Over the course of two years, researchers conducted two qualitative studies to investigate the impact of moving on gifted children. Participants were five families, each of which included gifted children and at least one parent presently or recently in the military. Study 1 involved elementary students living on a military base, and students in Study 2 attended suburban high schools. While academic performance was not hindered by moving, parents and students reported that organizational inconsistencies among schools (e.g., widely varying criteria for admittance to gifted programs) were a frequent cause of frustration. Frequent relocations had little impact on parent and student perceptions of the gifted children's long-term social, emotional, and academic development. In the short term, however, certain children experienced varying degrees of social difficulties that appeared to result from the relocations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achenbach, T. M. (1982). Developmental Psychopathology (2nd. ed.). New York: Wiley.
2.
Bland, L. C., Sowa, C. J., & Callahan, C. M. (1994). An overview of resilience in gifted children. Roeper Review, 17, 77-79.
3.
Brockman, M. A., & Reeves, A. W. (1967). Relationship between transiency and test achievement. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 13, 319-330.
4.
Brophy, J. E. (1983). Fostering student learning and motivation in the elementary school classroom. In S. G. Paris, G. M. Olson, & H. W. Stevenson (Eds.), Learning and motivation in the classroom (pp. 283-305). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
5.
Buescher, T. M. (1985). A framework for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted and talented adolescents. Roeper Review, 8, 10-15.
6.
Compas, B. E., Malcarne, V. L., & Fondacaro, K. M. (1988). Coping with stressful events in older children and young adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 405-411.
7.
Cook, A. S., & Weigel, D. J. (1983). Relocation and crisis: Perceived sources of support. Family Relations, 32, 267-273.
8.
Cornille, T. A., Bayer, A. E., & Smyth, C. K. (1983). Schools and new-comers: A national survey of innovative programs. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 62, 229-236.
9.
Crockett, L. J., Petersen, A. C., Graber, J. A., Schulenberg, J. E., & Ebata, A. (1989). School transitions and adjustment during early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 9, 181-210.
10.
Cross, T. L., Coleman, L. J., & Terhaar-Yonkers, M. (1991). The social cognition of gifted adolescents in schools: Managing the stigma of giftedness. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 15, 44-55.
11.
Donato, R. (1996). The irony of year-round schools: Mexican migrant resistance in a California community during the civil rights era. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32, 181-208.
12.
Dowd, F. A. (1987). Strategies and materials for teachers and parents helping children adjust to geographic relocation. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries, 1, 65-78.
13.
Eccles, J., Midgley, C., & Adler, T. F. (1984). Grade-related changes in the school environment: Effects on achievement motivation. In J. G. Nicholls (Ed.), Advances in motivation and achievement, Vol. 3: The development of achievement motivation (pp. 283-331). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
14.
Harter, S. (1986). Processes underlying the construction, maintenance, and enhancement of the self-concept in children. In J. Suls & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on the self (pp. 137-181). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
15.
Harter, S. (1992). The relationship between perceived competence, affect, and motivational orientation within the classroom: Processes and patterns of change. In A. K. Boggiano & T. S. Pittman (Eds.), Achievement and motivation: A social-developmental perspective (pp. 77-114). New York: Cambridge University Press.
16.
Harter, S., Whitesell, N. R., & Kowalski, P. (1992). Individual differences in the effects of educational transitions on young adolescents' perceptions of competence and motivational orientation. American Educational Research Journal, 29, 777-807.
17.
Hausman, M. S., & Reed, J. R. (1991). Psychological issues in relocation: Response to change. Journal of Career Development, 17, 247-258.
18.
Hazler, R. J., & Nass, E. A. (1988). Factors influencing the impact of job and family relocation. Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 27, 54-60.
19.
Hoge, R. D., & Renzulli, J. S. (1993). Exploring the link between giftedness and self-concept. Review of Educational Research, 63, 449-465.
20.
Ingersoll, G. M., Scamman, J. P., & Eckerling, W. D. (1989). Geographic mobility and student achievement in an urban setting. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11, 143-149.
21.
Jalongo, M. R. (1985, September). When young children move. Young Children, 51-57.
22.
Kline, B. E., & Short, E. B. (1991). Changes in emotional resilience: Gifted adolescent females. Roeper Review, 13, 118-121.
23.
Lajoie, S. P., & Shore, B. M. (1981). Three myths? The over-representation of the gifted among dropouts, delinquents, and suicides. Gifted Child Quarterly, 25, 138-143.
24.
Lash, A. A., & Kirkpatrick, S. L. (1990). A classroom perspective on student mobility. Elementary School Journal, 88, 369-386.
25.
Lash, A. A., & Kirkpatrick, S. L. (1994). Interrupted lessons: Teacher views of transfer student education. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 813-843.
26.
Lehman, E. B., & Erdwins, C. J. (1981). The social and emotional adjustment of young, intellectually-gifted children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 25, 134-137.
27.
Levine, M., Wesolowski, J. C., & Corbett, F. J. (1966). Pupil turnover and academic performance in an inner city elementary school. Psychology in the Schools, 3, 153-160.
28.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
29.
Luftig, R. L., & Nichols, M. L. (1990). Assessing the social status of gifted students by their age peers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 34, 111-115.
30.
Manor-Bullock, R., Look, C., & Dixon, D. N. (1995). Is giftedness socially stigmatizing? The impact of high achievement on social interactions. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 18, 319-338.
31.
Marchant, K. H., & Medway, F. J. (1987). Adjustment and achievement associated with mobility in military families. Psychology in the Schools, 24, 289-294.
32.
Marine, E. (1968). School refusal: Who should intervene?Journal of School Psychology, 7, 63-70.
33.
Matter, D. E., & Matter, R. M. (1988). Helping young children cope with the stress of relocation: Action steps for the counselor. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 23, 23-29.
34.
Miller, A. (1990). The untouched key: Tracing childhood trauma in creativity and destructiveness. New York: Doubleday.
35.
Moon, S. M. (1991). Case study research in gifted education. In N. K. Buchanan & J. F. Feldhusen (Eds.), Conducting research and evaluation in gifted education (pp. 157-178). New York: Teachers College Press.
36.
National Center for Educational Statistics. (1993). Student mobility. Unpublished research report.
37.
Orosan, P. G., Weine, A. W., Jason, L. A., & Johnson, J. H. (1992). Gender differences in academic and social behavior of elementary school transfer students. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 394-402.
38.
Packard, V. (1983). Our endangered children: Growing up in a changing world. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
39.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
40.
Phelps, L., Cox, D., & Bajorek, E. (1992). School phobia and separation anxiety: Diagnostic and treatment comparisons. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 384-394.
41.
Plucker, J. A., Hill, C., Yecke, C. (1998, March). “We're moving again?” Starting your gifted child in a new school. Parenting for High Potential, 23, 31-31.
42.
Plucker, J. A., & McIntire, J. (1996). Academic survivability in high potential, middle school students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40, 7-14.
43.
Silverman, L. K. (1993). Counseling families. In L. K. Silverman (Ed.), Counseling the gifted and talented (pp. 151-178). Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company.
44.
Simpson, G. A., & Fowler, M. G. (1994). Geographic mobility and children's emotional/behavioral adjustment and school functioning. Pediatrics, 93, 303-309.
45.
Sowa, C. J., & May, K. M. (1997). Expanding Lazarus and Folkman's paradigm to the social and emotional adjustment of gifted children and adolescents (SEAM). Gifted Child Quarterly, 41, 36-43.
46.
Tidwell, R. (1980). A psycho-educational profile of 1,593 gifted high school students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 24, 63-68.
47.
U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1990). Current population survey, March 1990: Data table for U.S. families with children by mover status of households. U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census.
48.
Velazquez, L. C. (1994). Addressing migrant farmworkers' perceptions of schooling, learning, and education. Rural Educator, 16, 32-36.
49.
Warren-Sohlberg, L., & Jason, L. A. (1992). How the reason for a school move relates to school adjustment. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 78-84.
50.
Whalen, T. E., & Fried, M. A. (1973). Geographic mobility and its effect on student achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 67, 163-165.
51.
Yin, R. K. (1989). Case study research: Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
