Journal for the Education of the Gifted

Not enough is known about whether the learning and study strategies of gifted students are adequate or how they compare to average-ability learners. Therefore, two studies were conducted to determine if gifted and average-ability junior high students differed in learning and study strategies. Results of Study One revealed several differences between gifted (n = 80) and average-ability (n = 61) seventh, eighth, and ninth graders on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory. Anxiety emerged as the variable that discriminated most between the groups with the average-ability students having more anxiety. Study Two replicated study one with ninth graders (99 gifted, 98 average-ability) taking the newer Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School Version and all students drawn from school settings. There were fewer differences between the two groups but significant differences did result on some of the same subtests as in Study One with anxiety again emerging as the most powerful discriminator. There were also gender differences in the second study with girls scoring higher than boys in motivation, study aids, and self-testing. Even with the differences between the ability groups, gifted students did not score above the mean on many subtests and it is recommended that both groups need explicit instruction in learning and study strategies.

Over thirty studies have been published concerning the predictors of people's attitudes toward the education of the gifted. About 50 variables have been examined as potential sources of these individual differences. The analysis of the results of past studies forces us to conclude that not a single variable consistently emerges as a substantial explanatory factor. To explain this lack of significant results, four major problem areas are identified pertaining to the methodology of these studies: (a) the diversity of the attitude questionnaires used; (b) the size, diversity, and nonrepresentativeness of the samples used; (c) the small number of predictors introduced, as well as the diversity in their operationalization; (d) inadequacies in statistical procedures. Concrete methodological proposals are given to maximize the chances of obtaining significant and generalizable results in future studies on the subject.

The emotional development of gifted children was investigated in their family and school contexts in the 14-year Gulbenkian study in Britain. A three-way comparison was made of children labelled as gifted, nonlabelled, equally able children, and matched children, but randomly chosen for ability. Results indicated that emotional problems were not due to gifted ability per se, but to other disturbing matters, such as others' expectations or family conflict. Gallagher's (1990) questions about the gifted are considered in the light of the evidence from this work. Academic underachievement was found to be related to self-concept; their greater sensitivity was usually coped with; and negative predictions of the future did cause the gifted some worry. It is suggested that some, but not all, gifted children may need extra emotional support to fulfill their potential.