Social and academic predictors of success for gifted children

Given recent changes in the conceptualization of intelligence and giftedness, this researcher examined the role of aspects of emotional intelligence (EI), intelligence (IQ), and teacher rating scales to clarify their ability to actually predict the academic success of gifted children. In relatively few empirical studies have researchers focused on EI as a predictor of academic success or explored EI in the gifted and talented population. This lack of research is surprising given the claims about social and emotional concerns within the gifted and talented population (i.e., Davis & Rimm, 1985; Osborn, 1996; Reis & Renzulli, 2004; Rimm, 1996). As such, the current investigator added to the body of research in this fledgling domain by providing empirical data on the predictive power of various criteria commonly used in the identification of gifted students, as well as explored the relatively new domain of EI and its impact on the academic success of gifted students. Specifically, this researcher examined the effect of two aspects of emotional intelligence on gifted students' academic success: emotion receiving ability and emotion regulation.; Using a sample of gifted and talented (G&T) students, results were that, of the variables measured (i.e., gender, IQ, teacher rating scales, and aspects of EI), the gender of the student is the best predictor of success in a G&T program as females performed significantly better than males within the G&T program. In addition, a gender effect of emotion receiving ability on math achievement was demonstrated. Specifically, a significant negative correlation between females' emotion receiving ability and math achievement was indicated. Traditional measures of giftedness such as IQ and teacher rating scales did not significantly predict G&T student academic success in the mainstream setting or within the G&T program. It is quite possible that these variables (IQ and teacher rating scales) were not good predictors due to the lack of variability of these measures within the G&T student sample. Implications of the current research, including assessment, intervention, and time management issues for school personnel, especially the school psychologist, will be discussed.