A Critique of the Literature on Parenting Gifted Learners

Abstract

Despite numerous calls for research on parents of gifted learners, researchers have given only cursory treatment to the topic. In this article, the authors review and synthesize 53 sources, published since 1983, on parents of gifted learners. Existing research on parents of gifted learners may be categorized into three thematic areas that include (a) parent influence, (b) parent perceptions of giftedness and ability, and (c) parent satisfaction with gifted programming. Theory-driven research is conspicuously absent from this body of work, and study designs emphasize self-report measures and lack control groups. The analysis of this literature reveals gaps in the research record and offers recommendations about where future research should be focused. These areas include attitudes, values, and expectations of families of underserved gifted children; relationships between parents and schools; parents’ understanding of giftedness; parents of gifted underachievers; and how parents support and influence their children at home.

Keywords

gifted parenting review

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ablard

K. E.

(1996/1997). Parents’ conception of academic success: Internal and external standards. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 8, 57-64. (Original work published 1996)

Ablard

K. E.

Parker

W. D.

(1997). Parents’ achievement goals and perfectionism in their academically talented children. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26, 651-667.

Ames

(1992). Classrooms: Goal, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 261-271.

Baker

J. A.

Bridger

Evans

(1998). Models of underachievement among gifted preadolescents: The role of personal, family, and school factors. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, 5-14.

Bloom

(1985). Developing talent in young people. New York, NY: Ballantine.

Bourdieu

(1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bronfenbrenner

(Ed.). (2005). Making human beings human. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Brown

E. F.

Avery

L. D.

VanTassel-Baska

Worley

B. B.

II. Stambaugh

(2006). Legislation and policies: Effects on the gifted. Roeper Review, 29, 11-23.

Buckley

K. C. P.

(1994). Parent’s views on education for the gifted. Roeper Review, 16, 215-216.

10.

Campbell

J. R.

Mandel

(1990). Connecting math achievement to parental influences. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 15, 64-74.

11.

Campbell

J. R.

Verna

M. A.

(2007). Effective parental influence: Academic home climate linked to children’s achievement. Educational Research & Evaluation, 13, 501-519.

12.

Chapey

G. D.

Trimarco

T. A.

Crisci

Capobianco

(1987). School-parent partnerships in gifted education: From paper to reality. Educational Research Quarterly, 11, 37-46. (Original work published 1986)

13.

Clarenbach

(2007, February). All gifted is local: Without federal guidance, no two districts deliver gifted education services in the same way. The School Administrator. Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=7230

14.

Clausing-Lee

M. S.

(1992). A qualitative study of patterns in attitudes, values, and behaviors among fathers of gifted and nongifted children in selected preschools (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 9229728)

15.

Colangelo

Brower

(1987). Labeling gifted youngsters: Long-term impact on families. Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 75-78.

16.

Colangelo

Dettmann

D. F.

(1983). A review of research on parents and families of gifted children. Exceptional Children, 50, 20-27.

17.

Cornell

D. G.

(1989). Child adjustment and parent use of the term “gifted.” Gifted Child Quarterly, 33, 59-64.

18.

Cornell

D. G.

Grossberg

I. W.

(1987). Family environment and personality adjustment in gifted program children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 59-64.

19.

Cotton

Wikelund

K. R.

(2001). Parental involvement in education. Retrieved from http://www.nwrel.org/archive/sirs/3/cu6.html

20.

Csikszentmihalyi

Rathunde

Whalen

(1996). Talented teenagers. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

21.

Dale

P. S.

Bates

Reznick

J. S.

Morisset

(1989). The validity of a parent report instrument of child language at twenty months. Journal of Child Language, 16, 239-249.

22.

Damiani

V. B.

(1996). The individual family support plan: A tool to assist special populations of gifted learners. Roeper Review, 18, 293-297.

23.

Davis

(2007). An exploration of the impact of family on the achievement of African American gifted learners originating from low-income environments (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 3287895)

24.

Dwairy

(2004). Parenting styles and mental health of Arab gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 48, 275-286.

25.

Dweck

C. S.

(1986). Motivational processes affecting motivation. American Psychologist, 41, 1040-1048.

26.

Elliot

A. J.

(2005). A conceptual history of the achievement goal construct. In Elliot

A. J.

Dweck

C. S.

(Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 52-73). New York, NY: Guilford.

27.

Ford

D. Y.

Wright

L. B.

Grantham

T. C.

Harris

J. J.

III . (1998). Achievement levels, outcomes, and orientations of Black students in single and two-parent families. Urban Education, 33, 360-384.

28.

Foster

J. F.

(2000). A case study approach to understanding the gifted experience: Children’s and parent’s perceptions of labeling placement (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 8853747)

29.

Foxworth

M. D.

(1986). Family environment as perceived by parents of gifted children in a Southern culture (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 8705062)

30.

Freeman

(1994). Gifted school performance and creativity. Roeper Review, 17, 15-19.

31.

Freeman

(2000). Families: The essential context for gifts and talents. In Heller

Monks

Sternberg

Subotnik

(Eds.), International handbook of giftedness and talent (2nd ed., pp. 573-585). Oxford, UK: Pergamon.

32.

Gallagher

Weiss

Oglesby

Thomas

(1983, August). The status of gifted/talented education: United States surveys of needs, practices, and policies. Camarillo, CA: Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office.

33.

Galloway

Porath

(1997). Parent and teacher views of gifted children’s social abilities. Roeper Review, 20, 118-121.

34.

Galton

(1869). Hereditary genius: An inquiry into its laws and consequences. London, England: Macmillan. Retrieved from http://www.galton.org/books/hereditary-genius/text/pdf/galton-1869-genius-v3.pdf

35.

Gelbrich

J. A.

Hare

E. K.

(1989). The effects of single parenthood on school achievement in a gifted population. Gifted Child Quarterly, 33, 115-117. doi:10.177/00169862890330030410.177/001698628903300304

36.

Goertzel

(1962). Cradles of eminence. New York, NY: Little, Brown.

37.

Golden

(2003, December 29). Initiative to leave no child behind leaves out gifted: Educators divert resources from classes for smartest to focus on basic literacy. The Wall Street Journal, p. 1. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Gifted.htm

38.

Gullesserian

J. A.

(2008). The association between child characteristics and family functioning and academic achievement and social competence in inner-city gifted children (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 3332509)

39.

Hackney

(1981). The gifted child, the family, and the school. Gifted Child Quarterly, 25, 51-54.

40.

Hébert

T. P.

Pagnani

A. R.

Hammond

D. R.

(2009). An examination of parental influence on high achieving gifted males. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 33, 241-274.

41.

Hill

N. E.

Castellino

D. R.

Lansford

J. E.

Nowlin

Dodge

K. A.

Bates

J. E.

Pettit

G. S.

(2004). Parent academic involvement as related to school behavior, achievement, and aspirations: Demographic variations across adolescence. Child Development, 75, 1491-1509.

42.

Hishinuma

(2000). Parent attitudes on the importance and success of integrated self-contained services for students who are gifted, learning disabled, and gifted/learning disabled. Roeper Review, 22, 241-250.

43.

Hopper

T. K.

(2003). Parents, perceptions, passions, pathways, and patters: Exploratory case studies of home education in the development of intellectually gifted individuals (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 3076301)

44.

Huff

R. E.

Houskamp

B. M.

Watkins

A. V.

Stanton

Tavegia

(2005). The experiences of gifted African American children: A phenomenological study. Roeper Review, 27, 215-221.

45.

Jarosewich

Stocking

V. B.

(2003). Talent search: Student and parent perceptions of out-of-level testing. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 14, 137-150.

46.

Jeynes

(2010). Parental involvement and academic success. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

47.

Karnes

F. A.

D’Ilio

V. R.

(1988). Comparison of gifted children and their parents’ perception of the home environment. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32, 277-279.

48.

Karnes

F. A.

D’Ilio

V. R.

(1989). Student leaders’ and their parents’ perception of the home environment. Gifted Child Quarterly, 33, 165-168.

49.

Karnes

F. A.

Marquardt

R. G.

(2000). Gifted children and legal issues: An update. Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press.

50.

Karnes

M. B.

Shwedel

(1987). Differences in attitudes and practices between fathers of young gifted and fathers of young non-gifted children: A pilot study. Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 79-82.

51.

Karnes

M. B.

Shwedel

A. M.

Steinberg

(1984). Styles of parenting among parents of young gifted children. Roeper Review, 6, 232-235.

52.

Keirouz

K. S.

(1990). Concerns of parents of gifted children: A research review. Gifted Child Quarterly, 34, 56-63.

53.

Krippendorff

(2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

54.

Landau

Weissler

(1993). Parental environments in families with gifted and nongifted children. Journal of Psychology, 127, 129-142.

55.

Lee

S.-Y.

Matthews

M. S.

Olszewski-Kubilius

(2008). A national picture of talent search and talent search educational programs. Gifted Child Quarterly, 52, 55-69.

56.

Lee

S.-Y.

Olszewski-Kubilius

(2006). Comparisons between talent search students qualifying via scores on standardized tests and via parent nomination. Roeper Review, 28, 157-166.

57.

R. I.

(1995). A study of parent–child relations among gifted Chinese children (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 9606662)

58.

Louis

Lewis

(1992). Parental beliefs about giftedness in young children and their relation to actual ability level. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 27-31.

59.

(1999). Dropping out of advanced mathematics: The effects of parental involvement. Teachers College Record, 101(1), 60-81.

60.

Makel

M. C.

(2009). Student and parent attitudes before and after the gifted identification process. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 33, 126-143.

61.

Matthews

F. N.

Burns

J. M.

(1992). A parent evaluation of a public preschool gifted program. Roeper Review, 15, 69-72.

62.

Matthews

M. S.

(2006). Gifted students dropping out: Recent findings from a Southeastern state. Roeper Review, 28, 216-223.

63.

Matthews

M. S.

Farmer

J. L.

(2008). Factors affecting the Algebra I achievement of academically talented learners. Journal of Advanced Academics, 19, 472-501.

64.

Matthews

M. S.

Gentry

McCoach

D. B.

Worrell

F. C.

Matthews

Dixon

(2008). Evaluating the state of a field: Effect size reporting in gifted education. Journal of Experimental Education, 77, 55-68. doi:10.3200/JXE.3277.3201.3255-326810.3200/JXE.3277.3201.3255-3268

65.

Matthews

M. S.

McBee

M. T.

(2007). School factors and the underachievement of gifted students in a talent search summer program. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51, 167-181.

66.

Matthews

M. S.

Shaunessy

(2010). Putting standards into practice: Evaluating the utility of the NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54, 159-167. doi: 10.1177/001698620935670810.1177/0016986209356708

67.

McBee

M. T.

(2006). A descriptive analysis of referral sources for gifted identification screening by race and socioeconomic status. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 17, 103-111.

68.

McBee

M. T.

(2010). Examining the probability of identification for gifted programs for students in Georgia elementary schools: A multilevel path analysis study. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54, 283-297.

69.

McDowell

J. A.

(1992). Interactional styles of preschool gifted and nongifted children with their children (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 9232442)

70.

Moos

R. H.

(1979). The Family Environment Scale. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.

71.

Morawska

Sanders

M. R.

(2009). Parenting gifted and talented children: Conceptual and empirical foundations. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53, 163-173.

72.

Morrissey

Brown

P. M.

(2009). Mother and toddler activity in the zone of proximal development for pretend play as a predictor of higher child IQ. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53, 106-120.

73.

Neihart

Reis

S. M.

Robinson

N. M.

Moon

S. M.

(Eds.). (2002). The social and emotional development of gifted children: What do we know? Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

74.

Noble

K. D.

Childers

S. A.

Vaughan

R. C.

(2008). A place to be celebrated and understood: The impact of early university entrance from parents’ points of view. Gifted Child Quarterly, 52, 256-268.

75.

Olszewski

Kulieke

Buescher

(1987). The influence on the family environment on the development of talent: A literature review. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 11, 6-28.

76.

Patchett

R. F.

Gauthier

(1991). Parent and teacher perceptions of giftedness and a program for the gifted. BC Journal of Special Education, 15, 25-38.

77.

Penney

Wilgosh

(2000). Fostering parent teacher relationships when children are gifted. Gifted Education International, 14, 217-229.

78.

Pletan

M. D.

Robinson

N. M.

Berninger

V. W.

Abbott

R. D.

(1995). Parents’ observations of kindergartners who are advanced in mathematical reasoning. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 19, 30-44.

79.

Purcell

J. H.

(1993). The effects of the elimination of gifted and talented programs on participating students and their parents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 37, 177-187.

80.

Reichenberg

Landau

(2009). Families of gifted children. In Shavinina

L. V.

(Ed.), International handbook on giftedness [Part Two] (pp. 873-883). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.

81.

Rimm

Lowe

(1988). Family environments of underachieving gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32, 353-359.

82.

Robinson

N. M.

(2000). Giftedness in very young children: How seriously should it be taken? In Friedman

R. C.

Shore

B. M.

(Eds.), Talents unfolding: Cognition and development (pp. 7-26). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

83.

Robinson

N. M.

Lanzi

R. G.

Weinberg

R. A.

Ramey

S. L.

Ramey

C. T.

(2002). Family factors associated with high academic competence in former head start children at third grade. Gifted Child Quarterly, 46, 278-290.

84.

Robinson

N. M.

Weinberg

R. A.

Redden

Ramey

S. L.

Ramey

C. T.

(1998). Family factors associated with high academic competence among former head start children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, 148-156.

85.

Rotigel

J. V.

(2003). Understanding the young gifted children: Guidelines for parents, families, and educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 30, 209-214.

86.

Sankar-DeLeeuw

(2007). Case studies of gifted kindergarten children part II: The parents and teachers. Roeper Review, 29, 93-99.

87.

Scott

M. S.

Perou

Urbano

Hogan

Gold

(1992). The identification of giftedness: A comparison of White, Hispanic, and Black families. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 131-139.

88.

Shichtman

(1999). Concerns and problems of parents of academically successful gifted children (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 9939553)

89.

Shumow

(1997). Daily experiences and adjustment of gifted low-income urban children at home and school. Roeper Review, 20, 35-38.

90.

Smith

E. J.

(2007, February). Weaving the gifted into the full fabric: It’s possible to accommodate the learning needs of all students without a discrete program for those on the high end. The School Administrator. Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=7208

91.

Snowden

P. L.

Christian

L. G.

(1999). Parenting the young gifted child: Supportive behaviors. Roeper Review, 21, 215-221.

92.

Solow

(2001). Parents’ conceptions of giftedness. Roeper Review, 24, 14-22.

93.

Strom

Johnson

Strom

(1990). Home and school support for gifted children. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 37, 245-254.

94.

Subotnik

R. F.

Arnold

K. D.

(Eds.). (1994). Beyond Terman: Contemporary longitudinal studies of giftedness and talent. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

95.

Terman

L. M.

(Ed.). (1926). Genetic studies of genius: Vol. 1. Mental and physical traits of a thousand gifted children (2nd ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

96.

Thomas B. Fordham Institute. (2008). High-achieving students in the era of NCLB. Washington, DC: Author.

97.

VanTassel-Baska

(1989). The role of the family in the success of disadvantaged gifted learners. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 13, 22-36.

98.

Webb

J. T.

Gore

J. L.

Amend

E. R.

DeVries

A. R.

(2007). A parent’s guide to gifted children. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.

99.

Windecker-Nelson

Melson

G. F.

Moon

S. M.

(1997). Intellectually gifted preschoolers’ perceived competence: Relations to maternal attitudes, concerns, and support. Gifted Child Quarterly, 41, 133-144.

100.

Wingert

H. D.

(1997). The label “gifted”: Parent beliefs, transmission of beliefs and impact on the child (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 9624365)

101.

E. H.

(2007). Cultural perspectives on talent development and parenting (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (AAT No. 3289604)

102.

E. H.

(2008). Parental influence on children’s talent development: A case study with three Chinese American families. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 32, 100-129.

103.

Yang

W. (E.).

(2007). Gifted or not, parental perceptions are the same: A study of Chinese American parental perceptions of their children’s academic achievement and home environments. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 1, 217-234.