Date of Award

1-1-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education

First Advisor

Linda L. Brookhart

Second Advisor

Kent Seidel

Third Advisor

Susan Korach

Keywords

Agency, Gifted, Persuasive, Phenomenology, Self-efficacy, Writing

Abstract

Development of the talents and abilities of gifted children is not ordinarily provided by regular public school programs. Their need for accelerated, complex, and challenging curriculum and processes is often overlooked by educators focused on helping underperforming students to reach grade-level standards. Gifted high school students who are proficient in persuasive writing are able to clearly state a claim, support that claim with evidence and backing, recognize and rebut counterclaims, and draw a conclusion leading to action. If gifted students are proficient at writing persuasively, perhaps they are also able to advocate for learning experiences that are challenging, complex, and accelerated so that they are developing their gifted potential. Belief that one can produce desired outcomes by one's actions is the power of human agency. This study examined the following research question. What is the relationship between identified gifted high school students' proficiency in persuasive writing and those students' beliefs about their own powers of agency? The results shed light on the potential that proficiency in persuasive writing may have on gifted students' powers of agency to have their academic needs met.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Susan Carol Anderson

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

194 p.

Discipline

Gifted education, Rhetoric, Language arts

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