Chapter 9 Underachievement in Gifted Students presentation

1. Chapter 9
In Gifted Students
Underachievement
Anna Goins

2. What is underachievement?
Underachievement in gifted students is commonly defined as
a discrepancy between ability and achievement.
It may manifest itself as failure to turn in assignments, or to
attend, or participate in class.
Students are showing disengagement from the educational
process.

3. Is it underachievement?
All students may experience short term lapses in their
performances, but when the performance drops substantially
over a short period of time, it needs attention.
There must be observable discrepancies between the
student's ability and achievement over a substantial time
period.
Rimm, Cornale, Manos and Behrend suggest the use of
longitudinal test data as a screen for the possibility of
underachievement.
IQ tests scores, achievement percentile scores or grades that
have declined for three years are strong indicators of an
underachievement problem.

4. What causes underachievement?
Underachievement constitutes that a symptom
that may be indicative of a number of causes,often
a combination.
Some causes are environmental, some are in the
child, and some result as a mismatch between the
two.
There are almost an infinite number of possibilities.

5. Environmental causes
Chronically under challenging, slow moving classroom
experiences or moving from a regular class to an
appropriately challenging one.
Peer pressure to conform to regular norms, to “be like
everyone else” which can be intense for students from
underrepresented minorities
Loneliness, isolation from classmates, and the educational
enterprise
Family dynamics- conflict drains energies; parents' centering
on the underachieving child masks other conflicts; family
has too low, too variable, or too rigid expectations

6. Factors within the student
Internalizing issues such as depression, anxiety,
perfectionism, failure- avoidance,and low self esteem.
Externalizing issues such as rebelliousness,
irritability,nonconformity, and anger.
Unrecognized learning deficits that interfere with learning and
performance.
Nontraditional gifts that do not fit teacher's expectations
Deficits in self regulation:disorganization, impulsivity, ADD
Maladaptive strategies like failure to set realistic goals
Social immaturity or over emphasis on social over academics

7. Interventions
Most interventions were designed to have immediate
results with acutely underachieving gifted students.
Documentation on the effectiveness of interventions
designed to reverse underachievement has been
inconsistent and inconclusive.
Two categories of interventions for reversing
underachievement: counseling and instructional
interventions
Counseling focuses on changing personal, family,or
ambition of both dynamics that contribute to the
underachievement
It can be individual, family, or group, or a combination.

8. Interventions continued
The counselor's goal is to help the student determine if
success is a desirable goal, and if yes, to help reverse
habits and cognitions that are counterproductive
Counseling and school centered interventions involve
the student, parents, and school personnel in assessing
the underachievement; changing student,parent, and
teacher expectations ; providing differentiated
modifications for the student at school and home.
School based interventions include special classrooms,
either part or full time for the underachievers.
Usually have a smaller teacher to student ratio, learning
activities are less conventional, students have some
degree of choice, and use different learning strategies.

9. More about interventions
School based interventions have not been followed long
term, nor has there been longitudinal studies with a control
or comparison group.
Some students reverse their underachievement without the
use of formal interventions. Some factors thought to
influence this were: out of school interests and activities,
parents, development of goals associated with grades,
teachers, and selves
Students are more likely to develop achievement oriented
behaviors when stimulated in class and given opportunities
to pursue topics of interest,
Renzulli's approach is based on student strengths and
interests to help reverse academic underachievement.

10. Areas for continued research
To find out the complex causes for academic
underachievement and provide interventions to help
reverse it.
Explore the linkages and flow of causality among the
different characteristics and student achievement.
How does self esteem, self-efficacy, and selfregulation affect underachievement?
Exploration of whether gifted underachievers differ
significantly from other underachievers.
Translation of insights about causes into models and
strategies that educators can use to develop more
effective prevention and interventions.

11. Further research is needed
The benefits of curriculum differentiation techniques
Implementation of a variety of classroom designs,such as selfcontained, and home and school partnerships.
Developing multiple approaches to prevent and reverse
underachievement. These approaches would differentiate among
different types of underachievement by incorporating both proactive
preventative counseling and innovative instructional interventions.

12. Question to consider
There are many causes thought to contribute
to perfectionism; environmental, within the
student, or a combination of both. Which cause
do you think is more frequently seen? Why?