To explore the perceived conception of gifted and talented among pre service and in service teachers quantitatively, 98 items were constructed at the beginning of this study (see
Chapter 4 for details) to answer Research Question no. 1: What is the perceived conception of giftedness and talent among pre service and in service teachers in Malaysia? The 98
items were pilot tested and then only 60 were selected and retained for the main study. The selection of the items retained in this study is based on; the standard deviation s, means, and corrected item (total correlation) (see Appendix 12 for details).
Each item was adapted and constructed based on theories and research findings as discussed in previous chapters (Chapter 2, 3 and 4). In this study, the items contain various aspects of conception of giftedness and talent are categorised into two broad headings: general and specific. The general conception comprises of general definitions of gifted and talented, socially valued characteristics and general perceptions of gif ted and talented. The specific conception is divided into two sub-categories: internally related characteristics and externally related characteristics. The internally related characteristics are defined as specific characteristics that related to abilities, attitudes, behaviours as well as biological aspects of gifted and talented individuals. The externally related characteristics are defined as specific characteristics that related to identification aspects of gifted and talented individuals, programs for gifted and talented, and significant others such as parents and teachers who are assumed can influence gifted and talented individuals (for further discussion on the research instruments, refer to Section 5.5.2). Figure 5.2 illustrates this categorisation of items in detail
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Figure 5.2: Perceived characteristics of gifted and talented
The conception of giftedness and talent as held by pre service and in service primary school teachers might be similar or different in many ways. It is expected that there might be differences on the conceptions in general. Research Question no. 2: Is there any difference
in the perceived conceptions of giftedness and talent among pre service and in service teachers in Malaysia? was posed for this matter.
Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to answer this research question. For a start, to explore the differences between the different groups, the pre service and in service, three hypotheses were proposed for three different aspects of both groups (quantitative analysis). The following hypotheses were posed to explore the differences of teachers’ perceived conception of giftedness and talent based on three specific aspects which categorised as group type, gender and subject taken.
Defi ni ti ons Genera l Speci fi c Va l ues Percepti ons Identi fi ca ti on Abi l i ti es Bi ol ogi ca l Beha vi ours Interna l Externa l Atti tudes Si gni fi ca nt others Progra ms Percei ved cha ra cteri s ti cs of gi fted a nd ta l ented
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Hypothesis 1: To explore differences based on the group type
Ho1: There is no difference between pre service and in service teachers in terms of their
conception of giftedness and talent
Hypothesis 2: To explore differences based on gender
Ho2: There is no difference between male and female teachers (i.e. pre service and in
service teachers) in terms of their conception of giftedness and talent
Hypothesis 3: To explore differences based on subject taken
Ho3: There is no difference between participants (i.e. pre service and in service teachers)
who have taken or not taken subjects related to gifted and talented in terms of their conception of giftedness and talent
In summary, to test the three hypotheses, the study attempts to elicit the responses of p re service and in service teachers about the perceived conception of giftedness and talent quantitatively (see Chapter 7). Descriptions of the difference or similarity of their perceived conceptions would also be explored qualitatively using semi structu red questionnaire and interview later on (see Chapter 8).
Table 5.2 shows the questions posed in the semi structured questionnaire and interview to
explore participants’ view of giftedness and talent in general. The items also aimed to investigate the characteristics of giftedness as perceived by participants. Even though some of the questions posed might seem redundant, yet this is important to ascertain if there is any inconsistency of responses that might indicate lack of information or understandi ng or it might simply means that participants are uncertain about the characteristics of giftedness, for instance.
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Table 5.4: Sample questions to explore perceived characteristics of gifted and talented in qualitative method –i.e. semi structured questionnaire and interview-
Questions a) General conceptions of giftedness, gifted and talented 1) What do you understand about giftedness?
2) What are your conceptions of gifted individuals? 3) What are your conceptions of talented individuals?
Instrument : Semi -s tructured ques ti onna i re (open -ended ques ti on) b) Specific conceptions of gifted and talented
1) In your opinion, what are the characteristics that gifted individuals have? 2) In your opinion, what are the characteristics that talented individuals have?
Instrument : Semi -s tructured ques ti onna i re (open -ended ques ti on)
1) Based on your answers of the characteristics of gifted individuals, could you explain further your given answers?
2) Based on your answers of the characteristics of talented individuals, could you explain further your given answers?
Instrument : Intervi ew
c) Difference between gifted and talented
1) Do you think that gifted individuals also can be regarded as talented as well and vice versa (talented individuals can be regarded as gifted too)?
Please tick ( √ ) your response:
Yes No Not sure Please explain more your answer
_________________________________________________________
Instrument : Semi -s tructured ques ti onna i re (open -ended ques ti on)