An investigation of self-concept in gifted children.

An investigation of self-concept in gifted children. ABSTRACT: The study explored several issues respecting theself-concept in children categorized cat��e��go��rize?tr.v. cat��e��go��rized, cat��e��go��riz��ing, cat��e��go��riz��esTo put into a category or categories; classify.cat as gifted: (a) the relativeindependence of specific components of self-perceptions; (b) the way inwhich these factors relate to global self-esteem; and (c) the extent towhich a developmental process operates in the evolution of theself-concept. Data were collected from a sample of pupils enrolled inenrichment enrichmentFood industry The addition of vitamins or minerals to a food–eg, wheat, which may have been lost during processing. See White flour; Cf Whole grains. classes, grades 5 through 8. Measures included theSelf-Perception Profile for Children and a teacher-rating measure ofpupil attributes. The results confirmed the relative independence ofthe specific components and showed that self-perceptions of social andscholastic competence and of physical appearance were the majorcontributors to the self-concept. There was no evidence, however, forthe operation of a developmental process. There has been a considerable expansion in theoretical andempirical efforts to analyze children's self-perceptions over thepast 10 years or so (cf. Byrne, 1984; Harter, 1983; Shavelson, Hubner,& Stanton, 1976). One of the more interesting of the recenttheoretical developments is that offered by Harter (1983, 1986).Harter's work has been especially useful in two ways. First, shehas treated self-concept as a multidimensional construct rather than aunitary unitarypertaining to a single object or individual. entity; second, she has provided measuring instrumentsappropriate for assessing aspects of her model. The present study is an effort to assess certain postulates of hermodel with a sample of pupils categorized as gifted. Though the questionof self-concept in the gifted has received considerable researchattention cf Schneider, 1987), most efforts have entailed comparisonsof gifted and nongifted samples in terms of global selfconcept.Relatively little attention has been paid to the structure of theself-concept in gifted children, the issue of concern in the presentstudy. Two key postulates of that model are examined here. First, Harterhypothesized that selfconcept in children is composed of a globalcomponent and a set of specific components (having to do, for example,with perceived social competence and academic competence). She furtherhypothesized that the global component of the selfconcept represents arelatively independent construct, rather than an additive additiveIn foods, any of various chemical substances added to produce desirable effects. Additives include such substances as artificial or natural colourings and flavourings; stabilizers, emulsifiers, and thickeners; preservatives and humectants (moisture-retainers); and product of thespecific components. A similar formulation formulation/for��mu��la��tion/ (for?mu-la��shun) the act or product of formulating.American Law Institute Formulation has been advanced by Byrne(1984), Shavelson et al. (1976), and Winne and Marx (1981). A second key postulate postulate:see axiom. of the model is that a developmental processoperates in the case of the self-concept in the sense that the specificcomponents of self-esteem become more differentiated over the life span.Thus, whereas very young children might show a great deal of overlapamong social, academic, and athletic competence, these areas of theself-concept will be more independent in older children. It follows, aswell, that the way in which the specific components relate to globalself-worth will change with the age of the child. Some data bearing on the two postulates have been reported instudies using an earlier self-report measure, the Perceived CompetenceScale for Children (Harter, 1982). This measure is scored in terms offour factor scores: Cognitive Competence, Social Competence, PhysicalCompetence, and General Self-Worth. Both Harter (1982) and Byrne and Schneider (1988) have reportedcorrelational and factor analytic Adj. 1. factor analytic - of or relating to or the product of factor analysisfactor analytical results supporting the postulate thatthe specific aspects of self-concept exist relatively independently ofone another and of the global self-worth construct. The latterresearchers demonstrated these findings for samples of pupils from bothregular and gifted classrooms. These researchers obtained somewhat contradictory findingsrespecting the way in which the specific dimensions of perceivedcompetence related to global self-worth. Thus, Harter (1982) reportedthat the physical and social competence factors were most closelyrelated to global self-worth for her sample of regular classroom pupils,while Byrne and Schneider (1988) found that the strongest links withglobal self-worth were obtained with the cognitive and social factors,and this pattern was true for both the gifted and regular samples ofpupils. This is a particularly interesting issue so far as gifted pupilsare concerned; we might expect on intuitive grounds that cognitive oracademic aspects of the self-concept would receive relatively highweights in the determination of global self-worth because these childrenhave likely received considerable rewards for academic achievement. The Harter (1982) and Byrne and Schneider (1988) studies alsocontain support for the hypothesis that the specific components ofself-esteem become more differentiated with age. In both cases,correlations among the specific self-concept factors becameprogressively weaker across age groups. Though Byrne and Schnelder(1988) included both regular and gifted pupils in their samples, theydid not provide separate analyses for those groups. The present studyprovided an opportunity to explore this developmental hypothesis with asample of gifted children. This, too, is a particularly interestingquestion in the case of gifted children. Harter (1983, 1986) hassuggested that the developmental process is associated with intellectualmaturity; hence, it might be expected that these children will show adifferentiation among specific aspects of the self-concept relativelyearly. The current study was designed, then, to explore issues relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc(a) the relative independence of the specific components of theself-concept, (b) the components of global self-worth, and (c) thedevelopmental process whereby the components become more differentiatedwith age. The study extends earlier work in this area by focusing on asample of gifted children and by employing a recent revision of thePerceived Competence Scale for Children. This new instrument, theSelf-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), is based onreliability and validity studies done in connection with the earlierinstrument; and it provides a more differentiated analysis ofself-concept through six factor scores: Scholastic Competence, SocialAcceptance, Athletic Competence, Physical Appearance, Behavioral behavioralpertaining to behavior.behavioral disorderssee vice.behavioral seizuresee psychomotor seizure. Conduct, and Global Self-Worth. We were also able to explore issues relating to gender differencesin the self-concepts of gifted children. Only two other studies haveexplored this issue, and they yielded mixed results. Thus, Milgram andMilgram (1976) reported higher global self-concept scores for giftedgirls compared with gifted boys. Schneider, Clegg, Byrne, Ledingham, andCrombie (1989), on the other hand, reported higher global self-worth andhigher perceived physical competence scores for boys from samples of8th- and 10th-grade gifted pupils (though not 5th grade). The presentstudy provided an opportunity to further explore this issue with themore psychometrically refined measure, the Self-Perception Profile forChildren. METHOD Subjects The sample was composed of 280 pupils drawn from four grade levels,5 through 8. All were enrolled in self-contained enrichment classes ofan urban school board. The majority of the pupils had been selected forthis gifted program while in fourth grade, with the selection procedurebased on group and individual IQ test performance, standardizedachievement test scores, and teacher ratings. A 90th percentile cut-offwas used in the case of the standardized tests. Further evidence thatthis represented a highly select group may be found in the standardizedachievement test scores administered while the students were enrolled inthe enrichment classes: average percentile scores for the pupils rangedfrom 88 to 93 (based on citywide norms). Measures and Procedures The Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC SPPC Sierra Pacific Power CompanySPPC sphingosylphosphorylcholineSPPC Seed Potato Production Center (Yemen)SPPC Standard Personnel Planning CostSPPC Safety Pre-Task Plan Card ). This self-report measure is designed to assess self-perceptions ofcompetence. It was developed by Harter (1985) from her earlierinstrument, the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1982).The scale was administered to the pupils in the classroom setting byresearch personnel. The SPPC is composed of six subscales, each containing six items.Each itementails a two-step process whereby the child first indicates which oftwo alternatives best describes them (e.g., "some kids are happywith the way they look" vs. other kids are not happy with the way they look") and, second,indicates the extent to which the description is true of them. Thisformat is designed to reduce the operation of socially desirableresponding. The six subscales include the general self-concept construct,Global Self-Worth, and five specific aspects of the self-concept:Scholastic Competence, Social Acceptance, Athletic Competence, PhysicalAppearance, and Behavioral Conduct. These subscores are based on factoranalytic analyses (Harter, 1982, 1985). Four of these subscales arevirtually identical with subscales contained in the Perceived CompetenceScale for Children; these are the subscales Scholastic Competence,Social Acceptance, Athletic Competence, and Global Self-Worth. Thepsychometric psy��cho��met��rics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and properties of these subscales have been well established(Byrne & Schneider, 1988; Harter, 1982). Additional psychometricdata for the larger SPPC instrument have also been presented in themanual Harter, 1985). These are based on internal consistency In statistics and research, internal consistency is a measure based on the correlations between different items on the same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. analysesof the subscales and additional factor analytic efforts. Scale for Rating Behavoral Characteristics of Superior-Students(SRBCSS). This teacher-rating measure was developed by Renzulli,Hartman, and Callahan (1971) for assessing the potential of children forgifted programs. It was used in the present study as a source ofinformation about the cognitive, social, and academic competencies ofthe pupils and was included in analyses of the determinants of globalself-worth. Rating forms were prepared for each pupil in the class andteachers were asked to complete the ratings within a 2-week period. The instrument is composed of 37 items divided among foursubscales; these subscales are labeled Learning, Motivation, Creativity,and Leadership. A four-point rating scale is provided for each item. Thefollowing is an example of an item from the Learning subscale: "Isa keen and alert observer; usually 'sees more' or getsmore' out of a story, film, etc. than others. Support for the internal consistency and test-retest reliability ofthe four subscales has been reported by Renzulli et al. (1971). Somepositive validity results have also been reported by Renzulli et al. andAshman and Vukelich (1983). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Descriptive Data Table 1 presents mean SPPC scores by gender and grade level.Analyses of variance revealed no significant effects for grade level orfor the interaction of grade level and gender. There were, however,significant gender effects for the Physical Appearance, F(1,224) = 11.16, p < .001, Behavior Conduct, F(1,224) = 5.06, p < .05, andAthletic Competence, F(1,253) = 21.44,p <.001, subscores. These gender differences are shown in the first two columns ofTable 2. It can be seen that boys were displaying higher scores onAppearance and Athletic Competence; and girls, higher scores on Conduct.These results are generally consistent with those of Schneider et al.(1989) and Harter (1985). Results relating to the Global Self-Worthfactor are also of interest. Harter (1985) reported higher global scoresfor boys than for girls for pupils in regular fifth- througheighth-grade classrooms, whereas Schneider et al. (1989) reported higherscores for males in eighth-grade regular and enrichment classrooms. Ourresults show no significant differences between boys and girls boys and girlsmercurialisannua. on GlobalSelf-Worth for any grade level. There is a suggestion, then, thatenrichment education may have a particularly beneficial effect forgirls. This conclusion is consistent with that offered by Milgram andMilgram (1976). Table 2 also presents normative nor��ma��tive?adj.Of, relating to, or prescribing a norm or standard: normative grammar.nor scores for the various SPPCsubscores. These have been calculated from scores presented in theManual (Harter, 1985) for grades 5 through 8. Comparisons between thecurrent sample and these norms based on children in regular classroomsreveal some interesting findings. Pupils from the current sample presentsomewhat lower scores in Social and Athletic Competence, butsubstantially higher scores on Scholastic Competence. This result isgenerally consistent with other reports in the literature (Kelly &Colangelo, 1985; Schneider et al., 1989). The girls in our samplepresent substantially higher scores on Scholastic Competence and GlobalSelf-Worth than did girls drawn from regular classrooms. This finding,too, is consistent with our suggestion that enrichment type classes maybe particularly beneficial for girls. Correlations Among Subscores Table 3 presents intercorrelations among the SPPC subscores,including both specific and global scales. Coefficient coefficient/co��ef��fi��cient/ (ko?ah-fish��int)1. an expression of the change or effect produced by variation in certain factors, or of the ratio between two different quantities.2. Alpha values arepresented in the diagonal of the table. Consistent with Byrne and Schneider (1988) and Harter (1985),low-to-moderate correlations were obtained among the five specificsubscales. These ranged from a low of -.05 between Physical Appearanceand Athletic Competence to a high of .42 between Scholastic and SocialCompetence. These moderate correlations lend some support to thevalidity of the subscores by demonstrating that they are, in fact,relatively independent of one another. In addition, the CoefficientAlpha values indicate satisfactory levels of internal consistency forthe various scales. (Relations between subscores and the global factor,General Self-Worth, are discussed in the next section.) We also examined correlations among the five specific subscalesacross the four grade levels. There was, however, no support forHarter's (1985) finding that the five areas become increasinglydifferentiated across ages. In fact, average correlations among the fivesubscales were quite close for each of the grade levels: fifth grade,mean r = .22; sixth grade, mean i- = .20; seventh grade, mean i- = .1 7;eighth grade, mean i- = .22. One possible explanation for thesediscrepant dis��crep��ant?adj.Marked by discrepancy; disagreeing.[Middle English discrepaunt, from Latin discrep findings is that intellectually select children may evolve adifferentiated self system earlier than do less gifted children; thatis, of course, a speculation requiring additional investigation. Multiple Regression regression,in psychology: see defense mechanism. regressionIn statistics, a process for determining a line or curve that best represents the general trend of a data set. Analyses Multiple regression analyses were performed in an effort to explorethe components of global self-worth. The first set of these analysesemployed the five specific subscores of SPPC as predictor variables andthe Global Self-Worth factor as the criterion variable. These analyseswere performed separately for the entire group of students, by genderand by grade level. Table 4 contains a summary of Beta weights andmultiple R values, For the total group of subjects, the Social Competence factorreceived the heaviest weight in the equation, followed by PhysicalAppearance and Scholastic Competence. The heavy weights associated withthe social and appearance factors are consistent with the findings ofByrne and Schneider (1988) and Harter (1985). The significantcontribution of scholastic competence to the global index is, however,not typical of pupils in regular classrooms and is probably unique togifted pupils for whom academic excellence has been emphasized andrewarded. Male and female pupils present similar patterns of relationsbetween specific subscores and Global Self-Worth. It is worth noting,though, that Scholastic Competence receives somewhat more weight forgirls than for boys, suggesting that school achievement may be ofsomewhat more significance for girls at these age levels. The pattern of social competence and physical appearance receivingthe greatest weights in the prediction of Global Self-Worth holds, itcan be seen from Table 3, for each grade level except 8. In the lattercase physical appearance and scholastic competence received the highestweights. Table 5 presents Beta weights and multiple R values from a secondset of multiple regression analyses. The criterion variable is againGlobal Self-Worth, but the predictor variables in this case are the foursubscores of the SRBCSS instrument: Learning, Motivation, Creativity,and Leadership. This analysis provides us with information on the way inwhich teacher-perceived strengths of pupils relate to self-esteem in thepupil. The multiple regression analysis In statistics, a mathematical method of modeling the relationships among three or more variables. It is used to predict the value of one variable given the values of the others. For example, a model might estimate sales based on age and gender. based on the total sample ofstudents revealed a significant weight associated with the Leadershipscore and the Creativity score approaching significance, p < .05.Higher ratings on leadership were associated with higher levels ofself-worth. This result is consistent with the findings from theprevious analysis to the extent that this leadership factor parallelsthe Social Competence factor from the SPPC. The negative relationbetween the Creativity score and Global Self-Worth, while onlyapproaching significance, is of some interest. This Creativity subscaleincludes items reflecting somewhat positive attributes: high levels ofcuriosity, sensitivity, and divergent thinking Noun 1. divergent thinking - thinking that moves away in diverging directions so as to involve a variety of aspects and which sometimes lead to novel ideas and solutions; associated with creativityout-of-the-box thinking abilities. It alsocontains attributes, however, that may not be particularly valued atthis age level: radical and spirited in disagreement,""nonconforming," "high risk taker tak��er?n.One that takes or takes up something, such as a wager or purchase: There were no takers on the bets.takerNoun ," "unwillingto accept authoritarian pronouncements without criticalexamination." Psychological perspectives on the self, . Vol. 3 (pp. 139-18 1).Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Kelly, K., & Colangelo, N. (1985). Academic and socialself-concepts of gifted, general, and special students. ExceptionalChildren, 50, 551-554. Milgram, R. M., & Milgram, N. A. (1976). Personalitycharacteristics of gifted Israeli children. Journal of GeneticPsychology, 129, 185-194. Renzulli, J. S., Hartman, R. K., & Callahan, C. M. (1971).Teacher identification of superior students. Exceptional Children, 38,211-214. Schneider, B. H. 1987). The gifted child in peer groupperspective. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Springer-Verlag. Schneider, B. H., Clegg, M. R., Byrne, B. M., Ledingham, J. E.,& Crombie, G. (1989). Social relations of gifted children as afunction of age and school program. Journal of Educational Psychology,81, 48-55. Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976).Self-concept: Validation See validate. validation - The stage in the software life-cycle at the end of the development process where software is evaluated to ensure that it complies with the requirements. of construct interpretations. Review ofEducational Research, 46, 407-441. Winne, P. H., & Marx, R. W. (1981, April). Convergent anddiscriminant validity Discriminant validity describes the degree to which the operationalization is not similar to (diverges from) other operationalizations that it theoretically should not be similar to. in self-concept measurement. Paper presented atthe annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, LosAngeles Los Angeles(lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ABOUT THE AUTHORS ROBERT D. HOGE HOGE Hover Out of Ground Effect is a Professor and ROBERT MCSHEFFREY is a GraduateStudent in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University Carleton University,at Ottawa, Ont., Canada; nonsectarian; coeducational; founded 1942 as Carleton College. It achieved university status in 1957. It has faculties of arts, social sciences, science, engineering, and graduate studies, as well as the Centre for ,Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We thank the teachers and principals who participated in thisstudy. We also extend our appreciation to Hazel hazel,any plant of the genus Corylus of the family Betulaceae (birch family), shrubs or small trees with foliage similar to the related alders. They are often cultivated for ornament and for the edible nuts. Bowen, EnrichmentConsultant, Ottawa Board of Education For information on the Ottawa, Kansas organization with the same moniker, please see Ottawa School Board (Kansas).The Ottawa Board of Education (OBE) was the public school board for Ottawa from 1970 to 1998. ; and Kelly Sims, Cheryl McDougall,and Jim Vyse. Requests for reprints should be sent to Robert D. Hoge,Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K I S5B6, Canada. Manuscript manuscript,a handwritten work as distinguished from printing. The oldest manuscripts, those found in Egyptian tombs, were written on papyrus; the earliest dates from c.3500 B.C. received March 1989; revision accepted July 1989. Exceptional Children, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 238-245. [c] 1990 TheCouncil for Exceptional Children.