School Change through Gifted Education: Effects on Elementary Students' Attitudes toward Learning

Abstract

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), a comprehensive system intended to nurture behavioral giftedness without total reliance on a priori gifted program identification procedures, has been proposed as a school change model. This study examined the effectiveness of SEM on student attitudes toward learning among 1,935 elementary school students in 6 middle-class schools. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses indicated that students' attitudes toward learning were positively influenced by their schools' participation in the SEM treatment. These results provide some rationale for schools to employ SEM, often restricted to gifted programs, as a schoolwide means for improving attitudes toward learning among all students, and at the same time, programming appropriately for the most able students.