It's All a Matter of Perspective: Student Perceptions on the Impact of Being Labeled Gifted and Talented

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of gifted adolescents toward being labeled as gifted and talented, to evaluate how gifted students perceive that others view their giftedness, and to determine whether these attitudes and perceptions vary depending on the child's level of giftedness. Sixty-six sixth-through eighth-grade public-school students, identified as either gifted or highly gifted, were surveyed on the positive and negative attributes of being labeled gifted and talented. The highly gifted and moderately gifted groups exhibited measurable differences in their perceptions of the positive aspects of the gifted label. Furthermore, the study suggests that negative stereotyping, often associated with the gifted label, can be minimized in a carefully integrated gifted program.