Traditionally less than 5% of the population has had access to gifted and talented programs. Current trends in international thinking involve a broader view of the characteristics of gifted and talented students and a higher proportion of the population, possibly as much as 15%, will be identified for gifted and talented provision.
For every 100 students, we can expect 15 students to have superior ability in one or more areas.
It has been commonly accepted that even if gifted students are bored or frustrated at school they will still learn. Research evidence refutes this notion and indicates that up to 20% of gifted students underachieve.
In a group of 15 gifted students, 3 will probably be underachieving. One fifth of our most able students do not achieve to their full potential!
Take time NOW to access Stephanie Tolan's website and follow the links to her brilliant "Is it a Cheetah?" article. This provides an excellent introduction to some of the difficulties experienced by gifted children in our society and within educational systems in general.
There are many theoretical and ethical considerations pertinent to any discussion of underachievement. The following links will direct you to pages concerned specifically with the field of underachievement in gifted education. This web site also provides a comprehensive range of gifted and talented links.
The Encouraging Achievement Gifted Education Resources (EAGER) resource was originally produced in a kit/disk format by the Department of Education(WA) with Making the Difference: Students At Educational Risk Resource Grant funds in 2000. The Project Coordinator was Geoff Kinkade and the Project Officer, Jean Anning.
The aim of the EAGER resource was to provide primary and secondary gifted and talented students, parents and teachers with a range of resources to encourage an understanding of the issue of underachievement among gifted and talented students. The resource suggested a range of strategies to counter underachievement and encourage achievement. These suggestions have since been revised and incorporated into this website or as part of the EAGER section. Users were also encouraged to familiarise themselves with the, now out of print, primary and secondary Teaching TAGS resource.
For feedback and comments relating to underachievement please contact us.
Arthur L Costa
What human beings do when they behave intelligently and how they can become more so
Dr John Edwards
The things we steal from children
Dara Wakefield
Bloom's Taxonomy
Robin Eanes
Bloom's Taxonomy
Sylvie Labelle
Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats
Miraca U.M Gross
PhD From "the saddest sound" to the D Major chord: The gift of accelerated progression
Proceedings of the 7th AAEGT Conference held 18-20 June 1998
Centre for Applied Motivation Inc.
Dedicated to Motivating Underachievers. Information Services and Resources for Parents, Teachers, Counsellors and Managers. This link will take you to the Homepage where there is a wealth of information.
Hoagies Gifted Education
This site is rich in all that is gifted and talented for parents, educators, kids and teens. The Underachievers link provides a portal to a range of articles related to underachievement - well worth the read.
Mental Health Net
Free On-Line Books: Psychological Self Help
The entire book is available for downloading from this site. Chapter 4 on Behaviour,Motivation and Self-Control is particularly relevant! EAGER also provides each of these articles for you to view off-line.
Encouraging Achievement - Gifted Education Resources: EAGER