The most obvious social trend affecting families during the past three decades has been the steadily rising number of single-parent households. Research indicates that students from single-parent families demonstrate is lower levels of school achievement than their peers livinq in two-parent homes. However, the impact of single parenthood on gifted children has not been established. A study of children who recently attended the University of Oregon's Summer Enrichment Program for Talented and Gifted Students suggests that the school achievement of gifted students is negatively affected if they come from a single-parent household.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Clark, B. (1983). Growing up gifted. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
2.
Davis, G.A., & Rimm, S.B. (1985). Education of the gifted and talented. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.
3.
Dowdall, C.B., & Colangelo, N. (1982). Underachieving gifted students: Review and implications . Gifted Child Quarterly, 26, 179-183.
4.
Falk, C.R. (1987). Children's perceptions of the dimensions of divorce and its effects on school life. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1986). Dissertation Abstracts International, 48, 104A.
5.
Hetherington, E.M., Camara, K.A., & Featherman, D.L. (1981). Cognitive performance, school behavior and achievement of children from one-parent households. (Report No. CGO16206). Washington, DC: National Institute of Education, Families as Educators Team. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 221 780)
6.
Milne, A.M., Myers, D.E., Rosenthal, A.S., & Ginsburg, A. (1986). Single parents, working mothers, and the educational achievement of school children. Sociology of Education, 59, 125-139.
7.
Monks, F.J., & Van Boxtel, H.W. (1985). Gifted adolescents: A developmental perspective. In J. Freeman (Ed.), The psychology of gifted children, perspectives on development and education (pp. 275-295). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
8.
Pringle, M.L.K. (1970). Able misfits. London: Longman.
9.
Rimm, S.B. (1984, Jan/Feb). Underachievement ... or if God had meant gifted children to run our homes, she would have created them bigger. G/C/T , 27-29.
Rimm, S.B. (1986). Underachievement syndrome causes and cures. Water-town, WI: Apple Publishing Co.
12.
Shinn, M. (1978). Father absence and children's cognitive development . Psychological Bulletin,85, 295-394.
13.
Shreeve, W., Goetter, W.G.J., Bunn, A., Norby, J.R., Stueckle, A.F., Midgley, T.K., & de Michele, B. (1986). Single parents and students' achievements—a national tragedy. Early Child Development and Care, 23, 175-184.
14.
Viernstein, M.C. & Hogan, R. (1975). Parental personality factors and achievement motivation in talented adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence ,4, 183-190.
15.
Wallerstein, J.S. (1985). The overburdened child: Some long-term consequences of divorce. Social Work, 30, 116-123.
Zilli, M.J. (1971). Reasons why the gifted adolescent underachieves and some of the implications of guidance and counseling to this problem. Gifted Child Quarterly, 15, 279-292.
