Underachiever studies of gifted and talented students: Types and implications
List of Authors
  • Nurul Hidayah Mohd Nasir , Rorlinda Yusof

Keyword
  • gifted and talented students, low-achieving gifted, the intervention of underachievers, counselling services for gifted, gifted students

Abstract
  • This study aims to examine the existence of low-performance issues or underachievers (UA) among gifted and talented students. Specifically, the study identified the type of UA that dominates in the sample group studied. This survey involved 63 students from GENIUS@Pintar Negara College, UKM answering the UA instrument built by the researcher. The value of the UA instrument's reliability correlation coefficient for all 60 items is ᾳ=0.87. Data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS software and ANNOVA inferential statistics to answer the research questions. The results show that the overall value of low-performing students at Kolej GENIUS@Pintar Negara is moderate (mean = 3.22, SP = 0.126). From the six types of UA, it was found that the category of low-performing intelligent students, Type 6, Autonomous UA Students, obtained the highest mean, followed by Type 3, Underground UA, and Type 5, Twice-Multiple Exceptional. There is no significant difference among UA students regarding gender, race, and level. The findings of this study give implications about the importance of providing a comprehensive intervention program for gifted UA students by involving several roles including UA students, academic management, counselling management, and parents to empower the development of gifted UA students' talents to an optimal level.

Reference
  • 1. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text Rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association 2. Baker, J. A., Bridger, R., & Evans, K. (1998). Models of underachievement among gifted preadolescents: The role of personal, family, and school factors. Gifted Child Quarterly, 42(1), 5-15. 3. Baum, S., Renzulli, J. S., & Hébert, T. P. (1995). The prism metaphor: A new paradigm for reversing underachievement (CRS95310). Storrs: University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. 4. Bennett-Rappell, H., & Northcote, M. (2016). Underachieving gifted students: Two case studies. Issues in Educational Research, 26(3), 407-430.ISSN: 1837-6290 5. Ben Paris. (2021). Why Gifted Children May Not Test Well. Ben Paris Test Prep. https://www.benparistestprep.com/post/why-gifted-children-may-not-test-well 6. Butler-Por, N. (1987). Underachievers in school: Issues and intervention. Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons 7. Betts, G. T. & Neihart, M. (1988). Profiles of the gifted and talented. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32(2), 248-253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001698628803200202 8. Cohen, L. M., Ambrose, D., & Powell, W. N. (2000). Conceptual foundations and theoretical lenses for the diversity of giftedness and talent. In K. A. Heller, F. J. Monks, R. J. Sternberg, & R. F. Subotnik (Eds.), International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent. Second Edition (pp. 331-344). Elsevier Science. 9. Coleman, L. J., Micko, K. J. & Cross, T. L. (2015). Twenty-five years of research on the experience of being gifted in school: Capturing the students' voices. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 38(4), 358-376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0162353215607322 10. Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, M. (eds) 2004, ‘A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students’, vol. I & II, ‘The Templeton National Report on Acceleration’, Belim Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City 11. Colangelo, N., Kerr, B., Christensen, P., & Maxey, J. (1993). A comparison of gifted underachievers and gifted high achievers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 37, 155-160. 12. Davis, G. A., Rimm, S. B. & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the gifted and talented (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson 13. Delisle, J. & Galbraith, J. (2002). When gifted kids don't have all the answers. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. 14. Dowdall, C. B., & Collangelo, N. (1982). Underachieving gifted students: Review and implications. Gifted Child Quarterly, 26, 179-184. 15. Dunlosky, J., & Rawson, K. A. (2012). Overconfidence produces underachievement: Inaccurate self evaluations undermine students’ learning and retention. Learning and Instruction, 22(4), 271-280. 16. Emerick, L. J. (1992). Academic underachievement among the gifted: Students’ perceptions of factors that reverse the pattern. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 140-146. 17. Fang, J., Huang, X., Zhang, M., Huang, F., Li, Z., & Yuan, Q. (2018). The big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(1569). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01569 18. Fine, M. J. & Pitts, R. (1980). Intervention with underachieving gifted children: Rationale and strategies. Gifted Child Quarterly, 24(2), 51-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001698628002400202 19. Gagné, F. (2007). Ten commandments for academic talent development. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(2), 93-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0016986206296660 20. Gagné, F. (1995). From giftedness to talent: A developmental model and its impact on the language of the field. Roeper Review: A Journal on Gifted Education, 18(2), 103–111. 21. Gross, M.U.M. (1998). The “Me” Behind the Mask: Intellectually gifted students and the search for identity. http://senggifted.org/archives/articles/the-me-behind-the-mask-intellectually-gifted-students-and-the-search-foridentity#sthash.LuZRnBuU.dpuf. 22. Hansford, S. (2001). Underachieving gifted children. In J.F. Smutny (Ed.), Underserved gifted populations (309-322). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. 23. Inman, T. F. (2016). What a child doesn't learn. Parenting for high potential, 6, 15-17. 24. Imbeau, M. B. (2018). Evidence-based curricular/instructional suggestions for meeting the needs of all learners including those who are advanced. Gifted Child Today, 41(1), 5-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1076217517735904 25. Jeynes, W. H. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relation of parental involvement to urban elementary school student academic achievement. Urban Education, 40(3), 237-269 26. Little, C. A. (2012). Curriculum as motivation for gifted students. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7), 695-705. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.21621 27. Landis, R. N., & Reschly, A. L. (2013). Reexamining gifted underachievement and dropout through the lens of student engagement. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 36(2), 220-249. 28. Maureen Neihart and George Betts. (2010). Revised Profiles of the Gifted and Talented. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=c3Rqb3NlcGhzLmNvLm56fHN0LWpvc2VwaC1zLWNhdGhvbGljLXNjaG9vbC1wdWtla29oZS1nYXRlfGd4OjVkZWVkNmQ5YjljMzJjYmE 29. McCoach, D. B., & Siegle, D. (2003). The school attitude assessment survey-revised: A new instrument to identify academically able students who underachieve. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63(3), 414-429. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164403063003005 30. Neihart, M., Reis, S. M., Robinson, N. M., & Moon, S. M. (2002). The social and emotional development of gifted children: What do we know? Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. 31. Oxford-Royale. (2023). 8 Ways to Support Your Gifted Child. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/8-ways-support-gifted-child/ 32. Phillipson, S. (2010). Modeling parental role in academic achievement: Comparing high-ability to low-and average-ability students. 33. Peterson, J. S. (2001). Successful adults who were once adolescent underachievers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 45, 236–250. https://doi. org/10.1177/001698620104500402 34. Rosadah Abd Majid. (2004). Satu kajian perbandingan profil pelajar pintar cerdas akademik dengan pelajar sederhana akademik. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 35. Reis, S. M. & Renzulli, J. S. (2009). Myth 1: The gifted and talented constitute one single homogeneous group and giftedness is a way of being that stays in the person over time and experiences. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 233-235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0016986209346824 36. Reis, S. M., & McCoach, D. B. (2000). The underachievement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we go? Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 152-170. 37. Redding, R. E. (1990). Leaming preferences and skill patterns among underachieving gifted adolescents. Gifted Child Quarterly, 34, 72-75. 38. Renzulli J.S., and Reis S. M. (2012). Defensible and do-able:A practical, multiple criteria gifted program identification system. In: Hunsaker SL (ed), Identification: The Theory and Practice of Identifying Students for Gifted and Talented Education Services. Mansfield Center, CT : Creative Learning Press, pp.25–56. 39. Rimm, S. (1997). An underachievement epidemic. Educational Leadership, 54(7), 1822. 40. Rimm, S. B., Siegle, D., & Davis, G. A. (2018). Education of the gifted and talented (7th ed.). pp 233-236. Pearson. 41. Rimm, S., & Lowe, B. (1988). Family environments of underachieving gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 32(4), 353-359. 42. Simpkins, S. D., Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2015). Families, schools, and developing achievement-related motivations and achievement. InJ. E. Grusec, & P. H. Hasting (Eds.). Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (2nded.). NewYork: Guilford Press, pp. 614–636. 43. Schick, H., & Phillipson, S. N. (2009). Learning motivation and performance excellence in adolescents with high intellectual potential: What really matters?. High Ability Studies, 20(1), 15-37. 44. Siegle, D. (2012). The underachieving gifted child: Recognizing, understanding, and reversing underachievement. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press 45. Supplee, P. L. (1990). Reaching the gifted underachiever. New York, NY: Teacher’s College Press. 46. Whitmore, J. R. (1980). Giftedness, conflict, and underachievement. Boston, MA: Allen & Bacon. 47. Wentzel K. R., Elliot J., Dweck C. (2005). “Peer relationships, motivation, and academic performance at school,” in Handbook of Competence and Motivation, eds Andrew J., Dweck C. S. (New York, NY: Guildford Press; ), 279–296. 48. Wolfle, J. A. (1991). Underachieving gifted males: Are we missing the boat? Roeper Review, 13, 181-184. 49. Yazdani, S., & Daryei, G. (2016). Parenting styles and psychosocial adjustment of gifted and normal adolescents. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(3), 100-105.