Perceptions of American teachers, American parents, Korean teachers, and Korean parents of the gifted regarding underachieving gifted
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to ascertain and compare perceptions among American teachers (ATG), American parents (APG), Korean teachers (KTG), and Korean parents (KPG) of the gifted on the social-psychological and pedagogical factors of underachievement. A survey instrument, which was constructed on the basis of a review of literature, interviews with teachers and parents of underachieving gifted, and discussions with professional colleagues, was designed to measure perceptions among the four responding groups. The questionnaire was divided into three parts. Part 1 deals with general conceptions of underachievers among the gifted; Part 2 of the questionnaire focuses on social-psychological factors of underachievers; and Part 3 deals with pedagogical factors in underachievement among the gifted. A Likert scale ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree) was employed with each item of the scale. The survey was distributed to 288 teachers and parents: 60 American teachers and 77 American parents of the gifted enrolled in the Purdue University Super Saturday and Super Summer Programs responded; 28 Korean teachers and 50 Korean parents of the gifted in the Korean National Association for Gifted Children Sunday Programs responded. One-way analyses of variance were conducted to assess the differences in mean ratings for each item among the four responding groups. The method of orthogonal contrast was also employed to identify the differences (a) between ATG and KTG and (b) between APG and KPG. Discrepancies were found mainly in General Conceptions and Social-Psychological Factors among the four responding groups, possibly due to different types of cultural value systems. These factors and conceptions found to be significant among perceptions should be reconsidered for the future direction toward prevention of underachievement by teachers, parents, school personnel, and researchers in the American and Korean cultures. Korean teachers and parents, as compared to American teachers and parents, seemed to have a broad conception of underachievement in gifted youngsters,; however, they tended to overlook the importance of peer relationships, psychological environment, and social environment in children's achievement. American teachers and parents, as compared to Korean teachers and parents, tended to overemphasize the psychological and social environments of underachievement. Factors of underachievement in gifted youngsters appeared to be varied, to overlap, and to be interrelated. Even though symptoms and behaviors, e.g., poor study/work habits, of underachievement might look similar in the two cultures, these behaviors may originate from the different cultural and educational backgrounds.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Feldhusen, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Special education
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