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Background.Vocational interests play a central role in the vocational decision-making process and are decisive for the later job satisfaction and vocational success. Based on Ackerman's (1996) notion of trait complexes, specific interest profiles of gifted high-school graduates can be expected. Aims.Vocational interests of gifted and highly achieving adolescents were compared to those of their less intelligent/achieving peers according to Holland's (1997) RIASEC model. Further, the impact of intelligence and achievement on interests were analysed while statistically controlling for potentially influencing variables. Changes in interests over time were investigated. Sample.N= 4,694 German students (age: M= 19.5, SD= .80; 54.6% females) participated in the study (TOSCA; Koller, Watermann, Trautwein, & Ludtke, 2004). Method. Interests were assessed in participants' final year at school and again 2 years later (N= 2,318). Results.Gifted participants reported stronger investigative and realistic interests, but lower social interests than less intelligent participants. Highly achieving participants reported higher investigative and (in wave 2) higher artistic interests. Considerable gender differences were found: gifted girls had a flat interest profile, while gifted boys had pronounced realistic and investigative and low social interests. Multilevel multiple regression analyses predicting interests by intelligence and school achievement revealed stable interest profiles. Beyond a strong gender effect, intelligence and school achievement each contributed substantially to the prediction of vocational interests. Conclusions.At the time around graduation from high school, gifted young adults show stable interest profiles, which strongly differ between gender and intelligence groups. These differences are relevant for programmes for the gifted and for vocational counselling.
This study examines how often and in which form students use the option of gradeskipping in Germany and what characterizes those students. The database was derived from a sample of N = 4,103 students (grades 8-10), who were tested within the standardisation process of the national educational standards in mathematics. For these students data existed on their mathematical competence (educational standard items) and intelligence (subtests word analogies and figural analogies of the KFT 4-12 + R). Furthermore, we identified n = 33 (0,8%) students by questionnaire, who had already skipped one grade. Those accelerated students are predominantly boys, had skipped the grade during their first years at school and performed only slightly above-average on two cognitive ability scales. At the time the survey was conducted, 39% did not attend a Gymnasium and 34 % had to repeat one grade after having been accelerated. While they report average grades in relation to their peers, their mathematical competence is well above average.
Using German data, we examined the effects of one specific type of acceleration-grade skipping-on academic performance. Prior research on the effects of acceleration has suffered from methodological restrictions, especially due to a lack of appropriate comparison groups and a priori measurements. For this reason, propensity score matching was applied in this analysis to minimize selection bias due to observed confounding variables. Various types of matching were attempted, and, in consideration of balancing the covariates, full matching was the final choice. We used data from the Berlin ELEMENT Study, analyzing, after matching, the information of 81 students who had skipped a grade over the course of elementary school and up to 1,668 nonaccelerated students who attended the same grade level as the accelerated students. Measurements took place 3 times between the 4th and 6th grades, including the assessment of reading, spelling, and mathematics performance. After matching, the results of between-group comparisons regarding performance indices showed no significant effects of skipping a grade, other than a small positive effect found on spelling performance. Theoretical implications and methodological limitations are discussed.
The present study addresses diagnostic competence of English language teachers at the end of lower secondary education. The 56 teachers assigned each of their respective students (N = 1 363) to a proficiency level of foreign language use according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The teachers' judgements were compared to CEFR proficiency level assignments estimated using data from a reading comprehension assessment of English as a foreign language. The consistency of proficiency level allocations was evaluated using level, differentiation, and ranking components. Beyond providing a description of diagnostic competence, the present study focuses on the influence of classroom halo effects on teachers' CEFR proficiency level judgements by comparing teacher judgments and students' English marks. A multilevel model of diagnostic competence is presented to assess to what extent the rank and level components are influenced by teachers' familiarity with and use of the CEFR guidelines when judging student proficiency.
This study analyzes the interplay of four cognitive abilities - reasoning, divergent thinking, mental speed, and short-term memory - and their impact on academic achievement in school in a sample of adolescents in grades seven to 10 (N = 1135). Based on information processing approaches to intelligence, we tested a mediation hypothesis, which states that the complex cognitive abilities of reasoning and divergent thinking mediate the influence of the basic cognitive abilities of mental speed and short-term memory on achievement. We administered a comprehensive test battery and analyzed the data through structural equation modeling while controlling for the cluster structure of the data. Our findings support the notion that mental speed and short-term memory, as ability factors reflecting basic cognitive processes, exert an indirect influence on academic achievement by affecting reasoning and divergent thinking (total indirect effects: beta=.22 and .24. respectively). Short-term memory also directly affects achievement (beta=.22).
Skipping a grade, one specific form of acceleration, is an intervention used for gifted students. Quantitative research has shown acceleration to be a highly successful intervention regarding academic achievement, but less is known about the social-emotional outcomes of grade-skipping. In the present study, the authors used the grounded theory approach to examine the experiences of seven gifted students aged 8 to 16 years who skipped a grade. The interviewees perceived their feeling of being in the wrong place before the grade-skipping as strongly influenced by their teachers, who generally did not respond adequately to their needs. We observed a close interrelationship between the gifted students' intellectual fit and their social situation in class. Findings showed that the grade-skipping in most of the cases bettered the situation in school intellectually as well as socially, but soon further interventions, for instance, a specialized and demanding class- or subject-specific acceleration were added to provide sufficiently challenging learning opportunities.
The present study explored teachers' perspectives on one specific type of acceleration, namely, grade skipping. In addition, we investigated the extent to which teachers' beliefs about students' academic, motivational, and social development after grade skipping may explain teachers' acceptance of this accelerative strategy. Moreover, we examined whether teachers' acceptance is linked to their decisions about using this intervention. Using data from the PARS project, which included 316 teachers from 18 secondary schools in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, we assessed teachers' acceptance, beliefs, and perceived knowledge about grade skipping using 4-point rating scales. Teachers also reported whether they had advised a student to skip a grade. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that teachers' beliefs about students' social, motivational, and academic development largely explained their acceptance. Teachers who showed a higher level of acceptance and perceived knowledge were more likely to have recommended grade skipping before. Educational implications are discussed.
Hochbegabung
(2013)
Das Thema „Hochbegabung“ erfährt seit mehreren Jahren zunehmende Aufmerksamkeit. Um intellektuell hochbegabte Kinder und Jugendliche angemessen fördern zu können, sind eine rechtzeitige Diagnostik und fundierte Beratung unumgänglich. Das vorliegende Buch bietet einen umfassenden und aktuellen Überblick über die theoretischen Grundlagen von Hochbegabung sowie über Möglichkeiten der Diagnostik und Förderung. Durch eine klare Strukturierung und didaktische Aufbereitung der Inhalte eignet es sich ideal für das (Selbst-)Studium und die berufliche Weiterbildung.
Einleitend setzt sich der Band mit den verschiedenen und sich zum Teil scheinbar widersprechenden Modellvorstellungen von Hochbegabung auseinander. Unterschiedliche Forschungszugänge zum Thema werden anhand prominenter Studien aufgezeigt. Weiterhin thematisiert der Band die Entwicklung von Hochbegabung sowie Eigenschaften von Hochbegabten. Hierzu gehören neben leistungsbezogenen Merkmalen bestimmte Temperamentseigenschaften oder soziale Kompetenzen. Erwartungswidrige Minderleistungen (Underachievement) und mögliche Entwicklungsbesonderheiten, die hoch relevante Themen in der pädagogisch-psychologischen Beratung Hochbegabter darstellen, werden ebenfalls berücksichtigt. Ausführlich erörtern die Autorinnen Möglichkeiten der Diagnostik von hochbegabten Kindern und Jugendlichen und stellen geeignete diagnostische Verfahren vor. Den Abschluss bildet ein Kapitel zu konkreten Fördermöglichkeiten in Kindergarten und Schule.
Whereas studies that have analyzed factors that affect academic achievement have predominantly revealed positive effects of skipping a grade, controversial results have been found for students’ social-emotional and motivational development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of skipping a whole grade on students’ school satisfaction, peer relations, school anxiety, and academic self-concept. Moreover, we conducted moderation analyses to investigate whether skipping a grade affects boys and girls differently. Data were obtained from N = 4926 German students who were repeatedly surveyed once a year in Grades 4, 5, and 6. A total of N = 96 students from this sample had skipped a grade in elementary school. We applied full matching separately for male and female students in order to minimize selection bias. When analyzing motivational variables, we added class-mean achievement scores as covariates within the matching process. Equally for boys and girls, the results showed no significant effect of skipping on school satisfaction, yet we found a negative effect on peer relations that persisted across the 3 years of measurement. However, after skipping a grade girls were significantly disadvantaged compared to boys on some motivational dimensions.
Teacher judgments in terms of grades, proficiency assessments, and recommending placement in ability groups can have important consequences for a child’s future educational path. Whether or not students’ sociodemographic background characteristics are systematically related to teacher judgments has been a controversial topic of discussion. Using data from the TIMSS-Transition Study (N = 3285 fourth graders) administered across 13 German federal states in the 2006–2007 school year and survey data from parents and teachers, we investigated whether or not the average classroom socioeconomic status is reflected in teacher judgments and also examined possible underlying processes. We also probed the role of teachers’ own socioeconomic backgrounds (at the age of 16) in their later susceptibility to differentially judge students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and in differentially composed classrooms. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for differences in achievement (as indicated by standardized tests), teachers’ judgments were associated with the classrooms’ socioeconomic composition, and this finding could not be attributed to the average levels of motivation or behavior in the classroom. Teachers were similarly likely to exhibit such differential judgments regardless of their own socioeconomic background. These findings are discussed in the context of their implications for educational policy.
