Journal for the Education of the Gifted

All forms of research methodology contribute to the field of gifted education. The focus of this article is the unique contribution that qualitative case study research makes. Case study as a form of qualitative research activity is a vehicle by which researchers enable our hearing of the voices of gifted persons. In this article, issues relating to research plans in qualitative case study are discussed. From a selection of case study articles drawn from 4 journals in gifted education, 2 are identified as exemplars of qualitative case study research in gifted education. The works of Coleman (2001) and Hébert and Beardsley (2001) are used to illustrate how researchers can plan qualitative case studies such that the perspectives of gifted students are included in the discourse in gifted education.

Many of the reports we read about qualitative research make use of succinct labels to describe the processes that are used in analyzing and reporting study results. The purpose of this paper is to make qualitative research more understandable by providing details about the procedures that were used in one project to develop grounded theory.

A phenomenological investigation of the lebenswelt (life world) of academically gifted students attending an elementary magnet school was conducted. The magnet school is housed in an elementary school that maintains 2 classes per grades 1–6, 1 gifted and 1 heterogeneous. Fifteen gifted students (2 per grades 1–3 and 3 per grades 4–6) participated in phenomenological interviews. The interviews, averaging 50 minutes in length, were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed via a 6-step thematic analysis process. The social milieu of the school was described by the students as the backdrop for the meaning of the experience of attending the magnet school for gifted students. Four themes emerged across the magnet school experience: Others, Role, Personal Development, and Time. Nuances and characteristics of the themes are reported.

Through a qualitative research design, this study examined the differences between underachievement and selective achievement in a gifted university student. The findings indicated that, while the participant demonstrated behaviors typically associated with underachievement, his self-regulation and metacognitive abilities suggested a different image. These findings highlight a need to consider the attitudes and motivations behind the student's behavior when considering how to approach incidences of fluctuating academic performance of high-ability students.