Education Commons^™

Gifted Underachievers : A Review Of The Past And Present With Implications For The Future, Angela R. Fry

Graduate Research Papers

The academic underachievement of gifted students has perplexed educators, parents, and researchers for over half a century. With such a controversial background, gifted underachievers have become a topic of increased interest in the last few decades. A large body of quantitative research has attempted to fill this void. Numerous personality and environmental factors such as lack of effort, learning styles, family dynamics, and peer relationships have been linked to underachievement.

A plethora of inadequate and unsuccessful interventions have been implemented, researched, and scrutinized. With such an increased awareness, why do potentially gifted students continue to fail and what can we …

Underachievement In Gifted Students, Deborah Langenderfer Nagle

Graduate Research Papers

This study reflected on literature concerning gifted students who underachieve in school. Its purpose was to review the literature to examine the various definitions of underachievement, the characteristics of gifted underachievers, the risk factors for underachievement related to gifted students and the existence of promising interventions to ameliorate underachievement. The writer concluded that underachievement is a discrepancy related to performance behaviors that can be changed. She found that positive change can best be accomplished by the use of individualized interventions involving both the school and the family.