Factors Underlying Teacher Perceptions of Highly Gifted Students: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

Each of 434 West German and 446 American high school teachers nominated one student as highly gifted. The teachers taught native language, mathematics/physics, music/art, or modern foreign language. All teachers completed a questionnaire in which they rated their nominees on 83 characteristics. The intercorrelations of the items were factor analyzed separately in the two samples to yield seven German and five American factors. The factors for the German sample were (a) self-centered/neurotic, (b) dynamic/popular, (c) achievement-oriented, (d) artistic, (e) logical problem solving, (f) verbally proficient, and (g) precocious/conforming. The factors identified in the American sample were (a) intelligent, (b) self-centered/neurotic, (c) dynamic/popular, (d) creative, and (e) achievement-oriented. Implications for definitions of giftedness and for the identification of gifted students are discussed.