Teachers’ Perceptions of Underachievement among Academically Gifted Students at one School in East Kazakhstan Region

Abstract

Even though gifted underachievers can be found in every school, this phenomenon still has not been scrutinized in Kazakhstan. The gifted students might not be provided with required conditions and teaching because of lack of understanding or inappropriate perceptions of the underachievement. Thus, this study aimed to explore teachers’ understanding and perceptions of the phenomenon of underachievement among academically gifted students, and teachers’ beliefs how the issues of underachievement can be improved at one school in East Kazakhstan Region. A qualitative case study was conducted at a school for gifted students in East Kazakhstan Region. The semi-structured interview involved 11 teachers of different subjects and was used to collect the data for analysis. The findings of the study demonstrate that respondents have a shared understanding of the term underachievement. It was defined that gifted underachiever is a student with high intellectual capacity in one domain; at the same time, s/he has also challenges in academic performance in one or several subjects. The finding shows that teachers utilize an observation tool due to identify gifted underachiever and factors contributing to academic failure. Moreover, it was determined that three main factors contribute to underachievement: (1) individual factors such as motivation, self-regulation, and goal orientation; (2) school-related factors that include inconsistency between the school curriculum and the academic needs of gifted students, teacher instruction, and peer relationships; (3) family factors are parental involvement and divorce. Findings revealed that teachers have positive attitudes towards gifted underachievers and believe that pedagogical approaches as differentiation and individual support might improve underachievement among gifted students at school. The study discusses the limitations, implications, and recommendations for further investigation.