Gifted Voices: A Study of High School Students' Proficiency in Persuasive Writing and Their Perceptions of Personal Agency

<p>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.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Anderson, Susan Carol

Contributors dc:contributor

• Linda L. Brookhart
• Kent Seidel
• Susan Korach

• Agency
• Gifted
• Persuasive
• Phenomenology
• Self-efficacy
• Writing
• Creative Writing
• Education
• Nonfiction
• Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/749

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1748