Gifted and on the move: The impact of losing the gifted label for military connected students
Research Report:
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Hilt, R. (2023). Gifted and on the move: The impact of losing the gifted label for military connected students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 46(3), 236-258. https://doi.org/10.1177/01623532231180882
Abstract Created by REACH:
Military-connected students tend to relocate more often than others. Those designated “gifted” can lose this status due to differing criteria between school districts. This study examined how inconsistent labeling as “academically gifted” affected military-connected students’ sense of self and their social connections. Informed by Labeling Theory and Foucault’s “technologies of self,” researchers interviewed 5 military-connected adolescents about their experiences losing the gifted label due to military-related relocation. 2 themes emerged: Students held themselves accountable when they lost the gifted label, and the qualities associated with being gifted drove the students’ social connections.
Focus:
Children
Programming
Branch of Service:
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Child of a service member or veteran
Spouse of service member or veteran
Active duty service member
Military families
Population:
Childhood (birth - 12 yrs)
School age (6 - 12 yrs)
Adolescence (13 - 17 yrs)
Authors:
Hilt, Robyn
Abstract:
Society is becoming increasingly mobile, which impacts all facets of the educational experience, including gifted education. Military students attend several different schools in their educational careers, and inconsistent criteria and identification practices among states and school districts result in a fluid gifted label for many of these students. While some aspects of school mobility are highlighted in existing research, limited attention has been paid to school mobility within gifted education. This research works to address this gap by exploring the impact of losing the gifted label on children of military members, whose relocations frequently require mobility across state and district boundaries, utilizing a unique framework, Foucault’s technologies of self. Research findings explore student perspectives on the impact of their own effort or hard work on their ability to retain the gifted label and serve as a launching point from which to explore the issue of school mobility in gifted education.
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Keywords:
gifted education, gifted label, student perspectives
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
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