Examining Perceptions of Challenge and Choice in Classrooms: The Relationship Between Teachers and Their Students and Comparisons Between Gifted Students and Other Students

Abstract

In this study we investigated the relationship between what teachers report they do in their classrooms and their students' perceptions of classroom activities with respect to the dimensions of challenge and choice. Students and teachers in elementary school classrooms 91 classrooms) were analyzed separately front those in middle schools classrooms (n = 64 classrooms). No relationship existed between what teachers reported they do and what students perceived is done at the elementary or middle school levels concerning the dimension of challenge. Further, concerning choice, a slight positive correlation existed for elementary students and their teachers, whereas. no such relationship existed at the middle school level. These findings suggest that what teachers report may not be what students actually experience in the classroom. Additionally, differences among perceptions of challenge and choice of gifted students in magnet schools, gifted students in regular schools, and other students in regular schools were investigated. Regardmig challenge, magnet school gifted students reported significantly more challenge than their gifted and other peers at the middle school level, whereas no such differences existed at the elementary level. No meaningful difference existed among the groups on the dimension of choice at either the elementary or middle school levels.