Research Methods -A16 &A17

Research Questions and Theories

Laura Kay Utgard

Cal Southern University

PSY 87127: Research Methods

Linda Fischer

July, 2018

Research Questions and Theories

Application of theories to the selected articles

Jillian, G. (2014). Children with gifts and talents: looking beyond traditional labels. Roeper Review, 32 (3), 200-206.

According to the "stigma of giftedness" theory, stereotyping makes the gifted students to either fail to fully use their potential and keep away from identifying with the stigma or to over-identify with the label through the adoption of the stereotypical features. The gifted children are affected by stereotyping or the labeling act which tends to be a problem for them since they are shaping their individual perception. Labeling is also affecting the behaviors as well as the perceptions of the gifted students (Shoenberger & Alex, 2015).

Smith, P. (2015). Understanding children's development. John Wiley & Sons.

Gifted children are also lacking emotional support from the stakeholders of education i.e. the parents and the families. According to the attachment theory, kids who are enjoying a safe attachment connection with caregivers find it easier to explore their environment. These children are able to reach out to others and return to the caregivers for support and go further to exploit their social relationship. Smith in his study on the “the social and emotional lives of gifted kids” stated that emotional and the social support from the teachers, parents, and other relevant stakeholders is important towards the development of the gifted children in their education. Social and the emotional support involve enjoying the attachment relationship from the parents as well as those who are close to the children. Through exploring their social world through the support of the caregivers, they are more likely to learn from their experience in the social interaction and be motivated towards their classroom education (Smith, 2015).

Callahan, C. M. (2015). What works in gifted education: documenting the effects of an integrated curricular/instructional model for gifted students. American Educational Research Journal, 52 (1), 137-167.

Education sectors have also failed to integrate the suitable component of the education system which promotes the gifted students. According to the Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration, for the gifted children to develop, it is necessary to have a progress through the pentatonic level i.e. their personality and emotional development. Callahan is his study of “what works in gifted education stated that an effective component in the curriculum involves the inclusion of some important aspects that benefit all the learners. Gifted and the talented children need some special care in their education for them to match other learners (Callahan, 2015). The component of the curriculum needs to be the one which considers their psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imagination, and the emotional needs towards their learning requirements (Silverman, 2016).

Azano, P. (2017). Book Review of serving gifted students in rural settings. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 32 (2), 1-3.

The environmental aspects are involving the social as well as the economic factors which are important towards positively impacting on the education of the gifted children. The psychosocial development theory which was put forward by Erikson is highlighting the necessity of satisfying the social-emotional needs of the talented individuals. According to this theory, individuals have to develop by passing through the eight developmental stages from the infancy to adulthood. It is, therefore, necessary to provide the nurturing environment which is serving the social and the emotional needs of the gifted children to help them in the developing socially as well as establishing their social identity. Therefore, in the rural areas, there are numerous resources which are required for the learning process of these children and due to lack of these resources; they tend to perceive themselves and their environment is different from others thus affecting their socio-emotional development (Kolb, 2014).

Kyle, W., Dianne, F. V., & Mary, C. (2011). Active advocacy: working together for appropriate services for the gifted learners. Spring, 34 (2), 20-25.

Based on Piaget's theory of development, it is important to accommodate all children for them to develop. It is involving the taking of the new information in their environment where these children are existing and then altering the pre-existing schemas to fit the new information. Advocacy by the stakeholders of the gifted children must involve understanding the challenges in order to look for the new solution which is better than the previously applied ones. The human brain can be programmed through change (Carpendale, 2014).

References: American Psychological Association   (2010).   Publication manual of the American Psychological Association .   (6th Edition).   Washington, D.C.   Callahan, C. M. (2015). What works in gifted education: documenting the effects of an integrated curricular/instructional model for gifted students. American Educational Research Journal, 52 (1), 137-167. Creswell, J. W.   (2013).   Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches.   Sage.    9781452226101 Carpendale, J. (2014). Social interaction and the development of knowledge. Psychology Press. Kolb, D. (2014). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. FT Press. Shoenberger, N., & Alex, H. (2015). Labeling, social learning, and the positive deviance: a look at the high achieving students. Deviant Behavior, 36 (6), 474-491. Silverman, L. (2016). Empathy: The heart of Dabrowski’s theory. Advanced Development, 15, 32. Smith, P. (2015). Understanding children's development. John Wiley & Sons.