Motivating gifted and non-gifted students in regular primary schools: A self-determination perspective

Fostering excellence: Nurturing motivation and performance among high- and average-ability students through need-supportive teaching

When students with high cognitive abilities disengage from school, this implies a severe loss of talent to students themselves and to society. Hence, it is important to understand how teachers can prevent disengagement and underachievement in high-ability students. Whereas a large body of research has demonstrated that need-supportive teaching (i.e., the provision of autonomy support, involvement, and structure) and differentiated instruction relate positively to students' academic development, it remains unclear whether such practices would be equally, more, or less beneficial for high-ability students. Drawing on data from a longitudinal four-wave study among early adolescents from Flanders (N = 3586), this study showed that need-supportive teaching in math classes was positively associated with intrinsic motivation, behavioral engagement, and math performance in high-ability students, both at the level of between-student differences and at the level of changes in students over time. Standardized estimates were typically between 0.05 and 0.20 at the between-person level, indicating small effect sizes, with more modest effect sizes at the within-person level. Importantly, these associations were found to be generally equivalent across high- and average-ability students. Comparing the provision of need-supportive teaching to either high- or average-ability students, high-ability students particularly reported more autonomy support from their math teachers than average-ability students, with small effect sizes (i.e., Cohen's d between 0.16 and 0.27). These findings underline the importance of need-supportive teaching to support the motivational and academic development of both high- and average-ability students.

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on gifted and non-gifted primary school students' well-being and motivation from a self-determination perspective

This study examined the impact of the COVID-19-induced school lockdown on need satisfaction, well-being and motivation in both gifted and non-gifted primary school students in the Netherlands. A total of 312 parents (122 from gifted children) participated. The lockdown had mainly negative effects on students' need satisfaction, well-being and motivation. However, the impact of the lockdown was less negative for gifted students. There was also a levelling effect: Before the lockdown, gifted students had lower need satisfaction, well-being and motivation than their non-gifted peers, but these differences decreased during the lockdown due to (stronger) declines in the non-gifted. Changes in non-gifted students' well-being and motivation, because of the lockdown, were negatively mediated by autonomy and relatedness with classmates. Among the gifted, this was positively mediated by competence. Only before the lockdown, the effects of giftedness on well-being and motivation were mediated by autonomy and relatedness satisfaction.

Effects of perceived teacher support on motivation and engagement amongst Chinese college students: Need satisfaction as the mediator

College students' motivation and engagement are regarded as essential factors to promote their academic development and wellbeing. However, motivation and engagement among college students appear to decline after they enter the university. Guided by the framework of self-determination theory, this study attempted to explore a motivational model of how three dimensions of perceived teacher support (autonomy, structure, and involvement) related to student motivation and class engagement, using need satisfaction as a mediator. Drew on a survey of the perceptions of 705 Chinese university students, the results showed that besides structure, both autonomy support and involvement positively related to students' need satisfaction. Further, need satisfaction was positively associated with autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and class engagement and negatively linked with amotivation. Yet, only autonomous motivation was positively predicted for class engagement. Need satisfaction and the chain from need satisfaction to autonomous motivation were found to be the significant mediators. The practical implications of educational practices are discussed.

World experience in identifying metacognitive competencies of a teacher in the course of professional development and work with gifted children

Today, there are significant requirements for the professional competencies of a teacher, among which a special place is occupied by competencies that determine the effectiveness of work with different categories of students. The article presents the results of a theoretical comparison of conceptual approaches to the identification and development of professional competencies of future teachers. The metacognitive competencies underlying self-learning are analyzed. The role of special work within the framework of individual educational courses, trainings and practices in higher education, aimed at developing metacognitive strategies and competencies of future teachers, is substantiated. The article proposes a support structure for the components of metacognitive competence (metacognitive knowledge, declarative knowledge, metacognitive strategies). After analyzing the concept map and comparing various models of identification and development of metacognitive competence, the authors single out research, managerial and communicative competences in its structure.

An analysis of domestic research highlights the role of managing competencies for  working with a gifted child and shows that a future teacher must constantly develop regulatory and personal qualities in himself and in a gifted student. When working with a gifted student, a teacher needs metacognitive competence, which is formed in the process of asking questions to oneself, in attempts to try other strategies for solving pedagogical situations. The teacher is required not only to be able to teach, but also to constantly learn himself in order to be able to solve non-trivial situations together with students.

It is shown how the relationship between a teacher and students affects psychological health, well-being, psychological burnout, the quality of professional activity, the ability to work with a gifted person. The conclusion is made about how approaches to the professional training of specialists in the educational sphere should change in order to provide the opportunity to work with the category of gifted children. 

High-ability students in pull-out programs and regular classes: A longitudinal study on perceived social relationships in two settings

Although there is wide support for the academic benefits of pull-out programs aimed at high-ability students, it remains unclear how attending these programs is associated with social outcomes. This one-year, three-wave longitudinal study examined the perceived social relationships with teachers and peers of 245 high-ability students in both their pull-out programs and regular classes and included 429 regular students as a reference group. Results of latent growth curve analyses revealed that high-ability students perceived their relationships with regular peers and teachers as equally positive as regular students. Furthermore, high-ability students initially perceived their relationships in their regular class and pull-out program as equally positive, but as the school year progressed, perceived relationships with peers developed slightly more negatively in their regular class. Overall, the findings raise the question whether or not high-ability students actually have a commonly shared need for interaction with like-minded peers and specialized teachers in a special program to experience positive social relationships. Furthermore, the findings suggest that it is important to consider not only the academic benefits, but also the potential social effects in both the regular class and the pull-out program, when selecting students for pull-out programs.