Underachievement amongst gifted students may seem paradoxical; nevertheless, it is not an uncommon reality. At particular risk are students from low socio-economic backgrounds or minority groups, the twice-exceptional and the creatively gifted.
The 2001 Senate inquiry into the education of gifted students found that teachers without training in this area, believed that these students would excel academically without support. They also tended to identify gifted students as those who were ‘teacher pleasers’; that is, they looked for “well-behaved children of the dominant culture” (Collins, 2001).
In comparison, Geake found that, like all children, gifted students needed adult guidance, encouragement and appropriately challenging tasks in order to develop into individuals of outstanding talent (Geake, 2009).
There are two reasons why I believe that gifted underachievement is an imporant area of research. The first is focussed on individual well-being, while the second is more utilitarian. With its basis in the field of positive psychology, self-determination theory describes how individuals interact with their environment in a dialectical manner, each influencing the other (Ryan & Deci, 2017). For the optimal development of self, our environment must meet our basic psychological needs of autonomy, competency and relatedness. When this occurs, people experience postive mental well-being and flourish. From a utilitarian point of view, and in consideration of the challenges our word is facing, our society cannot afford to lose the contributions of our gifted minds.
How do we deal with this issue then? I believe we need to do three things:
- Train our teachers in the identification and education of gifted students, including the support that they need, and the type of curriculum required
- Provide learning environments where students have choice over their learning and feel that they can succeed and use their talents
- Group students of like mind, so that they can form true friendships
This is a simplistic vision, but if we build on these three points, we will at least be heading in the right direction.
References:
Collins, J. (2001). The education of gifted children: Inquiry into the education of gifted children. Canberra, ACT: Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education References Committee.
Geake, J. (2009). The brain at school: Educational neuroscience in the classroom. Berkshire: England, McGraw Hill: Open University Press.
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2017). Self-determination theory – basic psychological needs in motivation, development and wellness. New York: Guilford Publications.
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