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,…

In social cognitive theory, the development of self-perceptions is a complex process involving personality and environment. While educators may have little influence on students' personality traits, they can attend to environmental components that support the development of positive self-perceptions. Developing positive self-perceptions has been…

Describes an action plan that is helpful for all students, including gifted students, to promote development of their individual Selves--their inner voices. Guiding precepts for a curriculum that leads to the educational good life for students are provided, and Deliberative Artistry, a process that promotes self-examination, is described.…

This paper reviews common emotional and social needs of gifted children. Two personality self-report instruments, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children, are suggested for helping students gain self-awareness and self-acceptance, which will enhance their emotional growth toward awareness of others and…

Evaluation of career self-efficacy perceptions of 286 ninth- and eleventh-grade students (about 40% in classes for gifted students) found that the overall influence of gender on career self-efficacy was small, with achievement a more powerful predictor than gender. Gender did not account for variance in interest in particular occupations. (DB)

Although equal numbers of highly gifted boys and girls are found from early childhood until about age 12, 98% of the preeminent adults are male. This may be because, during preadolescence and adolescence, girls receive societal messages that undermine gifted girls' confidence and motivation. A vigorous campaign is needed to establish gender equity…

Discusses the difficulties that high-ability black college students face in blending their academic interest and racial affiliation into their sense of self. Student narratives show how a strong peer community and positive student-faculty interactions can overcome these obstacles and promote healthy identity development. (Author/DB)

These conference proceedings consider the unique needs of gifted and talented individuals, focusing on state-of-the-art knowledge regarding school reform initiatives, cooperative learning, creative achievement, social-emotional development, differentiated curriculum, charter schools, and parenting issues. Summaries are provided of the following…

This paper examines classroom dynamics that can lead to adolescent girls doubting their ability, creativity, and importance. Before children even start attending school, girls have learned verbal and physical self-restraint, thus requiring teachers to give more attention to boys who are more difficult to control. At school, intelligence is…

This study of five gifted female adolescents examined their male-female relationships, independence, perceptions of ability and expectations for success, overreliance on social manipulation, motivation, ethic of caring, superwoman syndrome, and familial influences. The study found positive examples of the use of problem-solving strategies; it also…

This study, with 103 nongifted students and 77 female and 76 male gifted students in grades 3, 6, and 9, found that gifted females evidenced self-defeating causal attributions for math performance relative to gifted males only in grade 9. For the nongifted subjects, the sex differences were not as pronounced. (DB)

This review of research on motivation and self-perception in gifted students looks at the interaction of motivation with self-perception; effective practices in classrooms and homes for developing children's potential, motivation, and self-esteem; and implications for teachers and parents of gifted and talented children. (DB)

The effects of a summer program on self-concept scores of 139 gifted students in grades 4 to 8 were examined. Results indicated that regular and special program students did not differ significantly in self-concept; existing gender differences in self-concept were attenuated upon program completion; and self-concept was unrelated to grade.…

This monograph presents 29 abstracts on the emotional price of excellence in the psychological development of gifted children. Sample topics include: self-as-learner schemas, the impact of academic pressure on Japanese students, multicultural counseling practices for gifted minorities, coping strategies of gifted adolescents, suicide among gifted…

Na'imiloa, the High School Demonstration Project, is a program for potentially gifted and talented Native Hawaiian secondary students attending four high schools on the island of Hawaii. Phase I focused on identifying underachieving gifted and talented students; Phase II concentrated on student orientation to the program and on self-concept and…