Underachieving Gifted Students: Two Case Studies

Abstract

Almost half of all gifted students do not achieve according to their exceptional potential. Though significant research has investigated identifying characteristics of underachieving gifted students, current research is yet to fully employ the established theoretical knowledge to determine practical strategies for the reversal and remediation of underachievement in gifted students. This study utilised a specifically designed Creative Writing Program and adopted a part-time withdrawal strategy to explore the impact of particular teaching strategies on reversing the underachievement of two gifted students. Through the two case studies, qualitative data were gathered from multiple sources and perspectives. These data were analysed using open-coding methods. The Creative Writing Program was found to impact the students' negative feelings, underachieving behaviours and social awareness. Furthermore, a number of teaching strategies were identified as being successful for facilitating the achievement of potential in underachieving gifted students: one-to-one teaching, positive teacher identification and differentiation.