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4.3.8 Gifted Students’ Perception of Gifted Programming
This study examined the lived experiences of high school seniors who had participated in specialized gifted programming in a public school system. Qualitative analyses of the students’ perceptions resulted in themes of academic and social-emotional functioning. Findings indicated that the students’ experiences of their giftedness, their academic abilities, their passions, their social connections, and their self-determination matured as they advanced through their K-12 educational career. Questions are raised about the need for the deliberate evolution of educator-messaging for students and about the possible positive consequences of reaching the limits of academic ability for gifted students.