Tips for Parents: Gifted Underachievers -- What's
a Parent to do?
Author(s): Del Siegle & D. Betty McCoach
Source: Davidson Institute for Talent Development/Young Scholars Seminar 2003
Text of Article Printer-Friendly version
All individuals have the ability to learn
and attain self-fulfillment, however many children are at risk
of failing to achieve their academic potential. Gifted students
are one group of exceptional learners who are not normally
considered at risk for academic failure. However, the underachievement
of academically gifted students is an area of concern and frustration
for many parents, teachers, and counselors. Why do some students,
who seem capable of outstanding performance, fail to realize
their potential? What causes some gifted students to underachieve
in school? Can we predict which gifted students are at the
greatest risk for underachievement? What can we do to reverse
a student's academic underachievement?
While there are many factors that contribute
to achievement, students who are achievement-oriented appear
to exhibit three key perceptions and a behavior. First, and
foremost, they find value in their school experience. School
is meaningful. They enjoy what they are doing or believe that
what they are doing will produce beneficial outcomes. Second,
they believe that they have the skills to be successful. Third,
they trust their environment and expect that they can succeed
in it. When students have positive attitudes in each of these
three areas, they are more likely to produce self-regulated
behavior. Self-regulated learners set realistic expectations
and implement appropriate strategies for academic success.
Some of these four components may play a stronger influence
than others, but overall, we believe that achievement-oriented
individuals possess some combination of them.
Valuing Academic Tasks
First and foremost, students must value academics. "When students value
a task, they will be more likely to engage in it, expend more effort on it,
and do better on it" (Wigfield, 1994, p. 102). Students who do not value
the goals of school do not find any purpose in what they are learning, they
don't see any pay-off for learning it, and they're not interested in learning
it, so they turn off and tune out. The following are some minor modifications
that will increase the task value of activities for students:
* Encourage and promote your children's interests
and passions.
* Help children to see beyond the immediate activity to the long-term outcomes.
A school assignment may seem unimportant, but pursuing a dream career may be
an outcome that your child is willing to strive toward. Parents should share
how they use various skills learned in school.
* Help your children to set short and long-term academic goals. Small, short-term
goals work better for younger students. It is essential that the goals are
meaningful to students. Talk with children about possible goals. Remember,
goals that adults value may have little meaning to children.
* Students are more likely to become engaged with material that is optimally
challenging. Ensure that your children are challenged (but not frustrated)
by classroom activities.
Self-Efficacy
Children must also believe they have the skills to perform the task. Self-efficacy
refers to individuals' judgment of their capacity to perform specific activities.
The perceptions students have about their skills influence the types of activities
they select, how much they challenge themselves at those activities, and
the persistence they exhibit once they are involved in the activities (Bandura,
1986).
Children need to believe that they have the
skills to be successful. This can be accomplished by helping
them recognize the skills that they have developed. Two factors
need to be present: First, they must believe they have the
skills to do well and second, they must be aware that they
didn't always have those skills (the skills were something
they developed).
The way we compliment our children has an
impact on how successful they perceive themselves. It is important
to be specific with comments. A general compliment such as "Good
work" does not carry the weight of something more specific
such as "You really know your threes times tables." The
latter provides more information about what has been performed
well. Your child will reflect on the comment and think, "Yes,
I am good at threes." Students are able to better cognitively
appraise their progress when feedback is specific or when we've
helped them be aware of specific things they do well. Of course,
compliments must be genuine and earned. Complimenting children
for tasks that they did not perform well or for unchallenging
tasks can be counterproductive and diminish their trust.
In addition to helping your children recognize
the skills they have, you need to help them understand that
their abilities are not innate. Dweck (1975) demonstrated that
students who believe abilities can be developed and are not
fixed are more likely to attempt challenging tasks and persevere
more in the face of difficulties than students who believe
abilities are innate. When we discuss our children's achievement
with them, we ought to mention specific skills they have developed
by drawing attention to the skill and to its development. We
need to balance the role effort and ability play. This can
easily be accomplished by recognizing the skill as something
the student developed (without drawing undue attention to the
effort used). For example, "Look at how well you've learned
your threes tables" is more effective than "You are
good at your threes tables." The word learned indicates
that this is a skill that didn't always exist and implies that
future skills can also be acquired.
Environmental Perceptions
Children who view their environment as friendly and one that will provide positive
outcomes are more likely to demonstrate achievement-oriented behavior. It
is not enough to be confident that they have certain skills, they must expect
that they will succeed if they put forth effort. Rathvon (1996) hypothesized
that, "The underachiever's failure to assume responsibility arises from
his unconscious belief that his own efforts do not affect the events or individuals
in his world" (p. 66).
Children's perception of the friendliness
of the environment may or may not be accurate. The first step
is to determine whether students' perceptions are distorted.
If they are not, then changes need to be made in the environment.
These changes must be implemented with input from the student.
For example, if a child feels it is too noisy to study at home,
ask the child what needs to be done to make it quiet enough.
It may be as simple as asking, "What would it take for
you do well?" Students must be involved in helping find
solutions to the environmental roadblocks they perceive.
Self-Regulation
The factors of task value, self-efficacy, and environmental perceptions are
critical to being motivated. But being motivated may not be sufficient. Students
must be engaged in and complete the task. They may feel that math is important,
believe that they can do well in mathematics, and like their school and teachers,
but they do not follow through and execute the math assignment.
Many gifted students may lack the self-management
strategies of time management and study skills. Because gifted
students often progress through the early years of school without
being challenged, they sometimes fail to develop the self-management
skills that other students master. In the early grades, good
memory and fast processing skills can compensate for note taking
and other study skills. Often, educators attempt to teach students
study skills before students need those skills to be successful.
This process usually frustrates both the teachers and the students.
Self-regulatory skills are more likely to be internalized when
they are needed to solve the problem at hand. A solution to
the problem is to provide gifted students with an academically
challenging curriculum early, and throughout their school careers.
Another aspect of self-regulation involves
setting personal standards. Some students may feel that what
they are doing is "good enough." If students haven't
been academically challenged in the past, they may believe
they can achieve satisfactory results with very little effort.
Gifted students may also underachieve to hide their need for
perfectionism.
The third category of self-regulation is self-monitoring.
These skills include monitoring distractibility, practicing
delayed gratification, and awareness of performance avoidance.
* Encourage children to pursue excellence,
rather than perfection. Adults can model acceptance of their
mistakes while striving for excellence. Gifted students should
not be expected, or expect, to complete every task, in every
area, with 100% accuracy.
* Help students plan tasks. This serves two functions. First, it develops a
mindset that the task is doable. Young people are often reluctant to begin
a task because they are unsure how to begin. Second, it minimizes the unknown.
Through planning, children can visualize a task coming to fruition.
* Help children set realistic expectations. This involves setting goals that
are difficult enough to be challenging, yet not so difficult as to be unachievable
and discouraging. Learning occurs best when new material cannot be mastered
without assistance, but can be mastered with minor direction from someone more
knowledgeable (Vygotsky, 1939/1962).
Much that motivates children is still a mystery.
The suggestions presented in this article provide insights
into some strategies that promote achievement-orientation.
Parents can support students and encourage them to pursue their
interests and passions. With a little effort, educators and
parents can help students to see that what they are doing serves
a purpose, to believe they have the skills to perform well,
to trust that their environments will encourage their productivity,
and to set realistic expectations for themselves. Early encouragement
of achievement-oriented behaviors is a major step toward helping
young people lead productive and fulfilling lives.
References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of
thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Dweck, C. S. (1975). The role of expectations
and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674-685.
Rathvon, N. (1996). The unmotivated child:
Helping your underachiever become a successful student. New
York: Simon and Schuster.
Vygotsky. L. S. (1962). Thought and language.
Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Original
work published 1939)
Wigfield, A. (1994). The role of children's
achievement values in the self-regulation of their learning
outcomes. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulation
of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications
(pp. 101-124). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Permission Statement
© 2003 The Davidson Institute for Talent Development.
This article is provided as a service of the
Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit
operating foundation, which nurtures and supports profoundly
intelligent young people and to provide opportunities for them
to develop their talents and to make a positive difference.
For more information, please visit http://www.davidson-institute.org,
or call (775) 852-3483.
