Journal of Advanced Academics

Fourteen gifted late adolescents, considered at risk for poor educational outcomes because of underachievement, depression, or family situation, participated in a 4-year qualitative longitudinal study focusing on 4 developmental tasks: gaining autonomy, becoming differentiated, establishing career direction, and developing a mature relationship. The process of resolving conflict with parents generated the largest portion of narrative data. The majority of participants still lacked direction and a mature relationship at the end of the study, but most respondents had resolved conflict, felt autonomous, and reported good emotional health. Multiple task accomplishments were associated with being able to concentrate on academics.

Psychologists have long recognized that there are critical periods in a person's life in which some specific person or agency serves as a driving force toward a higher level of human development. For example, Benjamin Bloom and Erik Erikson, two researchers concerned with individual development, noted that peers play particularly a critical role in children's development during adolescence, a period in which children tend to be more actively involved outside their home environments with nonfamily members. This study was concerned with how peer relations impact the development of the academic and creative talents during adolescence. A comprehensive case study was conducted wherein the relationships between Chris, a talented 12-year-old male, and 5 of his peers were examined. The purpose was to gain insights into how peers may influence, positively or negatively, the development of academic and creative talents in adolescents. Results from this study suggest that Chris' peers did, indeed, have favorable influences on his academic and creative talent development in 4 areas: competition, support, motivation, and role modeling. A discussion of these findings and the various factors that may have contributed to them are presented along with implications for parents, teachers, and counselors.

Based on Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, the DISCOVER assessment was designed to identify gifted minority students for placement into programs for the gifted. In previous studies, the reliability and validity of the assessment in elementary grades were examined and yielded mostly positive results. In this study, similar analyses were carried out to investigate some validity aspects of DISCOVER with secondary students. The sample consisted of 303 predominantly Hispanic and Native American ninth graders. The results provided evidence for an alignment of the assessment with the theory of multiple intelligences. Also, no overall gender or ethnic differences were found in the numbers of students identified. In addition, the results suggested that the use of the DISCOVER assessment might help in reducing the problem of minority students' under-representation in programs for the gifted, as 29.3% of the high school students who participated in this study were identified as gifted.

Learning about the experience of living in a state-funded, public residential high school for academically talented children was the purpose of an ethnographic inquiry. Studying and homework dominated the students' lives throughout the year. Eager academically gifted high school students were “shocked” to meet the homework demands of a rigorous academic program. The general story of doing homework is told, as well as four characteristic patterns of adjustment presented as cases of studying in action. Theoretical issues related to talent development are discussed.