Page 21 - Kukanja Gabrijelčič, Mojca, and Maruška Seničar Željeznov, eds. 2018. Teaching Gifted and Talented Children in A New Educational Era. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 21
Contributors of High Achieving Students’ Linguistic Competence
regards high ability students, it has been suggested that creativity is related
to their writing abilities in the sense that some of the features relevant to
the writing ability – such as free communication of ideas, the consideration
of the human individual and self-disclosure – somehow overlap with those
features which are expected to enhance creativity (Sak, 2004).
Specific creative behaviours in the classroom can be correlated with high
ability students’ (a) personality and motivation features, such as autonomy,
nonconformity, risk taking, high degree of curiosity and self-discovery, de-
veloped and refined sense of humour (Fasko, 2001; Shade, 1999), tolerance to
ambiguity, willingness, perseverance and task commitment (Beghetto, 2005),
(b) social factors such as abundant resources and the ability of communicat-
ing ideas (Amabile & Pillemer, 2012), and (c) data processing procedures such
as the use of the conquered cognitive data for creating and expanding ideas.
Gender differences in creative thinking abilities are generally of great inter-
est (Lau & Cheung, 2015). Current literature offers contradictory findings on
males’ and females’ use of their creative thinking skills (Hong, Peng, O’Neil, &
Wu, 2013). Some empirical studies have indicated that females tend to have
overall higher creativity scores than men (Awamleh, Al Farah, & El-Zraigat,
2012; Hong et al., 2013). Studies usually reveal that there are no significant
differences between males and females as far as originality subtests are
concerned (Bart, Hokanson, Sahin, & Abdelsamea, 2015; Hong et al., 2013).
Also, within the Greek educational system, divergent thinking among Greek
primary students was studied via teachers’ ratings and students’ divergent
thinking tasks focusing on linguistic expression. The divergent thinking task
scores results indicated that female students scored higher in the subtests of
fluency and flexibility, than the male students did (Kousoulas & Mega, 2009).
Furthermore, a study comparing secondary high and low achievers’ creativ-
ity features, indicated that girls scored higher than boys (Anwar, Shamim-ur-
Rasool, & Haq, 2012).
Motivation Features of High Ability Students
Academic intrinsic motivation is demonstrated generally by enjoyment of
learning, curiosity, persistence, and the ability to learn challenging or dif-
ficult tasks (Gottfried, Marcoulides, Gottfried, & Oliver, 2009). Furthermore,
there are studies relating academic intrinsic motivation to academic achieve-
ment. Gottfried & Gottfried (2004) for example have demonstrated that aca-
demic intrinsic motivation was a significant positive predictor of achieve-
ment beyond the variance attributable to IQ, with higher motivation pre-
dicting higher achievement. In brief, they found that children with higher
19
regards high ability students, it has been suggested that creativity is related
to their writing abilities in the sense that some of the features relevant to
the writing ability – such as free communication of ideas, the consideration
of the human individual and self-disclosure – somehow overlap with those
features which are expected to enhance creativity (Sak, 2004).
Specific creative behaviours in the classroom can be correlated with high
ability students’ (a) personality and motivation features, such as autonomy,
nonconformity, risk taking, high degree of curiosity and self-discovery, de-
veloped and refined sense of humour (Fasko, 2001; Shade, 1999), tolerance to
ambiguity, willingness, perseverance and task commitment (Beghetto, 2005),
(b) social factors such as abundant resources and the ability of communicat-
ing ideas (Amabile & Pillemer, 2012), and (c) data processing procedures such
as the use of the conquered cognitive data for creating and expanding ideas.
Gender differences in creative thinking abilities are generally of great inter-
est (Lau & Cheung, 2015). Current literature offers contradictory findings on
males’ and females’ use of their creative thinking skills (Hong, Peng, O’Neil, &
Wu, 2013). Some empirical studies have indicated that females tend to have
overall higher creativity scores than men (Awamleh, Al Farah, & El-Zraigat,
2012; Hong et al., 2013). Studies usually reveal that there are no significant
differences between males and females as far as originality subtests are
concerned (Bart, Hokanson, Sahin, & Abdelsamea, 2015; Hong et al., 2013).
Also, within the Greek educational system, divergent thinking among Greek
primary students was studied via teachers’ ratings and students’ divergent
thinking tasks focusing on linguistic expression. The divergent thinking task
scores results indicated that female students scored higher in the subtests of
fluency and flexibility, than the male students did (Kousoulas & Mega, 2009).
Furthermore, a study comparing secondary high and low achievers’ creativ-
ity features, indicated that girls scored higher than boys (Anwar, Shamim-ur-
Rasool, & Haq, 2012).
Motivation Features of High Ability Students
Academic intrinsic motivation is demonstrated generally by enjoyment of
learning, curiosity, persistence, and the ability to learn challenging or dif-
ficult tasks (Gottfried, Marcoulides, Gottfried, & Oliver, 2009). Furthermore,
there are studies relating academic intrinsic motivation to academic achieve-
ment. Gottfried & Gottfried (2004) for example have demonstrated that aca-
demic intrinsic motivation was a significant positive predictor of achieve-
ment beyond the variance attributable to IQ, with higher motivation pre-
dicting higher achievement. In brief, they found that children with higher
19
