Ireland’s most gifted children are more than twice as likely to lie about their superior abilities as their American counterparts are. And it’s because they are trying to fit in.
new report from the Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland (CTYI) also reveals girls are far more likely to describe themselves as “over-controlling”, “perfectionistic” and more sensitive to negative feedback — while Ireland’s gifted boys are far more likely to be “resilient”.
The group who said they were “very resilient” was broken down into 60pc boys and 40pc girls, while the group that said they were “perfectionistic” was broken down into 65pc girls and 35pc boys.
The findings are part of a report on the nation’s gifted children, which is due to be launched by Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman tomorrow. It is the culmination of a decade of research, and the first study of its kind in Ireland. It also focuses on the children’s thoughts and fears, as expressed in their own words.
Dr Colm O’Reilly, director of CTYI, which provides courses for students with high academic ability from the age of six, said the report shows a stark cultural difference in the “mindset” of Irish children in comparison to American high performers.
“There is definitely a structure within America that allows the best to succeed — so children there are going to be generally more vocal about doing better in that situation,” he said.
“In Ireland we are a bit more introspective in relation to these things — and some feel there is a danger when putting yourself ‘out there’, that some people might even feel happy if you don’t succeed. Children are worried that if they say they find a subject or exam easy, then they will have a target on their back, or people will be happy if they don’t do as well subsequently.
“This is a big problem for bright kids. We really want them to take on challenges, knowing that they’re not going to get everything right, but can still strive towards more difficult tasks. The danger is that they are worried about the reaction — so it’s a catch 22 situation.
“We want them to progress but unfortunately there are people out there who are willing them not to succeed.”
When questioned about their experiences, concern for peers’ feelings, jealousy, and the fear of rejection were all given as potential reasons for not drawing attention to their own positive performance.
One Irish male student said: “Some of my friends are not that happy about how well I do in tests. I wouldn’t mind, but it’s mostly the ones who are smart themselves. They can get obsessed with doing better than me.”
Another Irish secondary school female student said she felt the need to play down her results: “I think I would feel like I was bragging, because others found it difficult and I wouldn’t want them to feel bad because they clearly worked hard.”
Elsewhere, the study found gifted females are far more prone to perfectionism and are generally harder on themselves than boys.
“Everyone is worried about peer conformity and being different but it seems girls are more receptive to these type of things than boys,” Dr O’Reilly said.
“The perfectionism definitely comes from girls generally being more prepared for work, more apprehensive about feedback. They’re really trying hard to do the best they can do.
“But the problem with perfectionism is it can curtail them. Everyone identities with ‘you hear 10 positive comments and one negative, and you focus on the negative’, but many girls focus on that one negative comment, they don’t feel the positive. They are hung up on that one thing and that is very evident in this report.
“Girls can be very sensitive to negative feedback and non-peer acceptance, whereas boys tend to be more relaxed. It doesn’t seem to affect them as much.”
The report also maps out where children who attend the school are living. Although each county in Ireland is represented, Dublin has by far the highest proportion of gifted students who attend the school at 44pc.
“The population of Dublin would be the main reason for this but the courses are based in DCU and people tend to go to things nearer home. Some people might think it’s too far away, and there’s the cost of the commute too,” Dr O’Reilly said.
“We are trying to encourage people from more rural areas to attend, because they are most at risk of not being around like-minded peers — and in rural areas these feelings of isolation can be more profound.”
How would you do in a quiz for super-smart 12-year-olds?
Verbal
1. Which word is the odd one out?
a. irrelevant
b: bizarre
c. peculiar
d. eccentric
2. Which word is the odd one out?
a. special
b. universal
c. unique
d. exceptional
3. Which pair goes together in the same way as the first pair
Raze: building
a. Sow: seed
b. Graft: plant
c. Fell: tree
d. Open: door
4. Which pair goes together in the same way as the first pair
procedure: activity
a. Diplomacy: tact
b. Itinerary: journey
c. Minutes: committee
d. Index: book
Maths
1. Which of these is greater than 1/4?
a. 1/5
b. 2/9
c. 2/7
d. 3/20
2. The two digits in the number 73 add together to give 10. In all, how many numbers like this are there between 10 and 100?
a. 5
b. 9
c. 10
d. 20
3. What number comes next in the sequence: 1, 8, 16, 25, ....
a. 50
b. 34
c. 35
d. 29
4. What number comes next in the sequence: 16, 39, 85, 177, 361
a. 722
b. 729
c. 739
d. 545
Abstract
How students are recruited to the programme
Dr Colm O’Reilly of the Centre for Talented Youth said: “We are looking to identify students who are performing at or above the 95th percentile academically. We do this through running assessments in DCU and around the country throughout the year. Students can be nominated by their school or by their parents in order to sit the assessment. Once they qualify from the assessment they are given a choice of courses to pick from, like medicine, law, engineering, creative writing, psychology, and they come to DCU [mostly] to take these courses.”
Answers
Verbal: 1a, 2b, 3c, 4b
Maths: 1c, 2b, 3c, 4b
Abstract: No2
