a low-achieving class. (BF)

Describes the development of an instrument to measure student attitudes towards a tracking system. (CK)

The attitudes, feelings, and self-concept of 30 sixth-grade children from high reading groups and 30 from low reading groups as related to ability grouping in the teaching of reading were examined in this study. The Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale, the San Diego County Inventory of Reading Attitude, and an interview schedule developed…

A STUDY WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF HETEROGENEOUS AND HOMOGENEOUS GROUPING IN NINTH-GRADE ENGLISH CLASSES. ON THE BASES OF IQ AND READING LANGUAGE SKILLS, STUDENTS WERE GROUPED AT THREE ABILITY LEVELS AND PLACE IN HETEROGENEOUS, HOMOGENEOUS SUPERIOR, HOMOGENEOUS SLOW, AND HOMOGENEOUS AVERAGE CLASSES. TEACHER VARIABLES WERE REDUCED BY…

This study compared the cognitive, social, and global self-perceptions of gifted children, over the course of a school year, in three settings that represented increasingly higher concentration levels of exceptional cognitive ability and for increasingly extensive parts of the day. Subjects were 176 students in grades 3-5 from the following three…

This study used the Harter Self Perception Profile for Adolescents and an interview technique to study the self- concept of 25 gifted adolescents during the transition year in a congregated (grouped) classroom for high ability students in secondary school. Test results indicated improved self- concepts, and interviews indicated the students…

This paper addresses common concerns of parents about the social development of gifted children. It stresses the importance of three key factors: (1) a responsive home environment where the child is respected; (2) opportunities to relate to other gifted children, especially during the early years, when self-concept is formed; and (3) opportunities…

A look at the Job Corps will provide greater insight into the needs of young people and the kind of education they require. (JL)

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese argues that the defense of single-sex education for women, with its demonstrated benefits, must include its defense for men as well. Leon Podles agrees that there is a place for single-sex education but supports it as a way to give boys an initiation into masculinity. (SLD)