Enhancing the Career and Personal Development of Gifted College Students

Honors and Nonhonors Freshmen: Demographics, Attitudes, Interests, and Behaviors

“…T h e majority in both groups denied foreseeing obstacles that could prevent attainment of their first vocational goal. Although not directly testing the hypothesis that gifted students have more career indecision and career concerns (Myers & Pace, 1986;Schroer & Dorn, 1986), the present study does not support this notion. Our findings coincide more closely with Stephens and Eison's (1986-87) findings that honors students are similar to other students in their level of concern over career development issues.…”

“…Challenging this myth, they list potential problem areas associated with gifted students: (a) peer relationships, (b) career development, (c) expectations of others, (d) need for guidance in long-range plans, (e) coping with the delayed gratification required for higher levels of education, (f) early career closure, and (g) early questioning of the values of peers, family, and society. Schroer and Dorn (1986) report that gifted students experience a significant amount of career indecision and confusion due to their multiple talents and potentialities. Their expectations of college life are higher (e.g., classes will be stimulating and adventurous, and meaningful dialogue with faculty will occur regularly), and disappointment often leads to sharp regret and cynicism (Robertson).…”

Rethinking Multipotentiality Among the Intellectually Gifted: A Critical Review and Recommendations

“…While any of these avenues seem plausible for a student with superior abilities and varied interests, the multipotential profile is believed most often to lead to difficulties in narrowing choices and, as a consequence, to possibly delaying important decisions. Combined with the well intentioned message &dquo;you can be anything you want to be,&dquo; frequently communicated to gifted students (Kerr, 1981;Kerr & Ghrist-Priebe, 1988;Kerr & Erb, 1991, Tyler, 1992, and encouragement to leave many career options open into the college years (Delisle & Squires, 1989;Fredrickson, 1979Fredrickson, , 1986Herr & Watanabe, 1979;Howley, 1989;Kerr & Ghrist-Priebe, 1988;Perrone, 1986;Schroer & Dorn, 1986;Silverman, 1993), problems with multipotentiality are believed to leave many gifted students without focus.…”

“…This condition is believed to be intensified in those who are multipotential. As many writing about multipotentiality have cautioned, it is a mistake to assume that, because multipotential students are intellectually gifted, they will succeed on their own (Fredrickson, 1986) or they will select a career path early and work steadily toward accomplishing their goals (Schroer & Dorn, 1986). To the contrary, multipotential gifted students may be more likely to flounder in a sea of possibilities, equally able and interested in a number of them, and perhaps fearful of committing to a &dquo;wrong&dquo; choice or concerned that committing to one area is ignoring their potential in several other areas (Marshall, 1981), and thus delaying the decision.…”

Advising High-Ability Business Students

“…However, high ability students need guidance in dealing with academic and career issues as well as personal and social development (Blackburn & Erickson, 1986;Gordon, 1983;Myers & Pace, 1986;Schroer & Dorn, 1986;Zaffrann & Colangelo, 1977). In reality, most high-achieving students are no different developmentally than other same-age students.…”