Gifted at-risk explained

Gifted students are outstanding learners who are not usually considered at risk of academic failure or problems. However, gifted students can still underachieve.[1] There are risks related to the student's giftedness. This concept was formally set forth in 1972 in the U.S. in the Marland Report:

Gifted and talented children are, in fact, deprived and can suffer psychological damage and permanent impairment of their abilities to function well which is equal to or greater than the similar deprivation suffered by any other population with special needs served by the Office of Education.[2]

Specific risks

The following risks are listed in The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children:

There is a cause-and-effect relationship between the unmet learning needs of gifted students and the above risks. "Research indicates that many of the emotional and social difficulties gifted students experience disappear when their educational climates are adapted to their level and pace of learning."

Linda Kreger Silverman enumerates these additional risks:[3]

Further, there exists anecdotal evidence of truancy problems with gifted children, who sometimes miss school because of disengagement, and worse, fear of bullying. In 1999, legislation was introduced in Colorado to recognize gifted students as at-risk, with truancy as a factor, but the bill did not become law.[4]

Lastly, meta-analysis from the paper "Gifted Students Who Drop Out—Who and Why: A Meta-Analytical Review of the Literature" shows two key points. First, 4.5% of high school dropouts are gifted, and they leave school in part because of school-related issues.[5] One would expect a very few gifted children to drop out, given the ease with which they can excel in school. According to the Achievement Trap, this problem is even more pronounced among economically disadvantaged children.[6]

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Factors That Differentiate Underachieving Gifted Students From High-Achieving Gifted Students . D. Betsy McCoach, Del Siegle . Gifted Child Quarterly . Spring 2003 . 47 . 2 . 144–154 . 10.1177/001698620304700205. 146404949 .
  2. Marland, S. P., Jr. (1972). Education of the gifted and talented Report to the Congress of the United States by the U.S. Commissioner of Education and background papers submitted to the U.S. Office of Education, 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (Government Documents Y4.L 11/2: G36), pp. xi-xii.
  3. Book: Silverman, Linda Kreger . Understanding Gifted and Talented Adolescents . The Center for Talent Development . 1987 . Buescher . T. M. . Evanston . 40–44 . Applying knowledge about social development to the counseling process with gifted adolescents.
  4. Web site: HB1210 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120225031753/http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/sess1999/hbills99/hb1210.htm . 2012-02-25 . 2010-02-19 . State of Colorado.
  5. Kaşkaloğlu . Esra Ayşe . 2003 . Gifted Students Who Drop Out—Who and Why: A Meta-Analytical Review of the Literature . Hawaii International Conference on Education.
  6. Book: Wyner, Joshua S. . Achievement Trap: How America Is Failing Millions of High-Achieving Students from Lower-Income Families . Bridgeland . John M. . DiIulio, Jr. . John J. . 2007-09-09 . Jack Kent Cooke Foundation & Civic Enterprises . 5.

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