The Experience of Success and Failure of Gifted Students at School
The education of gifted students is often characterized by high expectations, ambitious goals, and significant effort invested in learning. Their expe.
- Pub. date: January 15, 2025
- Online Pub. date: December 23, 2024
- Pages: 185-198
- 96 Downloads
- 438 Views
- 0 Citations
The education of gifted students is often characterized by high expectations, ambitious goals, and significant effort invested in learning. Their experiences of success and failure are shaped by a variety of factors, including personal, family, school, cultural, and social influences. This article examines how gifted students perceive and experience their own successes and failures, as well as how these experiences are perceived and responded to by their peers. Using qualitative methods, the study involved semi-structured interviews with thirty gifted students from seventh to ninth grades across ten elementary schools in Slovenia. The findings indicate that gifted students experience a range of emotions in response to success, from satisfaction to anxiety, while their reactions to failure often involve frustration and self-criticism. Peer responses to their success and failure vary significantly, ranging from supportive encouragement to jealousy and social exclusion. These findings highlight the complex interpersonal dynamics at play within school environments. Understanding and addressing these dynamics is crucial for creating inclusive, supportive, and stimulating learning environments that nurture both the academic and social-emotional well-being of gifted students.
Keywords: Experience of success, experience of failure, gifted students, peer responses.
References
Ajjawi, R., Boud, D., Zacharias, N., Dracup, M., & Bennett, S. (2019). How do students adapt in response to academic failure? Student Success, 10(3), 84-91. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v10i3.1403
Allodi, M. W. (2010). The meaning of social climate of learning environments: Some reasons why we do not care enough about it. Learning Environments Research, 13, 89-104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-010-9072-9
Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., Ihrig, D., & Forstadt, L. (2006). Attributional choices for academic success and failure by intellectually gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 50(4), 283-294. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620605000402
Baudson, T. G., & Preckel, F. (2016). Teachers’ conceptions of gifted and average-ability students on achievement-relevant dimensions. Gifted Child Quarterly, 60(3), 212-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216647115
Berlin, J. E. (2009). It's all a matter of perspective: Student perceptions on the impact of being labeled gifted and talented. Roeper Review, 31(4), 217-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783190903177580
Blaas, S. (2014). The relationship between social-emotional difficulties and underachievement of gifted students. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 24(2), 243-255. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2014.1
Boese, G. D., Stewart, T. L., Perry, R. P., & Hamm, J. M. (2013). Assisting failure‐prone individuals to navigate achievement transitions using a cognitive motivation treatment (attributional retraining). Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1946-1955. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12139
Chae, S. E., & Shin, J.-H. (2016). Tutoring styles that encourage learner satisfaction, academic engagement, and achievement in an online environment. Interactive learning environments, 24(6), 1371-1385. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2015.1009472
Che, F. N., Strang, K. D., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2021). Using experiential learning to improve student attitude and learning quality in software engineering education. International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2(1), 1-22. https://bit.ly/4079EWI
Chuang, Y.-R., Huang, F., Herman, K., & Zhang, B. (2024). Potential moderation across racial groups in perceptions of authoritative school climate and peer victimization and student engagement. School Psychology Review, 53(6), 632-648. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2022.2109058
Claro, S., Paunesku, D., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(31), 8664-8668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608207113
Clinkenbeard, P. R. (2012). Motivation and gifted students: Implications of theory and research. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7), 622-630. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21628
Coleman, A. N. (2012). Effects of one special school on gifted and high ability students' project quality, academic engagement, and investment in academic learning [Doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama]. University Libraries. https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/1472
Coppens, L. C., Hoogerheide, V., Snippe, E. M., Flunger, B., & van Gog, T. (2019). Effects of problem–example and example–problem pairs on gifted and nongifted primary school students’ learning. Instructional Science, 47, 279-297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-019-09484-3
Cross, J. R., & Cross, T. L. (2015). Clinical and mental health issues in counseling the gifted individual. Journal of Counseling and Development, 93(2), 163-172. https://doi.org/ggjnj4
Cross, J. R., O’Reilly, C., Kim, M., Mammadov, S., & Cross, T. L. (2015). Social coping and self-concept among young, gifted students in Ireland and the United States: A cross-cultural study. High Ability Studies, 26(1), 39-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2015.1031881
Cross, T. L., & Cross, J. R. (2017). Social and emotional development of gifted students: Introducing the school-based psychosocial curriculum model. Gifted Child Today, 40(3), 178-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217517713784
Davis, H. A., Gabelman, M. M., & Wingfield, R. D. (2011). "She let us be smart:" low-income African American first-grade students' understandings of teacher closeness and influence. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 46(1), 4-16.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Publishing Group.
Eident, C., Matthews, M., Gilson, C., & Byker, E. (2022). Examining the opportunities and access to gifted programs: Unintended social and emotional consequences. University of Carolina at Charlotte Undergraduate Research Journal, 2(1), 26-45. https://doi.org/10.55370/urj.v2i1.1422
Ferbežer, I., & Kukanja-Gabrijelčič, M. (2008). Svetovanje nadarjenim učencem [Counselling gifted students]. Zavod RS za šolstvo.
Fletcher, K. L., & Speirs Neumeister, K. L. (2012). Research on perfectionism and achievement motivation: Implications for gifted students. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7), 668-677. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21623
Folsom, C. (2009). Teaching for intellectual and emotional learning (TIEL): Bringing thinking and moral-ethical learning into classrooms. In T. Cross & D. Ambrose (Eds.), Morality, ethics, and gifted minds (pp. 285-300). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89368-6_21
Forsyth, D. R. (2014). Group dynamics. Cengage Learning.
Freeman, J. (2010). Gifted lives, what happens when gifted children grow up. Routledge.
García-Martínez, I., Gutiérrez Cáceres, R., Luque de la Rosa, A., & León, S. P. (2021). Analysing educational interventions with gifted students. Systematic review. Children 8(5), Article 365. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8050365
Goodman, K. L., & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (2010). The regulating role of negative emotions in children's coping with peer rejection. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41, 515-534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0185-2
Guilbault, K. M., & McCormick, K. M. (2023). Underachievement of gifted learners in school. In K. H. Collins, J. J. Roberson & F. H. Ribeiro Piske (Eds.), Underachievement in gifted education (pp. 25-41). Routledge.
Hagenauer, G., Wallner-Paschon, C., & Kuhn, C. (2021). Austrian students’ experiences of supportive relationships with teachers, peers, and parents and the mediating effect of school belonging in the context of their academic and non-academic outcomes. Zeitschrift für Bildungsforschung, 11, 93-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s35834-021-00300-y
Hargrove, K. (2010). “If I had only known ...”. Gifted Child Today, 33(1), 14-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/107621751003300106
Hawker, D. S. J., & Boulton, M. J. (2000). Twenty years’ research on peer victimization and psychosocial maladjustment: A meta-analytic review of cross-sectional studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 41(4), 441-455. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00629
Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. (2019). FAIL is not a four-letter word: A theoretical framework for exploring undergraduate students’ approaches to academic challenge and responses to failure in STEM learning environments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 18(1), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.18-06-0108
Jeon, J., Chun, M., & Lee, H. (2015). An analysis of science gifted students' achievement emotions. Journal of Gifted/Talented Education, 25(1), 139-159. https://doi.org/10.9722/JGTE.2015.25.1.139
Kaya, M., & Erdem, C. (2021). Students’ well-being and academic achievement: A meta-analysis study. Child Indicators Research, 14, 1743-1767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09821-4
Kennedy, K., & Farley, J. (2018). Counseling gifted students: School-based considerations and strategies. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 10(3), 361-367. https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2018336194
Kitsantas, A., Bland, L., & Chirinos, D. S. (2017). Gifted students’ perceptions of gifted programs: An inquiry into their academic and social-emotional functioning. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 40(3), 266-288. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353217717033
Klimes‐Dougan, B., Pearson, T. E., Jappe, L., Mathieson, L., Simard, M. R., Hastings, P., & Zahn‐Waxler, C. (2014). Adolescent emotion socialization: A longitudinal study of friends' responses to negative emotions. Social Development, 23(2), 395-412. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12045
Koksal, E. A., Soykan, S., & Kahyaoglu, H. (2022). The effect of arcs motivation model on students’ academic achievement and motivation. International Online Journal of Educational Science, 14(3), 598-608. https://bit.ly/3VRxP9h
Kraft, C., & Mayeux, L. (2018). Associations among friendship jealousy, peer status, and relational aggression in early adolescence. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 38(3), 385-407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431616670992
Kurt, L. J. (2016). Career counseling for gifted students: Understanding student needs and strategies for success. The Practitioner Scholar: Journal of Counseling and Professional Psychology, 5(1), 156-168. https://bit.ly/3B7GsWg
Laursen, B., & Veenstra, R. (2021). Toward understanding the functions of peer influence: A summary and synthesis of recent empirical research. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(4), 889-907. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12606
Lee, K. M., Jones, M. K., & Day, S. X. (2017). The impact of academic competency teasing and self-concept on academic and psychological outcomes among gifted high school students. Learning and Individual Differences, 56, 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.10.020
Lee, S.-Y., Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Thomson, D. T. (2012). Academically gifted students’ perceived interpersonal competence and peer relationships. Gifted Child Quarterly, 56(2), 90-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986212442568
Liu, M., & Huang, W. (2011). An exploration of foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation. Education Research International, 2011, Article 493167. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/493167
Luus, S., & Watters, J. J. (2012). Gifted early adolescents' negotiating identity: A case study of self-presentation theory. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 21(2), 19-32. https://bit.ly/3VuWOPI
Mofield, E. L., & Parker Peters, M. (2018). Mindset misconception? Comparing mindsets, perfectionism, and attitudes of achievement in gifted, advanced, and typical students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 62(4), 327-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986218758440
Moneva, J. C., & Legaspino, F. (2020). Peer influence and performance task of senior high school students. IRA International Journal of Education and Multidisciplinary Studies, 16(1), 76-83. https://doi.org/10.21013/jems.v16.n1.p11
Neumeister, K. L. S. (2004). Factors influencing the development of perfectionism in gifted college students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 48(4), 259-274. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620404800402
Ogurlu, Ü. (2016). Üstün zekâlı ortaokul öğrencilerinde umutsuzluk ve gelecek beklentisi [Hopelessness and future expectations among gifted middle school students]. Turkish Journal of Education, 5(1), 4-17. https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.30206
Patric, A. L. (2007). Social promotion of high school students [Master's theses, State University of New York]. State University of New York Digital Commons @Brockport. https://bit.ly/4f4EAeN
Perry, S. L. (2008). Gifted underachievement and its dynamic etiology. Graduate Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1(1), Article 10. https://bit.ly/3ZHGZrh
Phelps, C., Brazzolotto, M., & Shaughnessy, M. F. (2023). Identification and teaching practices that support inclusion in gifted education. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity, 10(1), 1-9. https://bit.ly/3ONBwJe
Plucker, J. A., & Callahan, C. M. (2008). Critical issues and practices in gifted education: What the research says. Prufrock Press Inc.
Pruett, G. P. (2004). Intellectually gifted students' perceptions of personal goals and work habits. Gifted Child Today, 27(4), 54-57. https://doi.org/10.4219/gct-2004-149
Rinn, A. (2020). Social, emotional, and psychosocial development of gifted and talented individuals. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003238058
Saltürk, A. (2022). A qualitative study among self-identified perfectionists and procrastinators in academic tasks. Participatory Educational Research, 9(2), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.22.26.9.2
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and applications. Routledge.
Shao, Y., Kang, S., Lu, Q., Zhang, C., & Li, R. (2024). How peer relationships affect academic achievement among junior high school students: The chain mediating roles of learning motivation and learning engagement. BMC Psychology, 12, Article 278. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01780-z
Shilvock, K. M. (2017). The plight of the gifted student: A call to action. Empowering Research for Educators, 1(1), Article 7. https://bit.ly/3OMlDCJ
Siegle, D., & McCoach, D. B. (2020). Underachievers. In D. Siegle & D. B. McCoach (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 521-534). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003233961-39
Siegle, D., McCoach, D. B., & Bloomfield, E. (2017). Achievement orientation model: Understanding how what we believe determines whether we achieve 1. In D. Siegle, D. B. McCoach & E. Bloomfield (Eds.), From giftedness to gifted education (pp. 301-318). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003235262-14
Silverman, L. K. (2013). Breakthroughs in assessment of the gifted. In T. S. Yamin (Ed.), Educating gifted and talented children – turning research to practice: 20th Biennial World Conference (pp. 8-9). The World Council for Gifted and Talented Children.
Speirs Neumeister, K. L., Williams, K. K., & Cross, T. L. (2009). Gifted high-school students' perspectives on the development of perfectionism. Roeper Review, 31(4), 198-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783190903177564
Subotnik, R. F., Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Worrell, F. C. (2011). Rethinking giftedness and gifted education: A proposed direction forward based on psychological science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12(1), 3–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100611418056
Škrabánková, J. (2022). Covert bullying of gifted children at school. In F. H. R. Piske & K. H. Collins (Eds.), Identifying, preventing and combating bullying in gifted Education (pp. 21-36). Age Publishing.
Taylor, S. E., Sherman, D. K., Kim, H. S., Jarcho, J., Takagi, K., & Dunagan, M. S. (2004). Culture and social support: Who seeks it and why? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(3), 354-362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.354
Troop-Gordon, W., & Ranney, J. D. (2014). Popularity among same-sex and cross-sex peers: A process-oriented examination of links to aggressive behaviors and depressive affect. Developmental Psychology, 50(6), 1721-1733. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036417
VanTassel-Baska, J., Feng, A. X., Quek, C., & Struck, J. (2004). A study of educators’ and students’ perceptions of academic success for underrepresented populations identified for gifted programs. Psychology Science, 46(3), 363-378.
Vaughn, S., Grills, A. E., Capin, P., Roberts, G., Fall, A. M., & Daniel, J. (2022). Examining the effects of integrating anxiety management instruction within a reading intervention for upper elementary students with reading difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 55(5), 408-426. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194211053225
Vialle, W., Heaven, P. C. L., & Ciarrochi, J. (2007). On being gifted, but sad and misunderstood: Social, emotional, and academic outcomes of gifted students in the Wollongong Youth Study. Educational Research and Evaluation, 13(6), 569–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803610701786046
Volkova, E. N., Miklyaeva, A. V., & Khoroshikh, V. V. (2022). Subjective predictors of psychological well-being of gifted adolescents. Psychological Science and Education, 27(1), 92-103. https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2022270108
Watts, J. (2020). “Ask me and I will tell you”: Gifted boys’ perceptions of self and school. Gifted Child Today, 43(1), 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217519880579
Williams, K. D. (2007). Ostracism. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 425-452. https://doi.org/cmn6c6
Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269-1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794