In early adolescents who are gifted Susan Luus 28/04/2011 1
Background of the study Underachievement factors- participants voices Self-presentation and the relationship with underachievement Implications Limitations Susan Luus 28/04/2011 2
3 students and mothers Middle school- academic extension program School perception- achievement Participant perception- achievement Paradox ◦ Why were high achieving students thought to be underachieving? Susan Luus 28/04/2011 3
What achievement behaviours are evident? How do the students explain the apparent discrepancies between ability and demonstrated performance? What is the relationship between self- presentation and underachievement? Why do gifted students in an academic program appear to make a deliberate choice to underachieve? Susan Luus 28/04/2011 4
Identity- sense of self and sense of fit ◦ Personal ◦ Group – need for acceptance Achievement ◦ Academic ◦ Social ◦ Other Autonomy ◦ Choice ◦ Selective Susan Luus 28/04/2011 5
What is it? Who defines it? Transition to middle school ◦ who sets standards (this is known as an time when underachievement tends to peak) Susan Luus 28/04/2011 6
Discrepancy between performance and predicted potential assessed by standardised tests (Reis, 2000; Staudt & Neubauer. 2006) Influencing factors ◦ Environmental: school, family ◦ Internal: low effort, challenge avoidance, expectations (low or high), low persistence, motivation , desire for social acceptance (McNabb, 2003) Susan Luus 28/04/2011 7
Gifted in English and languages Background ◦ High achiever at primary school ◦ Bullying and isolation ◦ Uncertain sense of self Underachieving – ◦ School environment displayed the following behaviours: low effort challenge avoidance, expectations low persistence motivation desire for social acceptance Susan Luus 28/04/2011 8
Highly gifted in Maths and Science Superior ability in English and SOSE Background ◦ High achiever in primary school ◦ Comfortable, confident and good self-esteem ◦ Learning stalled in year 6 and 7 Underachieving ◦ Behaviours ◦ Boredom ◦ Bullying Susan Luus 28/04/2011 9
Gifted in Maths and Science Performing and visual arts Background ◦ Primary school facilitated talent development ◦ Acceleration ◦ Confident in herself and her ability, non-conformist Underachieving ◦ Teacher expectations ◦ Limited opportunities to develop talent ◦ Deficit approach in teaching pedagogy Susan Luus 28/04/2011 10
Blayde de Steph phen Amanda da Independent Learning Acceleration Acceleration Plan Offered withdrawal Well supported by staff Negativity from staff and parent Placement in non-gifted extension classes but not in areas of giftedness Continued parental advocacy Response Response Response Refusal unless offered Self-advocacy in one Learned helplessness to whole class area Change of focus to Growing confidence- alternative environment further advocacy for learning needs Offers of extension and withdrawal accepted Susan Luus 28/04/2011 11
Stephen: ◦ When you succeed in one of your goals- that’s achievement Blayde: ◦ Getting good marks, learning stuff, picking subjects you enjoy and are good at, and being with friends Susan Luus 28/04/2011 12
Amanda Reaching my goal- or almost reaching my goal, kind of thing! Susan Luus 28/04/2011 13
The work is not in enough depth, we just brush the surface, and there are too many people mucking up in class so we have to go too slowly. They don’t give me real work to do.(Stephen) I can’t reach the goals I have set for myself because I know all the work they are teaching. It’s like they’ve got nothing new to teach so we just do the same things over and over and over. (Amanda) Susan Luus 28/04/2011 14
Blayde does not acknowledge underachievement in his area of giftedness but knows that if he was offered more difficult curriculum with his whole class he would be successful. His mother’s comments explain, “ What is a puzzle for me is that in English and languages his strength areas , they’re the areas he is not achieving in, but advanced subjects where the curriculum has been compacted, he’s doing brilliantly. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 15
Awareness of difference Values Susan Luus 28/04/2011 16
`I try and make myself as small a target as possible, like invisible, I guess not try too hard cause then you’ll get picked on. ` That’s what I did last year in my PE class and Drama class. I kind of got along with them, I didn’t really like the classes either but I didn’t disrupt or anything, but they seemed like pretty funny people, so I guess just be invisible. (Blayde Int 3) Susan Luus 28/04/2011 17
Points of difference- work ethic, humour, musical tastes Um, well in year seven I was sort of picked on a bit by everyone and it was boring really cause it was easy, I’d done everything before, I knew how to do it and I understood it and um......some people teased me for that, some people didn’t and I just didn’t really fit in but when I moved up I started again and I developed some good friendships and now I fit a lot better. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 18
Has there ever been a time when you thought you were different to your classmates? I feel that at the moment. I feel that I’m different from my classmates cause everyone, everyone turns up to school cause they have to. And I turn up cause I want to learn and also the way that everyone behaves. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 19
Some peers treat me like I’m stupid I feel like I’m not fully accepted right now at school , I’m going to start gradually. I have a goal to get there. I had to like what they liked, do what they did, I had to be like them to really fit in and then when I started being my own person when I went to ballet school and I had a spot where I could be myself , I learned that I could be myself and that I was being myself and I kind of got ditched. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 20
Set goals based on: ◦ Values Relevance to present and future options Interests Susan Luus 28/04/2011 21
Friendship - a lot, because um, it's reall lly y bad not having any friends at school. You kind of just sit on your own and you get picke ked d on if you don't have any friends, so friend endship p is proba babl bly y a big part. . Susan Luus 28/04/2011 22
I want to be given work to do, something more complex because at the moment I pretty much know everything, I’m not really learning that much. Um, I’m not really sure I think because I always, or well, I’ve almost always got the answers, I think they think, “Ah, he’s smart, he doesn’t need to learn anything else.” And things like that and I don’t think that they think I want to keep going and get further in depth. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 23
Everyone in the group is the same in everyone else’s eyes. No - one’s more popular than anyone else. It’s like the group has shifted values and I haven’t. It used to be equality, that used to be the value and now it’s not anymore. Mhm, well I want to do really well in Maths and Science. Successful, Lights up in the name, ah no, name up in lights , everyone knows my name , that’s what I see, I see “SUCCESS”. Susan Luus 28/04/2011 24
Self-determined Choice all explored choice to differing degrees Achievement? Acceptance? Both? Context- school /elsewhere Self-presentation Susan Luus 28/04/2011 25
Self-presentation is: ◦ The process of controlling how we are perceived by others ◦ Impressions can affect the way we are treated ◦ A certain amount is necessary to form close relationships ◦ Essential component of social interaction ◦ Can be enabling or problematic Susan Luus 28/04/2011 26
Taxonomy of Self-Presentation Strategies Jones and Pitman (1982) ◦ Self-promotion-call attention to accomplishments ◦ Ingratiat gratiation on- use of flattery to obtain “likability” ◦ Exemplificati mplification on- go above ve and beyond to be perceiv ived as hard workin king/c g/com ommit itte ted ◦ Intimidation- project power, viewed as “dangerous” ◦ Supplication- present weakness/deficiencies to receive compassion and assistance Susan Luus 28/04/2011 27
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