Telling a Tale: How Underachievement Develops in Gifted Girls

Abstract

In this multiple-narrative inquiry, we examined the narratives of four underachieving gifted girls to identify aspects that appear to have contributed to the onset, development, and resolution of academic underachievement. We found that academic achievement was disrupted when the participants experienced a sudden increase in curricular demands when transitioning to middle or high school. Participants’ negative self-perceptions, lack of learning skills, and negative relationships with teachers commonly contributed to the maintenance of the underachievement. Finally, the underachievement began to resolve when the girls had a clear goal in mind, which for three of them was being accepted to college.

Αίτια Που Οδηγούν Στην Υποεπίδοση Των Χαρισματικών Παιδιών

“…Οι στάσεις που διαμορφώνουν τα παιδιά για το σχολικό πλαίσιο επηρεάζουν σημαντικά την επίδοσή τους. Όσο πιο θετική είναι η εικόνα που έχουν για το σχολείο τόσο πιο υψηλή είναι και η επίδοσή τους, αυτό ισχύει κυρίως για τα κορίτσια (Desmet, Pereira & Peterson, 2019. Fugate & Gentry, 2016.…”

“…Στους ενδογενείς περιλαμβάνονται τα κίνητρα, η προσωπικότητα των μαθητών και οι ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες τους, ενώ στους εξωγενείς περιλαμβάνονται η παροχή προκλήσεων, η δημιουργικότητα, η αξιολόγηση, το φύλο και η οικονομική και κοινωνική προέλευση των παιδιών (Al-Dhamit & Kreishan, 2016. Αντωνίου, 2009. Desmet et al, 2019.…”

Gifted Underachievement and Achievement Motivation: The Promise of Breaking Silos

“…First, Fong and Kremer (2020) use expectancy-value theory (Barron & Hulleman, 2015; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002) and structural equation modeling to understand the antecedents of math underachievement and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) interest among a nationally representative sample of high school students. Desmet et al (2020) also inquire into the precursors of underachievement through a multiple inquiry, qualitative technique with a select sample of adolescent girls. Authors of both articles highlight the impact of critical educational transitions, with Desmet et al (2020) focusing on high school transition and Fong and Kremer (2020) exploring college transition.…”

“…Examining positive and negative deviants, for example, can shed light on why some students thrive during times of transition or why college-qualified students opt for an alternative postsecondary path. This variability is clear when considering the collective set of articles in this special issue, from between-student differences in the Desmet et al (2020) study and inattention behaviors in the McCoach et al’s (2020) sample to the lack of one-size-fits-all interventions to the Steenbergen-Hu et al (2020) meta-analysis and systematic review. Confronting academic challenges can both bring about underachievement and mitigate it; when acknowledging these simultaneously, it becomes clear that no single case of underachievement is alike.…”

“…Desmet et al (2020) also inquire into the precursors of underachievement through a multiple inquiry, qualitative technique with a select sample of adolescent girls. Authors of both articles highlight the impact of critical educational transitions, with Desmet et al (2020) focusing on high school transition and Fong and Kremer (2020) exploring college transition. Their findings suggest important connections between underachievement and students' motivational beliefs, particularly expectancy-related and value beliefs.…”