Resumen de Forms of self-concept in gifted high school students enrolled in heterogeneous classes

Aude Villatte, Mandarine Hugon, Myriam de Léonardis

• Prior research has been devoted to understanding how to facilitate the integration of gifted young people (Intelligence Quotient, =130) into classroom settings. This study investigated a typology of self-concept in gifted French high school students. Eighty-four participants, between the ages of 13 and 18 (mean age, 15.5; SD, 1.04), enrolled in heterogeneous classes completed the Genèse des Perceptions de Soi (genesis of the self-concept (GPS) technique (L'Ecuyer 1990), the Self-Description Questionnaire II (Marsh 1992), and the self-evaluation questionnaire concerning the perception of self and of giftedness (Guskin et al., Gifted Child Quarterly, 30(2):61-65, 1986). Using Descending Hierarchical Classification analysis (Alceste software), this study revealed five main types of self-concept for gifted young people. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the personal points of view of gifted adolescents in order to better comprehend the heterogeneous nature of their self-concept and emphasizes the need to use the specific profiles of these youth to adapt the way in which we respond to them.