Is being gifted always an advantage? Peer relations and self-concept of gifted students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between identified gifted adolescents and adolescents not identified as gifted in terms of social acceptance and self-concept (peer relations, academic, and general). In addition, we aimed to investigate the differences between two groups of students identified according to different identification criteria (i.e. intelligence test and teacher assessment), and whether the relationship between students’ giftedness and the indicators of their social adjustment was moderated by gender. A total of 404 Slovenian elementary school students (191 males; 47%, 213 females; 53%) participated in the study; among them 85 (21%) were identified as gifted. No significant differences were found between gifted and non-gifted students in positive sociometric nominations and social preference; gifted students received less negative nominations and had lower social impact, but were assessed as more socially accepted by their teachers. Gifted students reported higher academic and general but not peer relations self-concept. No differences in social acceptance and self-concept were found between the groups of gifted students identified with regard to different identification criteria. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between gender and giftedness for peer relations self-concept. The results indicate the importance of investigating individual differences among gifted students in future studies.

Keywords:

• gifted students
• giftedness identification
• social acceptance
• self-concept

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Compulsory basic education in Slovenia is organized into a single-structure (ISCED1 and ISCED2) nine-year basic school attended by pupils aged six to 15 years (Key Data on Education in Europe 2012). Students are allocated to a school on the basis of geographical criteria but parents may request an alternative one (Key Data on Education in Europe 2012). Students are organized in classes independently of their gender, ability level, or ethnic affiliation.

2. The students were asked to provide information about their grades in the previous school year in three school subjects: mathematics, Slovenian, and English. These three grades were summarized into a combined measure of students’ academic achievement.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported the Slovenian Research Agency (research program P3-0384).