Date of Award
4-13-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
School of Education
First Advisor
Dr. Karen Buchanan
Second Advisor
Dr. Gary Sehorn
Third Advisor
Dr. Susanna Thornhill
Abstract
With accountability pressures to help all students reach grade-level proficiency, the needs of gifted students may be neglected. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the nature of intellectually gifted students in a suburban elementary setting in the Pacific Northwest. After several close observations with six participants in grades 2-5, semi-structured conversational interviews revealed recurring feelings of frustration, constraint, and missed opportunities in classrooms. Participants claimed that school was not challenging and they did not learn much. When classroom life did not provide intellectual stimulation, gifted students often engaged in reading. The voices of intellectually gifted students show how they experience life in the classroom. Implications of the findings for rethinking professional development, placement and grouping models, and soliciting the voice of gifted students to influence system improvements are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Luzaich, Frank, ""Some Days We Don't Learn Anything New": A Phenomenological Study of Intellectually Gifted Elementary Students" (2020). Doctor of Education (EdD). 140.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/edd/140