A general misconception about gifted children is that they are mostly associated with high achievement. Parents and teachers mostly believe that these children will display extremely successful performances regarding their lessons compared to their peers. However, the fact is quite different. Let alone keeping a pace parallel to their peers, gifted students might even fall behind of them. Although a relatively large percentage of gifted students are successful at meeting their teachers’ and parents’ expectations, we come across underachieving gifted students too. Facing this fact can be pretty much frustrating not only on the parts of parents and teachers but on the part of these students as well.
In order to fully comprehend and analyze this problem we have to understand what is meant by “underachievement”. Davis and Rimm (1998) define underachievement as “the discrepancy between the child’s school performance and some index of his or her intellectual ability such as intelligence … and creativity…”. Put another way, underachievement takes place when there is a certain mismatch between what the child exhibits and what s/he is supposed to exhibit taking his/her intelligence and creativity into account. It is a quite puzzling fact that even though gifted children are highly intelligent and creative, results of their school performance mark them as purely an underachiever or a mediocre student. Clark (2002) reports from Robertson’s 1991 study that every year 18-25% gifted and talented students drop out of high school as a result of this erroneous ascertainment. We believe that these figures are enough to express the magnitude of the problem.
What help us a lot in differentiating between a gifted underachiever and a typical underachiever are the defining characteristics of gifted students. Despite the fact that there is not a totally-agreed upon set of characteristics for these children, there are certain attributes that distinguish them from others. Gallagher (1985) quotes from Terman & Oden’s study (1947) on gifted underachievement and mentions following characteristics as the distinguishing characteristics of gifted underachievers: “a lack of self confidence, the inability to persevere, a lack of integration to goals, the presence of inferiority feelings”. Besides these, one generally observed event is that these children, being totally aware of their underachievement, act out their frustration and mostly turn aggressive or withdraw (Clark, 2002. Underachieving Gifted Students).
One common striking characteristic among these children is their belief that they cannot accomplish anything. Depending on this low self-esteem they consider having a limited control over their lives. When they fail accomplishing a task they ascribe this to their incompetence; and when they accomplish a task they attribute this to luck. This is what is called “learned helplessness” (Seligman, 1975). This idea frequently leads them to “letting it go” since they believe that whether they make an effort or not will not create a difference. It is probable that gifted children try to keep away bringing of being gifted in this way. This is thought as a shield that will protect them from the expectations built on their giftedness. Radical rebellion against authority is another method for them to protect themselves. In this way, they again hold their shield and keep responsibilities away by playing the idle (Davis & Rimm, 1998).
Another point that needs to be investigated in gifted underachievement is the reason why gifted children underachieve. An understanding of causes of this phenomenon will let daylight into this matter. Before all else, it should be known that causes underlying underachievement are complex and they display individual and contextual differences. That is why every single gifted child should be handled with caution and attention. Nevertheless, as in the characteristics of these learners, we can find some patterns with respect to gifted underachievement as well.
Clark (2002) basically points out three factors that might give way to underachievement. These are “the personality of the child, the home and/or parents, and finally the school”. Besides these, other developmental problems which are generally observed in gifted children might be in charge. We know that giftedness is almost always accompanied by other difficulties such as ADHD and hearing difficulties. It should be kept in mind that co-morbidity is something generally observed when the issue is giftedness.
The personality of the child is one of the biggest shareholders in child’s underachievement. If lessons available for the child do not correspond to his/her interest and benefits, s/he might underachieve. At this point, come across the issue of proper guidance. Unless gifted children are guided and handled in line with their interests, underachievement is inevitable. Secondly, parents’ setting unrealistic goals for the child, not being supportive, active in school matters is another cause. And finally, inflexibility, being unrewarding, and existence of a competitive environment are the factors leading to underachievement on schools’ part.
In order to overcome the problem of gifted underachievement we need some adjustments both at school and home. Parents’ being educated and attentive on this issue is a must. As for the schools, we need sensitive teachers, inclusive procedures and proper guidance that will motivate these children.
REFERENCES:
Davis, G. A. & Rimm, S. B. (1998). Education of the gifted and talented (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Clark, B. (2002). Growing up gifted: Developing the potential of children at home and at school (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development and death. San Francisco: Freeman.
Gallagher, J. & Gallagher, S. (1994). Teaching the gifted child. (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Terman, L. M., & Oden, M. H. (1947). The gifted child grows up: Twenty-five year follow-up of a superior group, genetic studies of genius. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Robertson, E. (1991). Neglected dropouts: The gifted and talented. Equity & Excellence, 25, 62-74.
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